* Newspapers found in crumpled condition (flight 805/Del/Bom)There are several red faces in Airlines House after a ``meal audit'' was done on Indian Airlines flights. Unknown to staff, the audit, recently introduced by IA's Chairman and Managing Director Anil Baijal, has led to penalties being levied against caterers, letters of censure to senior managers and disciplinary action taken against errant cabin crew on some flights.

It's still early to say how effective all this will be but IA cabin and ground crew will also face an army of private counsellors who will literally observe every move they make while handling passengers. The idea is to monitor crew behaviour, keep a check on food items and stop all pilferage on flights. IA has hired two Delhi-basedprivate firms, NIS and Accord, to counsel frontline staff and cabin crew at their work stations.

Counselors will be posted at every passenger handling point, including check-in and the moment they spot ``deviant behaviour'' -- such as ground staff snatching a ticket from the passenger's hand, not wishing the passenger a safe journey and general rude behaviour -- they will step in. For the cabin crew, too, similar services will be provided.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Baijal said that these were the first in a series of measures he wanted to introduce to improve the quality of in-flight service.

He emphasised that the idea was to make people accountable and take deterrent action against misbehaving crew members.

So the next time a stewardess hands over a coat in an improper manner, is not wearing a badge or is simply inattentive to a passenger request the counsellor will point out the aberrant conduct in front of the passenger.

Sources say that private firms were hired since in-housecounselling in a classroom environment was found ineffective. As far as the meal audit is concerned, officials conducting it have no links with the crew.

Sources say that Indian Airlines Directors will be made responsible for passenger service and face disciplinary action if their areas received repeated complaints.

Says an IA board member: ``They have little enough work as it is. Let them take some responsibility. There's no point in taking action against junior level staff, the entire culture of Airline House has to change''.