Indian and Air India to Merge

Wasn't it just yesterday that I wrote that the need of the hour of the Indian Airlines Industry is consolidation. Quickly.

The Indian govt. has also okayed the merger of Indian (Airlines) and Air India to create a behemoth.

The stage is set for the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India. An empowered group of ministers on Wednesday cleared the proposal to create a single national carrier — a move first mooted more than 20 years ago for providing muscle to the public-sector carriers to take on private and international airlines. The merger, expected to be completed over the next three months, will create an entity with a fleet of around 120 aircraft. As new planes join the fleet, some existing ones are phased out and those on lease returned, the carrier will have over 125 new-generation aircraft by 2010.

What I really like about the proposal is that some existing aircrafts wil be phased out.. Badly needed! And please please, enforce an age limit on the flying staffs. I am not discriminating, but that is what the customers want.

Kingfisher Airlines, Jet Airways and Indian!

Earlier My favorite Airlines used to be travel by Air Sahara. Air Sahara has a very warm ambience, or so it used to be. But combined with its internal troubles, and the industry in general, it would be a difficult comeback for Sahara now. Any other time, ie in absense of the price undercutting in the industry, any good marketing guy could have turned it around (Hush Hush about the financials). And Air Hostesses at Air Sahara Still had that old charm, untill stewards ran them over..


So now, about the only airlines left are Jet Airways, Indian and Kingfisher Airlines, and if you book at the right time, the economy fares offered by these airlines are not very different from that offered by the so called budget airlines. Of the three, Jet airways is clearly the market leader, with good service and a percieved brand Value. I have had only good service from Jet except for the fact that the Air hostesses are relatively rude. Rudeness Factor is clearly a parameter that Jet Airways consider when recruiting Flight Attendents. I long the golden days of Air travel when Air Hostesses were no less than Super Models, and some even marrying into Industrial Houses and with Actors.

Indian, is not coping well with the sudden opening up of the skies. The over aged Air Hostesess and Flight Stewards, and their fake smile have become an eyesore at best. And if you happen to fly by Alliance Air, god help you. Other the service quality and the rest, it is the ricketty condition of the Aircrafts that is most disheartening. In fact a weak hearted might have a heart Attack. The other day I came back by Indian Airlines, and the plane was giving out a VERY strange Noise.. It was indeed scary to be listening to sounds when you on board an aircraft, and the aircraft is about to take. I asked the Air Hostess who politely told me that it was the baggage handling system, and I was calmed. And the flight took off well.

It was when we landed in the Delhi, and the plane was taxiing, ie, the baggage handling system was no where close to the aircraft, and we just touched ground when that Creaky sound came again. I promised myself that it was an Airlines that I should avoid.

Only about the best thing Indian Airlines is that if you have extra baggage, it is the only airlines that allows 30 Kilos for domestic travel. But that creaky sound was too much a price to pay for a few extra baggage huh!

In another Indian Arlines flight, the toilet was dirty, and add to it, some fellow passenger had dropped Chewing Gum Wrappers and a small empty water bottle in the sink. Of course, I have photographs of the same..that I took with my Camera phone.

Kingfisher is however is an exception.
Service quality relatively much better.
Umm.. Air Hostesses attractively dressed. And well recruited.
I mean, take out the air hostesses, and there is no fun left in travelling :)
Inflight entertainment, which will pay for itself with inflight promotions..

I expected it to be nothing more than a Huge flying bill board , and a Massive surrogate advertising campaign for Kingfisher Beer. But, with the whole industry in troubled waters, Kingfishers might come out a clear winner. At least they would be selling more beer even if the airlines run into losses. And it will hold out longer than any other Airlines in the case of a price war going out of hand...

Fly the Good times.

Will The Indian Airlines Industry Bleed to Recession?

Ummmm!!! Those days, not the early days of the Internet, when I wasn't too used to reading off the Computer Screen, and when I took out printouts if an email was too long( stories from Desi Fantasy too at times shhh!!).. Those days were before RSS became popular, and Dave Winer was busy figuring a way out to bring RSS to the public. And my daily dose of reading included Fortune, Time, Businessweek, and all Indian Magazines.. Now I read so many many feeds in so less time, I don't even know what I am reading, and my habit of copying Intelligent Bloggers' OPML lists keeps my feed list grow at a pace I can't seem to control, or monitor..

Oh, and there was no delicious nor Digg, so I couldn't bookmark that article. Or perhaps I read that at several places.. Something about the American Airlines Industry.. In a few years, severe undercutting by competitors, had bled the US Airlines Industry all the profits that the Industry had earned since the Inception of Air Travel....

It, would be faster for the Indian Airlines Industry, I am presuming, unless something is done real quick. Things like fuel prices, regulations etc are out of their control, but things that are in control, the Industry leaders must control..

Looks like the customers have never had it so good though..
Or do they?

Low prices notwithstanding, the service quality today are comparable to some state owned transport corporation.
Long queues, Delays, Rescheduling (WTF.. I had booked a ticket on monday morning so that I can reach office on time, but they rescheduled it... one day in advance, and it wasn't even a no-frill Airlines... I reached office at 2 PM) and hostile cabin crews..

With near full occupancy, and costs squeezed wherever possible, Budget airlines can't make the tickets any cheaper, and there is no sign of a profit in sight. I am not the "perfect customer for cheap airlines" but I have promised myself never to travel by a Budget Airlines, and I have met many people who swears the same.. Perhaps we are not part of that target market... Are the seats Cramped at Air Deccan?

The airlines are bleeding, and service quality is becoming worse.. Add to it the Airport woes... There was joke today on times of india, about someone who has earned extra miles for hovering over delhi skies waiting for permission to land.. The point is, how long can they bleed?

The only Airlines that sem to be doing exceedingly well is Kingfisher. I am not sure if Mallya is even looking at a Profit.. His Aircrafts are Giant Hoarding for his BEER brands, All the passengers are exposed to the Kingfisher Brand for the whole duration of the flight, and with no remote control to switch to another brand... And The airlines commercials are the Biggest Surrogate marketing Campaign in the History of Surrogate Advertising...

When the rest of the Airlines bleed to bankcruptcy, Cases and Cases of beers are being sold.. It won't be long when Mallya buys out Virgin :)

As for the rest, they should look at consolidation quickly, before the government intervenes. After all INDIAN is also at stake.