Nehru's grandchildren

Vayalar Ravi, the new minister for civil aviation, declared on assuming office that his priority would be “to improve the services on Air India and to make it a profitable airline”. He allayed the fears of Air India employees’ unions about a wage freeze and re-deployment to the airline’s subsidiaries. For good measure, he added that he would look into the de-registration of two of the airline’s 14 unions.
Mr Ravi’s predecessor, Praful Patel, had declared that he was the minister for civil aviation, not the minister for Air India. His critics would charge that he was actually the minister against Air India, given how the airline was destroyed on his watch. Indeed, Capt Gopinath of the erstwhile Deccan Aviation once charged that Mr Patel was the minister for Jet Airways — drawing a sharp riposte from the minister. Irrespective of whom you believe, there were sounds of relief from Air India when Mr Patel was moved out. The problem, though, is that the country once again seems to have a minister for Air India, more than a minister for civil aviation.
It so happens that Air India is now only the fourth-largest airline in the country. It is in danger of becoming the fifth largest, because SpiceJet too may overtake it. So the “national carrier” is no longer a critical factor in the market. In any case, reviving it is the job of the airline management. Trade union recognition, wage bills and staff deployment are all within the management’s purview — with due clearance from the airline’s board, which includes government nominees.
Besides, how exactly would a minister improve Air India’s services? Everyone knows that Air India cannot be salvaged if it does not cut costs and attract more passengers. But if the minister signals that he is on the side of the unions on key staff issues, he reduces the management’s scope of action as well as the likelihood of better service. The prospects for the airline are already dim; Mr Ravi, with all the goodwill that he has for Air India, has just made its future bleaker.
22/01/11 TN Ninan/Business Standard

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Categories: Air India Jan 2011, Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2011