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rutvij · Last edited by rutvij on Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:46 pm; edited 2 times in total

Slightly Lengthy....pardon me.

Letter from the JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE (JAC) to AI Employees.

01 Aug, 08

Dear Friends,

It is recalled that the CMD met the NACIL Unions for the first time on 4th July 2008 where he gave his assessment of the situation in the Company. We had reserved our comments then. After deliberations on those issues in the JAC meeting, our views were formulated and circulated vide our circular dated 17 July 08. We have pleasure in informing you that our first interaction with the CMD took place yesterday wherein we gave an exhaustive presentation which is reproduced hereunder in brief for the information of all.

Our presentation focused on three critical areas of concern which required detailed analysis relating to the present and touches upon our future existence. They are Policy Issues, Management's Role on ~evenues and Costs and the Employees Role.

1. Policy Issues are hurting us very badly on many counts.

Additional Seat Capacity given to foreign Carriers as "gratis" has caused damages to Air India to the tune of several hundred crores of rupees. In four years between 2003 and 2007, the Ministry of Civil . Aviation gave 8 Lakhs additional seats to foreign carriers thereby marginalizing our national airlines share to 18 % in the home market while all governments in the world are protecting their country's airlines share at 45-50%. On the domestic front reckless licensing of airlines created so much overcapacity that it has caused huge losses.

Merger and Integration process has been misused by vested interests to create conflict, clashes and discrimination by a lobby in the top management to fulfill their vested interests. The role of M/ s Accenture, the consultants appointed by the government has further aggravated and disturbed this scenario. Their projections of a 1200 crores advantage in the first year of amalgamation has instead left us poorer by 2400 crores.

2. Management's Role on Revenues plays a crucial role in today's circumstances.

We have stated that the management's approach should not be to cutting wages and PLI as proposed by the Director Personnel, instead it should concentrate on improving revenues and eliminating wasteful expenditures.

For revenue generation the commercial department has to be brought back to its rightful frontline position in the revival plan and all the rich talent and experience available in-house has to be ltilutilized. Instead they are facing disparity, rejection and discrimination today. Problems of conflict in Sales Structure, lack of Co-ordinated Sales Policy, upgradation of our product and passenger interface and failure of our marketing instruments like Automated Revenue Management System, Hub and Spoke, and FFP required a fresh look and urgent attention.

Examples were cited as to how our product was lnade inferior by not maintaining schedule integrity. The Outsourcing and Joint Ventures lack cost benefit to the company and is depleting our revenues rapidly, threatening our existence.

3. On Costs, it is unfortunate that the senior management personnel do not serve by example.

A large number show no signs of urgency, anxiety or concern for a hemorrhaging company. Their only concern appears to be to protect their own position and perquisites. The idea of exercising economy is not even on their radar screens. JAC cited examples which could save upto Rs.1650 crores annually without hurting anybody. There are hundreds such suggestions pending with us from the frontline employees of all departments which are unattended. Hence it was imperative that a High Power Cost Committee must come into existence' with mandate to take cognizance of employees suggestions with a monthly audit.

4. Employees Role: The rank and file employees' morale is thus shattered with confusion, fear, discrimination prevalent all around.

Unions are systematically sidelined and rebel and unauthorized groups are given encouragement while the recognized unions are systematically ignored and sidelined. Every employee is seriously concerned and willing to extent full co-operation however, the infighting within the Executive Cadre prevents them from utilizing this co-operation to the advantage of the company. As a result employees issues are not being resolved and things have reached a boiling point.

JAC thus communicated the following expectations from the management on urgent basis.

1. Decision to Open markets to/from India must come under scanner and reconsideration / review immediately.

2. Conflicts in Integration process should be frozen for at least two years being the turnaround time.

3. CMD must give top priority to resolving sales and marketing and other issues of the Commercial Dept.

4. Create an effective "institution" for coordinating Airport services

5. Review passenger interface and marketing instruments.

6. Formation of a High Powered Cost Control Committee.

7. Comprehensive policy on Fuel Management.

8. Review Outsourcing / Joint Ventures.

9. Policy on dealing with recognized unions to be defined.

For JOINT ACTION COMMITTEE of All Trade Unions of Air India.

