Air Asia, a low cost airline is offering a return ticket to Kuala Lumpur from Bangalore, inclusive of all airport charges, for just Rs. 8000. Compare that to a return ticket from Bangalore to Delhi which costs Rs. 10350 in low cost domestic airlines. Why is air travel so expensive in India? It is because of extortionate taxes. Taxes on airline fuel may be upto 20%, tickets are taxed on the original price rather than the price offered by the airline and airport charges are scandalous for the quality of service offered. One would think that when criminal politicians constantly rabbit on about the poor they would bring down all taxes so that the poor can also avail of this ' luxury'. Actually politicians want the poor to remain in their place and not get too uppity so that they are adequately grateful for a few paise thrown at them. Of course, ministers and members of parliament get to travel first class with family and friends at our expense. Kleptocrats are also entitled to first class travel for free. State chief ministers have bought luxury jets for official use even though the state budget is deeply in the red. Taxes have to pay for this depraved beggary. Then there is the government airline Air India which is staffed by lazy crooks and is hundreds of billions of rupees in the red. There is talk of throwing Rs. 50 billion to keep it going. So why waste precious tax payer money in a poor country on an airline which is bound to fail. On April 20 Air India flight no. IC 7603 from Delhi to Coimbatore was cancelled and the aircraft was chartered to fly Poorna Patel, daughter of Praful Patel, the Civil Aviation minister and her party from Chandigarh to Chennai instead. Criminal beggars!