Unlike private airlines’ employees, who have restricted passages and specific definition of family to include only immediate members such as self, spouse, dependent children and parents, Air India’s definition is far more generous. According to Air India, an employee’s family, entitled to travel free with him/her, includes: spouse, children, step-children, parents, brothers, sisters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law and even grandchildren up to 12 years. Even those who have retired are entitled to passages. In fact, freebies like passages are at the heart of the trouble fomenting at the airline, and one of the main reasons why the union decided to declare a strike.