IA, AI to use two codes till April

New Delhi: The Kingfisher-Deccan combine may have started operating flights on a common code named IT, but Air India and Indian Airlines that integrated last August may continue using two codes, AI and IA, at least for two more quarters. The merged airline, National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), has realized that the passenger booking systems of the two airlines can’t be merged.
"We are now switching over to a brand new, state-of-the-art passenger reservation system that will allow us to operate all flights on the common AI code by next April. The vendor for this has been selected and work has started," Nacil CMD Raghu Menon said.
One reason for the quick transition in Kingfisher-Deccan was that the latter was not on global distribution system while both IA and AI are on GDS. Further, the government’s approval for this transition came only a few months back.
There have been serious doubts that the merger of IA and AI is only in name and this impression is only strengthened by the continuance of IC and AI codes a year after the merger. Menon, however, tried to allay apprehensions over the merger process, saying that HR issues had been more or less sorted out and that synergy benefits were much more than expected.
15/09/08 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Categories: Air India - International Sep 2008, Air India Domestic Sep 2008, NACIL Sep 2008