DON’T JUDGE THE PERFORMANCE OF AIR INDIA IN TRANSITION
MODERATING
CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS
The post-COVID recovery of air travel, both domestic and international have seen a very rapid
increase in passenger load. Air India/IA had long ceased to be the front runner
in the domestic segment owing to the prevailing competitive environment. Having
virtually run it aground, the Govt took a wise decision to privatize the airline.
Given that Air India on privatization was prevailed upon to retain the
personnel for one year, no apparent changes can be expected to the services
provided to the customer as a whole until the new dispensation kicks in.
Ergo, the option to consider flying Air India becomes viable
in the international sector, especially for the non-stop run to various
locations in the USA. Very few agents would provide guidance on the best fares
as also the services provided to passengers. Having opted to fly Air India from
Delhi to Newark and back which included the domestic segment from Mumbai to
Delhi too, my observations on Ground staff, Aircrew, and Lounge facilities are
contained in the succeeding paragraphs. The sole intent is to assist those
passengers not aware of the interim challenges of privatizing a public-sector,
loss-making enterprise and its repercussions on providing quality services in
the short term.
Ground
staff
When compared
to the leading domestic agencies such as Indigo, and Vistara,
it becomes apparent that the training of the Air India staff needs to be made
stringent to improve passenger handling across the board. Let me start with the
uniform, which perse plays an important role in enhancing their deportment and
poise. I have no doubt that the new management is aware of the lack of
sartorial elegance and less than acceptable communication skills among the
lower segment of the ground staff. The customer/passenger is expected to receive
undivided attention at all times. At the Business class check-in counter, it is
disconcerting to see hordes of Air India pilots discussing the availability of jump
seats or spare seats at the cost of according priority to the full fare paying customers.
Changes in basic information inputs such as address at the destination in the
USA being a recent addition, tend to hold up the smooth transaction for
checking in.
The most jarring ground staff behavior was noticed at
the departure gate from Delhi to Newark. The duty staff trickle in even as the
passengers arrive well before departure. Young male employees with rough edges hang
around the counter waiting to practice pre-departure announcements. It is here
that their lack of skills begins to be exposed. The arrival of the more seasoned
ground staff results in loud chatting on the latest gossip on turf war related
to the professionalization of the airline. Meanwhile, the announcement about the
final preboarding screening of hand baggage may help the passengers to line up
once again, but that can wait. The head honcho arrives just in time and decides
that the fitted chairs in which exhausted passengers are seated need to be uprooted and shifted to provide space for lining up the passengers. It is a
comedy act except that they were recruited not as comedians. Why was I, a
business class passenger watching this scene much before departure? It is
because the Air India lounge had turned into a sauna. More of it later.
As soon as the last screening of hand baggage was completed
and a final queue formed, I witnessed a most unusual sight. Two young employees
equipped with handheld weighing machines started to randomly weigh the handbags.
Needless to say, they found excess weights amounting to a payment of up to Rs 26000
in some cases as excess baggage. The modalities of payment were not clear and
even worse I could not observe whether deals were struck with emotionally
charged “culprits.” The employees were no different from traffic cops cornering
offenders. So Chaotic was the scene that with a business ticket in hand I was
being moved from queue to queue when a perfectly regal gate was available for
direct embarkation of Business and First-class passengers. Quite clearly the
recruitment of ground staff was not based on meritocracy but perhaps nepotism.
Lounge Facilities
Given the waiting time
at each of the Airports for connecting flights, which run into many hours, one
expects reasonable facilities. In Mumbai, the Adani Lounge is being shared by
Air India. It turned out to be more than satisfactory in all respects. Heavenly,
in this instance, as I was to discover in Delhi.
The transfer facilities from domestic to International
in Delhi being an airport-run facility needs a separate discussion beyond the
scope of this article. In brief, after a grueling walkathon and long queues for
immigration and the prospect of waiting for five hours, one is tempted to head
straight to the Business class Air India lounge hoping for a tuck-in and a bit
of shut-eye. The charming ground
hostess at the desk does not consider it necessary to warn unsuspecting
passengers that they are about to enter a “Sauna”. In a few minutes, one begins
to realize that the ambient temperature in the rest of the airport was more
than comfortable. The prospect of getting slowly roasted for six hours drives one
back to the shopping zone or the boarding gate. A Hobson’s choice. When asked
about the air-conditioning there is a standard response that it is under
maintenance. A bit of prodding reveals that numerous complaints have been made
by passengers and that a princely sum had just been expended on repairs! This
is how a Govt employee would respond. Attitudinal changes would take longer
based on fresh induction and sacking of the dead wood.
Ten days later when I returned, the lounge continued
to be in the same state of disrepair.
The Cabin Crew
Among my generation of senior citizens, whilst in
service, we often traveled Business class and later in the First class. The
service was remarkably good even when the Airline was sinking deeper into debt.
And so it was as expected-courteous to a fault and ever attendant. However, the
lady staff were at least two notches below in performance. They looked ill-attired and exhausted as compared to the male pursers. I found purser Udupa to
be one of the best. So, what was deficient? The aircraft that fly the extended
route of 13 to 15 hours are the old ones of the 2008 vintage. The dream liner is
reserved for esoteric sectors in the USA. What is the penalty? A large number
of flight entertainment systems are non-operational. Even the graphical
presentation of the aircraft position was not available to most. Thanks to laptops
and notebooks loaded with movies passengers do not appear to demand inflight
entertainment. That they are not available should be a cause for concern to the
airline.
More importantly, the reclining seat turned bed has
two versions depending on the vintage of the aircraft. Age has caught up with
the mechanical system leading to unsatisfactory performance of the very system
that passengers have paid for. That the cabin crew quite used to it continue to
cheerfully perform their duties is noteworthy.
Finally, the pilots who are unseen and sometimes
unheard too came right within my zone of observation on this occasion during
my last leg of the domestic segment from Delhi to Mumbai. A large number of
them who had completed their international flights rushed into business class
as is their entitlement. I was perhaps the only ticket holder returning home. Their
loud banter was all about why the roster for flying was skewed and what or who
needs to set them right. Some dirty linen was being washed quite non- chalantly.
A Passenger’s Perspective
Quite clearly the demand particularly in Sep/Oct is
rather high. High enough for passengers to pay a heavy price for non-existing facilities.
Was it a coincidence that no foreign passengers were sighted in the fully
booked business class and first-class zone? But to convince them that a turnaround
is possible in the near term, the management may wish to communicate the
reorganization/modernization plans to retain their faith in a privatized airline.
Well-meaning passengers are soon likely to choose other airliners until there
is plausible evidence of change in the near future. As one who followed the
negotiations prior to the takeover, I would not be off the mark to expect real
international standards of assets, human resources, and infrastructure to be in
place earlier than 2026. I am sure wizards are working hard to change the most
visible shortcomings even as midterm efforts bear fruit.
It would give us great pleasure when the Maharaja finally
regains his reputation and poise and the members of the crew are attired in appropriate
uniforms and once again gracefully rule the skies.
