I refer to the letter Extravagance and Mrs Lee Kuan Yew commenting on how Singapore's Lee converted an entire SIA aircraft to ferry his wife to London and back.

I, of course, do not know whether the tab was picked up by the government or paid for by LKY personally. The writer added as to how SIA crew treat Asians with disdain while grovelling at the feet of 'white' passengers. This is a complaint often lodged against other airlines, including Malaysia Airlines and Air India.

I am not that regular an air traveller but having flown internationally on almost 45 occasions (to and from about 90 times) on numerous airlines, I think I am qualified to comment on air services. On all my flights, especially on Asian airlines, I have never felt that I was accorded any lesser service. The aircrew have always treated me with respect and acceded to my requests or orders in a pleasant and reasonably quick manner. I must say that the good service I enjoyed includes what I experienced on MAS even on local flights.

On the other hand, I must also say that some Western airlines, including big boys like KLM and American Airlines, can hardly be described as being gracious hosts. Some of them have been downright discourteous and actually sneer when they speak to you. Smiles are unknown to them. I do not attribute this to any racial slant but perhaps to poor and indifferent management supervision.

Which brings me to the other side of the coin. Do we ever see complaints of poor or discriminatory service against non-Asian airlines? Are they paragons of civility and attention, treating everyone like gold? These same passengers who are so quick in condemning MAS or SIA will be as meek as mice when confronted by a burly KLM hostess eight miles up in the sky. They will timidly lap up anything thrown at them and will not have a word to say in protest. Please, those who complain should at least use the same yardstick for all service providers.

On a slightly unrelated topic, I must comment on those gentlemen who periodically crawl out of the woodwork demanding that airlines, especially MAS, stop serving liquor on their flights. Apart from the objection that it runs afoul of a religion, the reason they often tout is that it leads to drunkenness and misbehaviour.

The 90 or so international flights I have taken must have been in the total company of close to 18,000 passengers, taking a conservative average of 200 per flight. Of all these passengers, I have seen only one incident of someone being drunk. And even then, the only person he gave any bother to was to his poor suffering son.

And for this nano-percentage, the rest of those who may choose to enjoy a cold one or two on a long flight should be deprived of their indulgence? Those who demand this should come down to earth.