I’m not trying to be controversial but the following is true. Having been a flight attendant here in the UK for over 20 years unfortunately I can tell you why most flight attendants here don’t like flying to and from India. If a plane takes off with 8 functioning toilet cubicles, its not unusual for it land with just one or maybe two cubicles still in service.
The cubicles will have been closed off to passengers as un-serviceable because there will be excrement blocking the bowl, directly on the toilet seat, on the floor, in the sink, in the rubbish bin, on the walls and sometimes even the ceiling. Once on one of my flights, even left on the seat pan of the flight attendant seat and a few times in the passenger aisle.
God knows why, but it seems a large number of the population have never seen a western toilet and so many of the passengers have no idea where to leave their deposit and generally are not familiar with other general social rules and flying etiquette.
This is sad but true.
We had some Indian friends in the University back in the 2000s when we were in University.
So, the first time they went home to visit their family after their arrival in the US, some of them flew Malaysian Airlines from the West Coast of the US and they used to be a good airline back then and the fares on Malaysian Airlines were evidently cheaper to fly from the West Coast.
After one of them returned, they were telling these stories about their experiences of flying through KL. They said their flight from the US to KL was fine and normal and just like any other flight.
However, they were saying the flight from KL to India ( I think Southern India) turned into a zoo and the flight was full of unruly Indian passengers from Malaysia wanting free drinks ( Malaysian is a full service airline with full food and drink service and not many budget international carriers back then).
The way they described the scene inside the flight was funny and awful. They said people were jumping up and down and grabbing the stewardess asking for more drinks and kept getting pissed so at this point, you can get the picture.
Someone else described the same scene years later but this time flying through the Middle East.
They said it had to do with the demographics of Indians who get in the flight in SE Asia or the Middle East and according to them, it’s best you don’t ask for any drinks on the leg between SE Asia or Middle East because you are going to be mistaken and clumped with the rest of the Indians on the flight most of whom boarded the flight in KL.
Never heard this problem from people who flew through European gateways to India. Evidently, the passengers from India who fly with you from Frankfurt, London or Amsterdam are better class of Indian passengers than the ones from South East Asia or the Middle East.
So I think it’s a combination of demographics and the fact that Indians getting pissed on free alcohol and don’t know how to behave.
I am thinking the stewardesses who have to serve in coach between SE Asia or Middle East to India still probably dread their job and not so much on the flights from Europe. When we flew coach long back through London to India, there wasn’t much of incidents.
The old Indian aunties who get on board in London whinge a bit and complain more than average about something but at least they are not getting pissed and grabbing and dragging the srewardess lol.
Maybe the budget Indian airlines don’t have this problem because you have to pay for everything and I doubt people are paying for drinks and getting pissed.
As for your question… that generalization is not accurate and it entirely depends on the demographics of Indians and the routes you fly through. But whinging old Indian aunties are a whole another kettle of fish lol.
If you-served them anything other the Indian food they are familiar with, like pasta or something else not Indian but still vegetarian, they will first look and test it out like a cat experiments with a toy and then the whinging record will start playing in a mish mash of mostly Hindi ( or some Indian language) and some English mixed in.
They always start the record with uttering something like “ Ayuuuuuu” and that’s when you get the cue that they are going to whinge. The old Indian uncles though, are usually silent and won’t say anything or even utter a word or pretend they care or probably act deaf because they have probably heard the record one too many times in their lives.
They are usually nonchalant. It’s kind of interesting dynamics to observe between old married Indian couples lol
