01 June,2011 07:17 AM IST | | Bipin Kumar Singh
National carrier has asked for aircraft on lease for certain routes at a cost of a few lakhs per hour despite withdrawing existing services from some of those very routes citing off-peak season
AIR India, whose management has been accused of pushing it into a debt spiral by taking a series of wrong decisions, seems to be failing to learn from its mistakes.
Two documents in MiD DAY's possession point to a major contradiction in the airline's decision making process.
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Air India's former MD has also accused the management of 'complete mismanagement' and of making a mess of the once-successful airline
While on the one hand, the national carrier has decided to discontinue, combine or reschedule 28 services a day on certain routes between June and September citing the lack of demand, on the other, it has issued a tender asking for aircraft on lease to meet 'urgent operational requirements' on some of these very routes and to introduce new ones.
Senior pilots of the airline say discontinuing services on these routes both domestic and international will have an adverse impact on the airline's revenues and it has enough aircraft to meet its requirements without having to get them on lease at Rs 3.5-10 lakh per hour.
Summer schedule
The first document, the new summer schedule of Air India, clearly states that nearly 28 services a day on sectors like Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Hyderabad will either be withdrawn or combined with other flights.
When this reporter asked an Air India spokesperson about this, he said, "This is a regular practice and Air India does it every year. The period between June and September is not peak season and so the flights are withdrawn or rescheduled. We are a business institution and all the decisions are taken keeping the profitability of Air India in mind."
Asked whether the decision was taken because of being placed in the cash-and-carry category by oil companies because of unpaid dues ('Maharaja turns pauper', MiD DAY, May 28), the spokesperson said, "No, it has nothing to do with the problems related to the oil companies."
Surprisingly, the current schedule also states that operations in the Gulf Sector, for which June-September is peak season, will also be curtailed. Delhi-Dubai, which saw 14 flight movements per week, will now have only seven. The Sharjah flight from Mumbai has also been withdrawn and is being combined with a different flight.
Tender details
The second document (TENDER NO: EY/WETLEASE/2011/01, which has May 12 as the last date for submission of bids) calls for aircraft on wet lease (with crew) from private companies to meet 'urgent operational requirements' on certain routes and to start new ones.
Most of the routes Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Kolkata, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Hyderabad mentioned in the tender are the same ones from which Air India has decided to withdraw services.
"The airline has sufficient pilots, cabin crew and aircraft for existing routes and to start new routes. There is no point of hiring aircraft on wet lease at Rs 5-10 lakh per hour, especially since the airline has withdrawn services from them.
According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, our aircraft and pilots are under utilised," said a senior pilot from the airline, on condition of anonymity.
"Currently, the average utilisation of aircraft is nine hours a day and most pilots fly for not more than 50 hours a month, which can easily be taken up to 13 and 90 hours respectively as," he added.
The letter of agreement between striking pilots from the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association and the Air India management, signed on May 6, also reads, 'The management of the airline shall take immediate measures to enhance daily utilisation of the aircraft and working hours (of pilots)'.
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Speaking to MiD DAY on the day the strike was called off, Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi had said, "We have asked the Air India management to increase the utilisation of aircraft and working hours of pilots."
The Air India spokesperson refused to comment on this issue.
Former MD's Take
Captain D S Mathur, former Managing Director of Air India, said, "There is no doubt that there has been complete mismanagement, which has led to the once-successful airline becoming a complete mess. I believe that both the government and the airline's management have failed to handle the current situation well."
"Air India is full of talented people but one must know how to use them. I think this is one of the aspects where the management has failed to deliver. The management must remember that cutting services results in a drop in revenues, which is not good for the airline," he added.
Number game
Air India employs more than 42,000 people, including 4,400 crew members and 2,000 pilots, and has a fleet of more than 100 aircraft
Hiring a Boeing 747 or 777 on wet lease normally costs between Rs 5 and 10 lakh per hour. The cost is Rs 3.5-7 lakh for the Airbus 320 and 330
The losses incurred by the national carrier have crossed the Rs 40,000 crore mark. Rs 13,500 crore out of this was incurred since the airline's merger with Indian Airlines in 2007
The Other Side
When MiD DAY contacted Air India's CMD, Arvind Jadhav, yesterday he said he would be free to talk after some time but could not be reached after that despite repeated attempts.
