Amazing prices but bad start in terms of schedules, quality of service
I wrote to Air Deccan about this and actually got a reply back!
My mail and the reply are below :
My Mail
Dear Mr. Gopinath,
First, I would like to applaud you for bringing air travel into the reach of the middle class which has been long ignored by all the players in the space. It has been extremely affordable and convenient to use Air Deccan
However, there is some feedback which I would like to give you
Seat Numbers : Please provide seat numbers. It is very difficult for people travelling as family with children or elders to run and catch a flight as if it were a bus (Even buses have seat numbers)
Schedules : Of the last 7 flights that I have travelled, 6 of them were late (1 hr to 3 hrs). People on business trips or interviews just cannot depend on Air Deccan to reach their destinations
Ground Staff : We have been facing lot of problems with rude ground staff at Hyderabad when the flights were delayed. The least one can expect is a patient Air Deccan official present to listen to our issues
Im sure you will take my suggestions / feedback in the right spirit and make improvements where possible
All the best to you and Air Deccan!
Thanks,
Manu Srinivasan
CEOs reply!
Dear Mr Manu Srinivasan,
Greetings from Air Deccan!!!
At the outset we would like to thank you for choosing the smarter option to travel- Air Deccan, India’s first revolutionary low cost airline.
This is with regard to your email dated 27th December 2005. We would like to Thank you for taking the time off to pen down your comments and suggestions. We appreciate the same . Air Deccan with a modest beginning of one aircraft, and one flight has in a years time achieved more than 195 flights, with an inventory of 17 ATR aircrafts and now 05 Airbus 320’s, is pioneering new technologies in airline reservations, simplifying reservation processes, is connecting unconnected towns, offering lowest airline fares all for our vision ’ to enable every Indian to Fly’ ....... your flying with us motivates us to strive and achieve more ..
Air Deccan is based on the model of low cost airlines worldwide wherein our aircrafts are in the air more than they are on ground. As per this mode of functioning we have a ground time of just 20 minutes on the ATR sectors and 30 minutes on the Airbus sectors. Owing to the above, all low cost airlines worldwide follow a free seating system as it is faster to turn around the aircraft on time, with a free seating system. We do have a priority boarding system for the elderly and for other special cases. We have an open seating system on our ATR aircrafts and we are reverting back to the open seating for the airbus sectors as well, to enable us to improve our on- time performance. We do hope the above comes as a reasonable explanation to you.
We regret the unpleasant experience you had, owing to the delay you have faced while traveling with us. Delays are caused owing to operational reasons, technical snags or weather conditions, which are sometimes difficult to determine in advance. As a low cost and low fare business model, the airline at present cannot afford to keep spare aircrafts as stand by for such unforeseen circumstances, as the same would result in driving fares up.
We are pleased to inform you that Mr. Warwick Brady has joined us as our new COO from Ryan Air. Mr. Brady was the Deputy Chief of Operations at Ryan Air, UK’s #1 low cost airline and he was responsible for the 99% on -time performance of the airline. We hope you will see a considerable difference in our services the next time you travel with us.
We apologize for the bad attitude of our staff at the Hyderabad airport. Being in the Airline Service Industry we understand that addressing customer needs is prime and that we cannot compromise on the same. Politeness to the customer is a pre requisite, which we are sorry was compromised. We are in the process of running training programs for our staff and this will definitely result in improved service standards. Let me assure you that your complaint would be addressed very seriously.
At Air Deccan we are working tirelessly at improving and evolving ourselves, learning from our experiences and the feedback of our esteemed passengers. Your feedback would go a long way in channelising our strategies for Air Deccan in the right direction . Air Deccan is your airline, help us make it better every day.
Looking forward to having you fly with us again and wish you a very happy new year ahead.
Thank you
for Air Deccan CEO