“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients.” This quote by Virgin Group founder Richard Branson finds a place of pride on the table of Air India (AI) Chairman and Managing Dir­ector (CMD) Ashwani Lohani.

By standing up for AI’s 60-year-old employee, who was beaten up by Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, Lohani showed he is a firm ­believer in the “employee first” approach. He not only ­ensured that the MP is barred from ­travelling on AI, but also ­managed to get other airlines to stand in solidarity against the unre­pentant Gaikwad.

Though he refused to comment on the issue when contacted, Lohani’s March 24 Facebook post is revealing. “Two FIRs of a serious nature and a ban on ­future air travels imposed by all the air carriers of the nation bes­ides universal condemnation of the person who unabashedly beat up an on-duty Air Indian is a satisfying end to an unsavoury saga. We all need to stand up against those who...