New Delhi Jan 21 Noted banker and member of the Air India board, Mr N. Vaghul, the UN Under-Secretary General, Mr Shashi Tharoor, the Indian Envoy in the US, Mr Ronen Sen, some prominent NRIs and a handful of senior Government officials from the Ministry of Civil Aviation could be model travellers for the Maharaja.

Choice of seats

This select group will be in the US towards the end of this year on a mission to check out the seating comforts for Air India passengers when they fly the Boeing 787 popularly known as the `Dreamliner.'

"The choice of seats for the 787 is huge, therefore Boeing has created a gallery in Seattle. The team will try out a variety of seats for comfort, the seat pitch and value added offered. These seats will then be rated and an objective and transparent decision taken," sources said.

The airline is to receive the first of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft - each of which can seat up to 250 passengers in a two-class configuration - in 2008.

Earlier exercise

Air India had earlier undertaken a similar exercise in Mumbai by inviting top honchos, including Mr Ratan Tata, to try out new seats being placed in the 777 aircraft.

So, the next time you fly an Air India Boeing 787 or Boeing 777 aircraft that would form part of the new fleet, you would know exactly who to blame or praise for the interior comforts on the flight.