Here and There

First, a joke I read recently.

Why are there no fireworks in the Euro Disney Park in Paris like they have in America?
Because whenever they start the fireworks, the French Army tries to surrender.

Moving on to big-ticket reforms. It beats me why the reforms had to wait until the last few months of the govt. in power. Cricket coaches talk about timing all the time. Can we hire some?

Ranjhana, the film. I found it tedious and pointless after a refreshing first one-third or so. Literally, the director 'lost the plot'. Or else, I am losing it. Both are equally probable. Dhanush has promise, but I am scared for Sonam, lest she become an Abhishek Bachchan.

The rupee is 60, and eligible for senior citizen discounts when it travels abroad. So when can we replace it with something with a spine?

74 B schools closed this year in India. Should have been 700, the way some are going. Clueless in the extreme.

Air Asia to come in by year-end in India. Hope they break the monopoly/cartel/oligopoly of the not-so-low cost carriers.

Air Asia in India

There seem to be reasonable chances now that Air Asia will fly-into India, that is. Why it should cause any consternation among certain quarters is beyond me. I think Air Deccan was the best thing to have happened to an Indian consumer in a long time. It made flying so affordable that a large chunk of their customers were first time flyers.

With the exit of Kingfisher, we are reaching a stage where a monopolistic cartel seems to be running the skies, which is bad news for customers. Someone like Air Asia can revitalise the sector from a consumer's viewpoint.

Whether they make a profit or not would depend on their business model and practices. That should not be our concern, since Air India is still flying with taxpayer's subsidy. What we must keep in mind is the benefit to large numbers of customers who would be able to fly when they need to.

Similar anti-consumer activism was seen when FDI in retail was being debated. I am quite certain if the consumer knew what Wal-Mart could offer him, he would have been very happy. Especially the poorer customer, or the lower middle class one who pinches pennies to meet his monthly budgets.

Hope we have a choice of low-cost airline services soon, instead of just one or two.