JAC was reportedly constituted to look into why AI was suffering so Huge Losses...and comprised of AI's 4 main Unions' Heads....viz the Unions of Air India Pilots, Engineers, Officers and the rest Employees.

_____________________________________________________________

Special Thanks to my Source.....

rutvij · Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2008 11:31 pm Post subject:

Now, who Faultered???

-----MoCA/PP : By giving away too many routes to Foreign Carriers???
-----PP : By Merging AI/IA??
-----Gov. of India : By not appointing a Professional Head for AI/NACIL??
-----Management: For the Lack of Management.
-----MoCA: By Opening up Interior Points in India to Foreign Carriers / Creating Overcapacity on the Domestic Front.
-----VJM/Gopinath: Ordering Hundreds of Aircrafts......as if the Boom was here to stay.

4-5 Yrs is what it took for this thing to Happen. Breaking Even has become even more Difficult.

karatecatman · Guest

Merger should have been thought out more carefully. A holding company model would have been ideal instead of the current mess.

Interestingly, Accenture (also consultant for Kingfisher) had pushed hard for this model, but the MoCA decided otherwise for reasons best known to it.

Nimish

Spiderguy252

HAWK21M · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 1:14 pm Post subject:

Interesting Article.
The Biggest problem post merger is getting the Employees to work together.
regds
MEL
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Think of the Brighter side !!!

con spirito · Member Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 577 Location: Inflight

I donno what makes me feel so but i think raghu menon is much better than thulsi. Atleast he doesnt speak nonsense the way thulsi used to speak. All the best to AI!
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India is one of the richest countries in the world.
The only problem is........all the wealth is distributed in the wrong hands.

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

rhumbline · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 443

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

rhumbline · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 443

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

(Nimish deleted some text as a part of this thread clean up)

rhumbline · Member Joined: 28 Sep 2007 Posts: 443

(Nimish deleted some text as a part of this thread clean up)
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Learning is not compulsory. Neither is survival

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

(Nimish deleted some text as a part of this thread clean up)

Nimish · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject:

Ojas - please refrain from personal attacks. I've had to delete the latter part of this thread since it was totally off topic and only personal attacks.
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We miss you Nalini!

Nimish · Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2008 8:19 pm Post subject:

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

AI/IC need no inducement to work unprofessionally. Professionalism (other than the few cabin crew one encounters who do their best in a rather hopeless situation) is an alien concept. I've dealt with the clowns in their Washington DC and New York offices, and let me tell you that those people are beyond useless. They have no clue or concept of the airline business, of the US market, of the competition, of customer service. They're barely capable of working as GOI clerks rushing cups of tea to their bosses. It's just mindboggling.

If anything, Gulf carriers may have helped ensure that Indian private carriers be denied flying rights to the Gulf as long as possible. They know fully well that AI is incapable of making a dent in their operations, but that 9W and IT would give them a run for their money.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Jaysit wrote:
"I've dealt with the clowns in their Washington DC and New York offices, and let me tell you that those people are beyond useless.''

Sanjay, I've pleasantly had the other experience at the AI Washington DC office
in 2005. Mrs. Denaz Patel and Mr. Abraham - were very nice, courteous, and
quite efficient. I was pleasantly shocked!
Cheers, Sumantra.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Oh, I'm sure that Mr. Kutty and Mrs Varsha make Mr. Abraham look like Singapore Airlines cabin staff.

As I said before, if AI treat its Business Class passengers on its stiffly competitive US routes this poorly, I can only imagine how badly they must treat their Kerala-Gulf passengers where for years the competition has been minimal. But the point here wasn't that Mr. Abraham was rude or nasty (as I'm sure the Kutty-Varsha combo was). He was an incompetent zombie. It was hard to tell if he had some cognitive disease (for which his actions could be forgiven), orjust stupid, lazy, and incompetent.

