Tug of war over ground handling policy

The new ground handling policy is gaining traction among airlines. Indian carriers are fazed and are already lobbying to extend the date at which the policy comes into effect.
Although the logic behind the policy is that ground handling by foreign companies will bring Indian airports at par with global standards and also reduce the cost for airlines, not everyone (read airlines) is ready to buy the view. “One expects the cost to drop, but outsourcing has not reduced costs for us at the Bangalore and Hyderabad airports.
In such a scenario, self-handling seems to be a better option,” says Samyukth Sridharan, COO, SpiceJet.
Adds a Kingfisher-Deccan entity official, “Foreign ventures will definitely bring in some international expertise and may de-clutter the air side a bit but as witnessed at BIAL, they do not necessarily have the understanding of the Indian market and conditions, especially from labour, infrastructure and other operational issues perspective that are unique to India.”
The airlines feel it will also dilute their brand. “On the ramp side (where the passenger interface is not there), it makes sense to outsource ground handling owing to security reasons. But where one needs to interact with the passengers, airlines will want to do the ground handling on their own to differentiate from other carriers,” says Sridharan. But on the ramp side too, some airlines think they will lose the opportunity to flaunt their brand.
08/06/08 Vishakha Talreja/Economic Times

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Airports Jun 2008