Colawashing, a new trick to show green?
IndiGo, on which he was travelling, has recently stopped allowing the purchase of a cold drink in vacuo, that is, in isolation. He was essentially bringing to light the airline forcing the customer to buy bundled products.
For a passenger to buy, say, Thums Up, she or he now had to also buy a snack. This kind of commercial dodgery is the sort that gets the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission as well as the Competition Commission of India out in official gear.
IndiGo being a smart chocolate chip cookie (which also is a 'buyable' snack on their flights) quickly changed policy to provide a 'complimentary' cold drink with any snacks ordered — and here's the funky bit — no longer in a can but in a paper cup.
We tested it and have found the quantity of the 'free' cold drink in said cup to have diminished substantially. IndiGo has turned it into a 'Go green' thingie.
Smart, considering they're also saving money by providing less drink for the buck you're paying for the khana. The matter of customer choice remains unsolved.
For the person who just wants a cold drink, not only is it not complimentary but a solo drink also remains unavailable. We call this colawashing.
