Air India should be the first satvik airline

Air India's move to exclude meat from its domestic economy class flights — to ostensibly save Rs 8 crore annually — is too timid. The vegetarian initiative should be scaled up to include all classes and flights so that Air India can be marketed as the world's first satvik airline. The advantages are obvious.

There are at least 350 million vegetarians in the world, according to the Meat Atlas brought out by Heinrich Boll Stiftung in 2014. Most are presumed to be Indian or of Indian origin, with a significant number of animal lovers, health-conscious Hollywood celebrities and their groupies too. Moreover, not only are 'flexitarians' — who often choose to eat vegetables over meat for various reasons — increasing worldwide, there is a statistically noticeable phenomenon of more younger people going green than older ones in traditionally meat-eating regions. No wonder international airlines offer special meal options so that peripatetic vegetarians are not left munching only nuts and chips.

An Indian airline is best equipped to take such a bold step given the sheer diversity of vegetarian cuisines it can offer. The lure of meat-free galleys should prove especially irresistible to "strict" vegetarians who travel frequently for business and leisure. If AI can corner the vegetarian market, naysayers may well end up eating crow.