Please note since 2001 Indian civil aviation Ministry allowed foreign carriers to operate to India while Indian carriers were not having equipment, capacity and capability to meet the competition such increase in capacity posed by the foreign carriers. Specific examples are increase in capacity given to Singapore airlines, Cathay Pacific airways without giving equal rights to Indian carriers to operate to Hong Kong/China and Singapore. Though equal capacity was permitted under bilateral agreements, it was known fact that permission to operate by Indian carriers were not given or Indian carriers did not have the equipment to operate increased capacity and meet the competition challenge. A specific instance is increase from 8 to 56 flights per week to Cathay Pacific Airways when Indian carriers were not given the go-ahead until after foreign carriers established themselves exclusively. CBI should investigate the role of GSAs of these airlines, DGCA and civil aviation ministry. If ED check out-flow of money from 1980 they can get to know how these foreign carriers have misused/manupulated MCO facilities.
In many countries, national carriers are owned by governments. However, in the case of Air India, the main question is how to make the staff work? Air India employees have a typical mindset and this airline will find it difficult to survive in a competitive situation. Its share of the domestic market has already fallen to 15%! And no one has taken any routes away from Air India on the domestic market.
Re: Save Air India
by dileep prabhakaran on May 09, 2011 08:07 PM
In other countries government employees work as hard as others.In India do we can expect it from them?
I wish to recall a few facts. Under the shadow of "open sky policy" most profitable routes have been given to foreign carriers - e.g. India Singapore (Singapore airline was allowed big seat capacity increase) when Air India did not have equipment to equally meet the frequency competition. Similarly, a very profitable route India-Hong Kong and onwards to China was given out to Cathay Pacific without giving rights to Indian Carriers to operate those routes. Similarly the profit making India Gulf route also saw heavy increase in the frequencies of newer airlines as new and new airlines were started out from the Gulf. Air India ceased to selling seats on competitor airlines under their quota as prices lower than foreign carriers. For Example, air India has a specific number of seats on SQ flight but the seat was never confirmed by SQ. So, the agreement remained on paper only. Similarly, in 2008 India singed bilateral agreement with Hong Kong and increased Cathay Pacific flight operations to India from 8 to 56 but for next two years Indian carriers were not equipment/allotted right to fly to Hong Kong. While there was agreement on the paper the actual sharing of the capacity remained unachieved. One must ask why did Cathay Pacific was allowed 56 flights and when did Indian carriers started to fly to Hong Kong from India. By giving so many seats increase to Cathay Pacific Indian carriers also lost out on a huge market - China as Cathay Pacific could o
Re: Air India sell out
by Dinesh on May 09, 2011 08:01 PM
In these profitable routs, why IA could not bring down the prices when there was no private operators? Now becoause of private operators, the costs have come down.
Re: Re: Air India sell out
by Tom Dick on May 09, 2011 08:43 PM
Why the price difference? good question. The reason is that AI is government owned and has to get approval from at least a dozen people before a price change can happen. Then they have to answer CAAG who will question them after 5 years why the price was dropped. No, they won't ask, they will just publish AI cost the GOI x amount of money by droping the fare. The MPs will make a hue and cry in the house. Opposition will go for the kill! To make a business decision quickly according to changing business enviornment, AI need private management. So, if AI has to survive, it has to be privatised immediately. Otherwise, tax payers will have to keep on paying. I feel sorry for average Indians who, probably have never gone near a plane, is paying for the debts AI is incurring every year.
Re: Air India sell out
by Prem Mohan on May 09, 2011 07:54 PM
All you are saying is that passengers must suffer because Air India does not have the equipment. Air India has plenty of aircraft now, so why doesn't it start operating on these routes? The fact is that Air India staff have a pathetic work attitude, In Singapore, Air India does not even answer the phone!
It is proved in the world that the private companies only yield and develop the country by providing taxes, employment, services, competetion and reduced prices. Examples are all the developed countries. It is also proved that the PSU's are wealth eating elephants which ask for govt help evey time, poor servises, increased cost, no competetion etc. Examples are all the comunist countries, russia and India.
Disinvestment is not the appropriate answer for helping AIR INDIA, the National Carrier, from the present financial crisis. Many more options exist, but the AI Management is not interested to try out these much practical solutions, while twisting the major issues to someone who is not connected with the running of the AI, Ministers may come and go, but the Management of any such service Organisations like Air India, must be vigilant against the misdeed of Ministers who are assigned to head the Organisation on political considerations. AI Management kept quiet while erstwhile Minister Praful Patel was concentrating on purchase of Aircrafts above the ground level requirement of the same (may be the Minister was interested at that time for some monetary benefits) and also cancelling much profitable routes/sectors, to enable Private Airlines to operate in these routes/sectors, that also, may be on the Minister's personal interest to help these so called Private Airlines, the top bosses of these Airlines are very close friends of Mr Patel. Another reason for the present financial constraints/losses for the Air India is attributable to the undesirable Government's intervention in the functioning of Air India, mainly by extending free travels in the AI flights by Ministers, MPs and other VIPs & VVIPs and also requisitioning the aircrafts for bringing back Indians from Libya, Gulf countries, Minister's entourage to foreign countries in AI chartered aircrafts, free
If we start divesting all PSUs / Govt Owned Companies, question will arise one day may be after 20-30 years from now do we require a government??? This kind of trend shows that after 20-30 years the richest man or most powerful man in India will become Prime Minister and Govt will be run by some private company. This Govt has given all the profit making routes either to their foreign counterparts or to compnies like kingfisher /Jet Airways. CBI / Any authentic agency needs to check this aspect. Mr Prafulla Patel is doing something fishy.
Re: Why all Govt companies need to divested???
by Dinesh on May 09, 2011 07:38 PM
Mr abhishek, dont talk like a foolish educated person. Do you know, all the developed countries have minimum PSU's. Are these countries run by the private companies? Communist mentality is age old theory which do not work at present.
Re: dsfd
by Prem Mohan on May 09, 2011 07:43 PM
Air India may have made a profit because it had monopoly on certain routes to the Middle East. However, passengers always had a hard time with Air India. The horror stories are legion!
First of the their logo should be changed, because the current logo is encouraging their staff to become lazy. Hence, this great co. is getting worsened day by day.
