Manu Joseph: The business class seat says a lot about inequality that people don’t always want to hear

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.The best business class flight I have ever taken was with Air India. As the flight was taxiing for take-off, it stopped on the tarmac. There was a snag, and we had to stay in the aircraft.

It was over 40° Celsius outside. Peak Delhi summer. As though in apology, the cabin crew began serving a meal.

At the time I didn’t realize the service was only in business class. There was wine too. After an hour, I heard commotion from the economy cabin.

They were sweating as there was no air conditioning. Odd, I hadn’t noticed. The screams informed me they were hungry and thirsty too.

A person had fainted. What a close shave for me, I thought. But then menacing voices grew.

Some alpha men barged in demanding the aircraft door to be opened or people in coach would die. At that moment, I was sipping golden wine. It looked like my moment of beheading.

But the alphas immediately became meek on seeing us eating and drinking, yawning distances separating each other. It was as if they had been programmed to accept that the business class was their employer class. They regained their composure when they spotted the flight attendants and screamed only at them.

It is an odd thing about people that no matter what their theories of revolution might be, in the real world, they first blame their equals for their misery. Generally, consumerism is filled with useless products, but I have respect for the business class seat. It is probably the most expensive real estate in the world.

It contains an ugly overrated chair, 20 to 22 inches wide, whose greatest distinction is that it can go entirely flat. People pay lakhs for it. But its true value is not in the flatbed.