India’s Airlines or ‘all airs’ Industry?

 

Airlines Industry in India requires a major policy overhaul. The origin and history says it all : airlines companies are started but often close down unceremoniously and airlines mergers lead to bankruptcy declaration.

Many names have scaled the skies ever since the ‘open skies’ policy took shape. Household names like Modiluft, Damania,Paramount,EastWest,Deccan,Jet,GoAir,Sahara,Kingfisher,Vistara and still operational ones like Air India, Indigo, Akasa have a common tale as well as different planes of managerial decision-making styles.

 

To cut a long story short, Air India has been looted by corrupt babudom before it was eventually bought by Tata group of industries and it is common knowledge that it is bleeding badly on the grand old Maharaja mascot carrier. WHY AREN’T THE GOVERNMENT AS WELL MANDARINS OF POWER NOT WAKING UP TO THE SHARP TRUTH OF IT ALL – that the Government of India ought to only buy and give the aircraft fleets on wet lease to airlines companies. The Government ought not to be in the business of aviation. Indian Airlines, Vayudoot and Air India have been unforgettable case studies. In the result, costs of tickets will come down as soft loans for government would entail cheaper interest rates as co.pared with a private entity.

 

It is not too late for the incumbent Government to take note of this considered fact and change course of airlines policy. In national interest.  

 

Yet another noteworthy aspect is that until and unless India starts manufacturing both aeroplanes as well as spare parts with indigenous technology besides utilising only Desi insurance companies( thereby distancing overseas mafiaso like cartels and western insurance compliances, this industry will but be an elephant in the room,so to speak. We posess the technology and the human resources needed to undertake this all-important turnaround measure. What is required is a nod from the Supreme authorities ,viz,President of India and the Prime Minister of India.

 

Otherwise,the moles invisible to public but well entrenched in the Civil Aviation department would continue to toe line of foreign masters thereby continuing to act detrimental to best interests of our country.

 

Business model restructuring is the order of the day.

Instances of faulty Boeing engines in entire fleet of a airlines company Andis being is swindling via loans amounting to criminal offence of money laundering by another well known airlines company are eye openers. But, the establishment and administration in corridors of power continue to turn a Nelson’s eye to the deliberate off-course path our airlines industry is being pushed into by ignorant politician class acting in cahoots with a corrupt bureaucracy. India has to set up world class MRO (maintenance, repair,operation) aviation centres in atlrast three zones. There are many other solid solutions to help desi aviation sector achieve a leapfrog growth curve in the space of seven years of any such changes,as suggested in this essay.

 

Coming to the unending woes of the travelling public, the first and foremost remedial measure which the Government ought to take is putting a cap on fare for domestic travel. In the age of online booking,digital payments and unbridled abuse of licence to operate airways companies, the public are being looted via unchecked ticket pricing. No Minister or Union Cabinet thus far appears to gave moral courage to tell the airlines companies that a fare rate be fixed on distance travelled (as do auto rickshaws, trains and buses,the other modes of transport); hence,mindless extortion of air passengers under garb of seasonal demand should be ended by fixing upper cap for fare in case of travel within the territory of India.

 

By following the above prescription for healthy development of the airlines industry as a ‘good governance measure’ will but help improve the quality of air travel in India. JAI HIND.