This is no way to manage AI

Everyone seems happy—the government has promised a few thousand crores, salary cuts will be ‘discussed’ and the Air India executive pilots’ strike is off. But everyone knows that there’s a problem.
Consider, first, that it was executive pilots who went on mass leave. The difference between regular pilots and executive pilots is that the latter are not members of any union. Unionised pilots have been declared as ‘workmen’ by a court order under Workmen’s compensation Act. But it was non-workmen executive pilots who behaved like trade unionists. This is a serious problem for any organisation.
Second, while the civil aviation minister is being seen as an ultimate source of a solution, that’s not really the case. It’s not that the minister declared, rightly, that he is not the minister for Air India. The substantive issue is that AI is managed at one end by management that is “independent” and at the other end by the Cabinet and the GoM (Group of Ministers Committee). The latter have taken all decisions on major issues like purchase of aircraft or merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. If AI is to revive, it’s these entities that have to deliver. Getting them to do so is tough.
The current CMD has everybody’s goodwill. But he is basically working in a place, not quite geared to top management basics.
01/10/09 Sanat Kaul/Financial Express

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Categories: NACIL Oct 2009