The very fact that Air India is no longer the ‘Maharajah’ speaks volumes about its present condition. Over the last decade, a series of events and decisions of the top leadership of the once prestigious national (international) carrier has resulted in its virtual grounding. The author, Jitender Bhargava, having spent over two decades with the airline, connected with both its communications and HR, including as its Executive Director, considers this book as his duty by the nation — to tell people from a ring-side view of what went wrong and how.
What began as a private airline, launched by no less than charismatic Indian industrialist J.R.D. Tata, became a national carrier, flying to different international destinations. Subsequently, at late Jawaharlal Nehru’s request, the government took over the airline, but left it to Tata and his professional managers to look after the operations. When Indian Airlines, another government-owned national carrier to take care of domestic operations, was born, the comparisons between the two became obvious and visible.
It was with the seeping in of what is called ‘public sector culture’ in Air India that things really started taking a nosedive. Just because it was government-owned, it became a virtual extension of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and that remains the main major reason for Air India being unable to take off again.
09/12/13 V Jayanth/The Hindu
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What began as a private airline, launched by no less than charismatic Indian industrialist J.R.D. Tata, became a national carrier, flying to different international destinations. Subsequently, at late Jawaharlal Nehru’s request, the government took over the airline, but left it to Tata and his professional managers to look after the operations. When Indian Airlines, another government-owned national carrier to take care of domestic operations, was born, the comparisons between the two became obvious and visible.
It was with the seeping in of what is called ‘public sector culture’ in Air India that things really started taking a nosedive. Just because it was government-owned, it became a virtual extension of the Union Civil Aviation Ministry and that remains the main major reason for Air India being unable to take off again.
09/12/13 V Jayanth/The Hindu
