(a) whether the Government are aware that the Indian Airlines is lagging far behind in comparison with other private airlines in terms of professional attitude of the staff, the quality of food items being served, interior furnishings in the planes, punctuality and provision of information regarding flights;
(b) whether the Government have formulated any scheme to remove these shortcomings; and
(c) if so, the details thereof?
THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION ( SHRI SYED SHAHNAWAZ HUSSAIN )
(a), (b) and (c): A statement is laid on the Table of the Sabha.
STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a), (b) AND (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 409 FOR ANSWER ON 12.8.2002 REGARDING IMAGE OF INDIAN AIRLINES
(a), (b) and (c): No, Sir. Indian Airlines is still the most preferred domestic airline in the country. There is a constant endeavour on its part to upgrade and add value to its product and services. Various measures taken/being taken in this direction are as under :-
Training to employees:
Indian Airlines has been focusing on training to its employees who have direct interface with the traveling public. Special Customer Care Service Programmes as well as Refresher Courses are conducted on regular basis where skill development as well as behavioural aspects are stressed with a view to redress passengers’ grievance.
Serving quality food:
Indian Airlines uplifts food from the best available caterers. On stations where such hotels/caterers are not available, the best restaurant/airport restaurant in town is engaged. The caterers of Indian Airlines are same from whom other domestic and international operators uplift their catering items. A system of quality check has been introduced at major base stations by appointing flight kitchen supervisors for keeping a stringent check on quality and preparation of meals, at the premises of the caterers.
Improvement in cabin ambience:
Improvement in cabin ambience has been carried out on all the 11 B-737 aircraft. A schedule has been drawn for cabin interior maintenance for different types of aircraft in the fleet of Indian Airlines.
On Time Performance:
The On Time Performance is monitored on day-to-day basis. The On Time Performance of Indian Airlines during the year 2001-02 was 77.64% as against 59.91% in the year 2000-01. It has further improved to 81.4%. during the 1st Quarter of current year. For 2001-02, in respect of six metros the On-Time Performance is 86%. Time for Baggage Delivery has been reduced. The first baggage is delivered within seven minutes of the arrival of the flight and the last baggage within twenty minutes.
Dissemination of Information:
Indian Airlines has adopted various channels for dissemination of information to passengers. This include information through company’s website, establishing Flight Information Cell with adequate telephone lines, Interactive Voice Response System and Real Time Automatic Passenger Information Dissemination System (RAPID) which informs passengers on the given telephone number about delay beyond three hours.