Thiruvananthapuram: The cash crunch faced by the national carrier, Air India, can be overcome through optimal utilisation the airline's resources, including aircraft and its 40,000 workforce, and by taking steps to increase revenue, according to sources in the airline.
They said that commissioning of AI's Maintenance Overhaul Facility (MRO) at Nagpur, Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram would help save the expenses for maintenance and repair of aircraft, which is presently done overseas. Airlines in the country now operate around 450 aircraft and majority of them are serviced abroad. The MROs, when operational, would be a revenue-earner for AI, they said.
There had been no effort to tap the domestic market despite stiff competition from private and foreign airlines. No attempt was being made to retain the monopoly over ground-handling that AI had enjoyed over the years.
According to them, the aircraft are not being optimally used. While an AI aircraft flies nine hours, Qatar Airways use their aircraft for 17 hours and Lufthansa for 14 hours. The crew scheduling was done manually though software was available.
Air India now operates flights of AI and IA to the same sector, in India and abroad. It has been suggested that just one airline be operated to one sector. Aircraft should be operated on sectors where there is demand and connectivity to all metros from tier-two cities has been suggested.
Uncertainty prevails over the non-payment of salaries of May to the 40,000 odd employees of AI. This is the first time in the recent history that the airline had to defer the payment of salary for such a long time.
29/06/11 S Anil Radhakrishnan/The Hindu
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