Indian Airlines was the unchallenged monopolist of the Indian skies, as the state owned commercial carrier. That was slightly over a decade ago, before the government threw open the skies for private ’’air taxi’’ operators. From the initial ’’air taxi’’ services who were not allowed to publish their service timetables to the present clutch of regular private sector airlines, the public sector IA is faced with tough competition. The weaknesses of IA are coming to the fore as the domestic traveller experiences better services in other carriers. It is very easy to criticize IA for their ineptitude, but one should remember that they still operate under the guidance of a Central Ministry (despite the protestations of autonomy) and therefore to a large extent the government should shoulder the responsibility for the negative image. In this review I have tried to cover the Pros and Cons for IA to highlight their strengths and weaknesses:
Pros:
As on date IA is still the largest carrier and covering the largest number of routes/sectors.
Largest fleet of aircrafts - giving great amount of flexibility to the traveller.
Owing to social obligations as a private sector it operates flights to loss making feeder routes. (The flights in main trunk routes with optimum passenger load cross-subsidize these loss-making routes.)
Good computerized network for booking (not always in fit form!).
Capable flight crew (pilots & co-pilots).
Preferential treatment by the airports authority (For e.g. IA has separate terminals for its flights in Mumbai and Delhi, It is a pity they do not leverage this advantage)
Cheaper fares when compared to some private airlines (this may not be an advantage always)
Good frequent flyer reward scheme (though the entry into the scheme is charged).
An improving service from the ground staff. I was pleasantly surprised, once when a flight assistant called up at my residence to inform about delays (Hope these things continue.).
Cons:
Public sector … indifferent & inefficient image.
Interference from political and government officials where flight schedules go awry and punctuality takes a beating.
Bloated work-force … poor service (often discourteous). Poor quality of personnel may be due to political interference in selection policies, government policy of reservations for various jobs (merit bypassed thereby).
History of being administered by Babus rather than technocrats and professionals.
Still operating old aircrafts (literally gives one the shudders at times!)
Aging in-flight cabin crew. In the high profile industry of hospitality, a young and youthful in-flight crew definitely counts for an efficient image. (There is always an optimum age for various jobs. IA can re-deploy the services of its older air-hostesses and stewards on ground duties.)
There is still no substitute for IA in some sectors and connections. But they need to improve drastically to keep the private sector airlines at bay. Hope they are listening!