‘Focus on making Air India reliable’

There are 18 more months for the merger of the national carrier Indian and Air India to come through. But behind closed doors, the review of integration and planning of the merger working committees is focused on taking competition from private carriers head-on and taking the airline to the international market in an aggressive manner.
“Make the airline a synonym of character and reliability. Whatever you do, this must be your main focus,” said Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to the honchos of Air India in a review meeting on Saturday, sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry said.
The new airlines, with the new brand name Air India (since July 15), that is going to fly international routes, will be more aggressive in image building and will fly on routes that are more profitable.
“There is a definite move to strengthen one-stop flight routes. Hop-over and multiple stop-over flights will be given a go by,” said Maushumi Chakravarty, civil aviation ministry spokesperson.
To get a high-profile frequent international flyer to fly the airline, Patel also emphasised the need to sign a MoU with Star Alliance, the oldest and the largest airline alliance with major programs for partner airlines soon.
18/06/07 Manisha Singhal/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Air India Jun 2007, Indian Jun 2007