Air India! Can We See You in Air?

The news is quite big. Air India has successfully managed PR and media this time by creating a fuss about its order of Boeing 787s! And what it claims, it could bring the Maharaja days of Air India back!

Seriusly, Air India has been a premier service provider; still has one of the best aircraft with business class amenities. Even flying on economy gives a feel of business class with its navigation information system right in front of you on certain aircraft. But, the fact is, Air India’s maharaja days existed only when there were the only player in the market!! After the onset of Naresh Goel’s Jet Airways, Air India had some competition. It tasted water and had its feet on ground only when the competitive low cost players like Deccan, IndiGo and now, GoAir and Spicejet taking their market away.

From a market share of 100% in the days of License Raj, they have come down to a market share of approximately 16%. The market leaders are IndiGo at 1^st position (recently at the first position by a whisker), Jet Airways at 2nd spot (with almost the same as IndiGo at 26%, only a few points lesser) and SpiceJet at 3^rd spot with 18%.

Image Courtesy: WittySparks

No doubt, Air India and Kingfisher’s tumultuous times, the tatkal scam in Indian Railways, the growing influence of touts in railway bookings and the inefficient not so sophisticated bus operators have made it compulsory for many a people to travel by air for peace and mind and convenience. No wonder, biggest beneficiaries are Jet and IndiGo with their fleet. GoAir has only 11 aircraft and SpiceJet also with not a very significant number.

No matter how great the Boeing aircraft might be, the point is, it needs to be in the hands of competent organization, or competent management, to be precise. Hand over this same aircraft to Southwest in USA, Jet Airways or IndiGo, you would see some very different results. The babudom , the bureaucracy of being into government control is what keeps Air India in problems, just nothing else.

It is agreed that Air India needs to ply to some unprofitable destinations which private airlines are not willing to go as they are not so lucrative. Routes like say, Porbandar – Mumbai, Jamnagar – Mumbai or Nanded – Mumbai are understood. But, what about all other gifts that it enjoys which could easily balance these problems? 

The aircraft fleet, the scale of operations, the international reach finds no parallel in the industry. In fact, in the international arena, they could easily make money if they wished to. The problem remains, ‘if’. It is a matter of willingness than anything else.

Why this company is so oblivious to some commonly followed best practices in the industry? Are the people at the top deaf and dumb? The organizational culture is the very root cause of all problems, to put it in McKinsey style!

Aren’t the private airlines not earning profit by plying into tier – 2 cities? How many brain cells does it take to understand that a Jamnagar Mumbai flight can also travel further to Bangalore, Trivandrum and Goa and come back the same day to Jamnagar, saving airport parking, keeping the aircraft in air for maximum time and optimum utilisation of million dollar aircraft?

There have been just problems and problems around. Air India's website offers fares lower than what are displayed on MakeMyTrip and other such online travel agents (OTA). Why can't they display the same on all OTAs? Same is the case with Jet. But, look at IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet, the smarter ones now. Their fare on the airline website is the same shown on all OTAs. Half of AI's potential customers do not book because their fares as displayed on OTAs are higher and most will look to book the airline with lowest cost.

And wonder what is youth, military, senior citizens, VIP, politicians and what not quotas are present in their booking system! How can it go profitable if it keeps up with these kind of reservations even in case of bookings?

The biggest beneficiary behind government funding Air India despite the operational inefficiency has to be the great American aircraft maker, Boeing!! Sure, they are smiling!