FACE THE CHALLENGE AS A COHESIVE TEAM : SHAHNAWAZ EXHORTS AIR-INDIA

Mr. Syed Shahnawaz Hussain, Minister for Civil Aviation, had a meaningful interaction with the Departmental Heads and Trade Unions of Air-India during his maiden visit to the Air-India Headquarters in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 16, 2001.

Addressing Departmental Heads, Mr. Hussain stated that it was a matter of immense satisfaction that the drop in Air-India’s traffic had been only 5-6 per cent as against the 20-30 per cent decline experienced by other major international carriers following the September 11 terrorist attack in USA. He said the Management must remain vigilant as the situation could worsen for the aviation industry in the coming months. Expressing appreciation at the decision on downsizing offline offices, he said the Management should be proactive in identifying areas where expenditure could be curtailed rather than await directives from him or the Ministry. It may be recalled that Air-India had last week decided on closing 20 and downsizing 10 offline offices to prune manpower by 142 and save Rs.21 crores annually. He said the challenge confronting the Civil Aviation industry as a fallout of the terrorist attack can be faced by Air-India only if the employees work as a cohesive team.

Mr. Hussain also said that in view of the falling loads and curtailment of some flights, Air-India should deploy its capacity for Haj movement in January 2002 without resorting to leasing aircraft.

He evinced keen interest in the decision of airlines operating in India to curtail the travel agents commission from 9 to 7 per cent which would help Air-India save Rs.15 crores. He also asked the Management to expedite the introduction of e-ticketing and set the target for its launch as January 1, 2002. The Minister was apprised of steps taken, and being taken, to meet the challenge posed by falling passenger loads due to factors beyond the Management’s control.

Later, in his meeting with the Unions, Associations and Guilds of Air-India, Mr. Hussain emphasised the need for running Air-India professionally so that the National Carrier can compete with other international airlines. This, he said, was imperative considering that Air-India operates globally in a highly competitive environment. He said he would welcome suggestions from the Unions for improving Air-India’s performance and indicated that it would be his endeavour to meet the Unions at least once in three months.

The Unions raised various issues during the meeting, including the one relating to the recently imposed tax liability on free passages to which airline employees have been entitled to. The Unions sought his intervention in taking up the matter with the Ministry of Finance for relief.

The Air-India Aircraft Engineers’ Association (AIAEA) and the Air-India Employees’ Guild (AIEG) said that the resources available within the Company should be used for Strut modification on Boeing aircraft. On an assurance from the Unions that no financial compensation would be demanded for this job, the Minister asked the Management to ensure that the same was done in-house instead of sending the aircraft abroad. On a suggestion from the Air-India Cabin Crew Association, Mr Hussain suggested that a Safety Awareness Week and a Safety Workshop be held by the Company so that safety measures required for making air travel safer could be evolved and introduced.