Anyways, enough of Mr. Abraham. I hope I never have to deal with him again.

stealthpilot · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB

Apart from the conspiracy theories of 9W and IT bribing the MoCa to allow them access to the Middle East- it's long overdue.
AI/IC had a monopoly for eons and did absolutely nothing. Now that the private carriers will make them sweat some ppl throw a fit?
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eP007

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

AI apparently cancelled 2 BOM-HKG flights this week, with no explanation. They didn't even bother informing the affected passengers (well, at least the one I know wasn't informed) of the cancellation.

AI might swing between hopeless and sublime onboard, once the doors are closed, depending on the stars and the sun and the moon. But on the ground they're downright scary in all aspects from Nariman Point down to Sahar Airport and everything in between.

It is a wonder that, despite such incredible incompetence and cluelessness (starting all the way at the top) that their planes manage to take off and land without serious incident.

Seriously, this airline just needs to die. Will someone pull the damn plug already?

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Jaysit wrote:
``Well, perhaps my complaints may have made a difference. Mr. Abraham
has to be the most disgraceful, incompetent buffoon I've had the joy
of meeting. Made me run up and down to their DC office half a dozen
times for changing a flight''

Hi Sanjay, I'm sorry to hear that it was this Mr. Jacob Abraham who was
responsible for all your distress which you had written about, in a post
some time back, before your parents took the non-stop.
My experience was as follows:
I had booked a paper ticket which had me to take a Continental flight
from DCA to EWR, and from there, take AI144 EWR-CDG-BOM. Two weeks
before I was supposed to set out, I found that Continental had changed
its schedules. When I rang up Continental to find out about my case,
I was informed that they had put me on a flight which would make my
connection at EWR a bit tight. I was aghast, and requested them to
change the booking - I was told quite rudely that it would not be
possible. It was then that I figured out about the AI office in
Washington DC, and I went there. I met Mrs. Denaz Patel there -
she was nice and courteous. She said that since I had a paper
ticket, they would have to deal with Continental, and have it
adjusted. She told me that it would be no problem having the
booking changed to suit my convenience. She had the change
done on the system right in front of me, and said that the
change on the paper ticket would take two days. If the
Continental people raised a problem, she said that she would
have a new paper ticket issued to me.
She also promised that I would not have to come again to
ask about the ticket, and that it would be sent by post to
my office address in College Park.
She told me that Mr. Jacob Abraham would look into the matter
at the earliest, since she would be on leave. I spoke to
Mr. Abraham, and I told him that I did not trust US Posts much,
and that they/Continental had earlier misplaced a boarding
pass I had sent them for an earlier flight. Mr. Abraham promised
me that he would send it by Fedex, instead, to reach me before
lunch time two days later. Mrs. Patel also gave me a
complimentary Air India signature pen, and a lovely AI mouse pad.

When I was outside the office, I thought that I had done the
unthinkable - now, I did not even have my ticket. What if they
misplaced by ticket itself? I had my fingers crossed.
And much to my joy, I found a packet from Air India in my
mailbox in the late morning on the designated day, just
as Mrs. Denaz Patel and Mr. Jacob Abraham had promised.

For the six years I spent in Mumbai, I got to deal with some
very nice people in the Flying Returns division at
Nariman Point, and the ticketing officials, too. Since I am
taking names, I especially found Ms. Pallavi and Ms. Kanta
to be very nice, in the Flying Returns office. My last 1.5
years in Delhi involved a few trips to the Safdarjung airport
office - I have found cheerful, helpful and efficient people.

Maybe I have been quite lucky with these people, unlike many
people on this forum. In the air, I have had some unpleasant
people (Aunties and Uncles), but the number of pleasant
people I have seen certainly outnumber these obnoxious ones.
Maybe I have been lucky, again!

Cheers, Sumantra.