Monday, October 27, 2014

The Aggrieved Indian Air Passenger

I read an article recently that said:

"Air Passengers Association of India questions 'non-existent' low fares offered by airlines"


Obviously; this issue must be an outcome of the numerous fare wars that the domestic airlines have fought with each other the last couple of months. APAI's contentions based on consumer (passenger) complaints are quite serious ranging from non-existent seats on the super low fares announced to a near cartelization  between the airlines based on the similarity of offers and validity period of the same. One cannot say if the entry of "AirAsia India" really did create such an impact with a fleet of less than 6 aircrafts for all the domestic airlines (including the loss making ones) to drastically drop fares; or is this a move by them to ensure that such carriers catch a tailwind back home from where they came. But then airlines have never been "Fair" fighters to begin with when it comes to "Fares". 

My minute exposure to the aviation industry via the hospitality industry tells me that the extreme low fares do exist. What the airlines don't advertise are the number of seats available at that price. The Revenue-Yield Management system is set to ensure a hockey stick curve up on fares with every seat per flight sold based on the traffic attracted - and yet the passenger always gets the satisfaction of buying a seat at a 10% - 15% cheaper than the normal expected rate. It is called IMPULSE buying and we all know it that it's the oldest trick in the book applied to sell any product or service and not just airline tickets. Recently on-line shopping sites got into trouble with off line retailers for selling goods at a price point cheaper than the manufacturer's sale price to the market. It's an acceptable gamble for a seller who treats this limited loss as marketing and promotion cost for customer acquisition. Does it bring about loyalty? I doubt it - as the competition has increased drastically and the buyer is now on a constant look out for the best deal. Everything comes at a price and most of these deals come with a list of caveats attached that at most times the consumer is no better off than buying at normal prices. 

On the Cartel bit; everyone knows that there is something called industrial espionage. The idea always is to be a bit and not far better than your competitor keeping room to up the ante as required. So, while it does look like a cartel in operation (which may well be the case); it's quite possible that the war strategy is not as secret as it's supposed to be. 

Despite the contentions; it is thanks to watch dog agencies like APAI and nodal agencies like the DGCA that air passenger in India are still better off as compared to flyers in other often developed nations when it comes to budget and full service carriers. For one getting a free cup of water, free check in baggage allowance, free seating assignment and many such services would not have been possible otherwise. Airlines world over are increasingly inconveniencing passengers in the name of low fares and security and it’s good to have a grievance airing forum. 

What I cannot understand however is that the biggest abuser of passenger rights in India is none other than our own national carrier "Air India" and yet no amount of moaning or groaning by passengers or APAI or DGCA for that matter have any effect on the way the airline operates. It has fallen a lot from the days when it was truly and proudly a “palace in the skies” (yes even economy), with its high service and aircraft maintenance standards to becoming nothing more than a drain on the tax payer offering shoddy service and flying an ill maintained fleet. If the Indian tax payers did some math, the loss the airline incurs in a year would be equal to buying each of them a round trip fare from Mumbai to Delhi at the least. This loss would have been forgiven had the carrier been the epitome of global quality standards making India stand proud of its national carrier; sadly, the airline has one of the worst records where it comes to treatment of passengers – many of them the very ones who fund the airline’s inefficiency. The faster this airline is handed over to a private player the better would this airline’s long term future be. National interest has to rise above politics and bettering this airline’s attitude and profitability would certainly be a part of good governance that our new PM talks about. It has had enough time to perform through patience, several cash and capital infusions made by successive governments at the cost of the tax payers – now it is time that this airline learns to fly profitably or perish. Until the government wakes up to this reality the Indian passenger will have to contend with a bad “free lunch” for an 8 hour delay by this airline as suitable compensation. The days of grief for the Indian passenger are far from over.   APAI may indeed call itself the "Aggrieved Passengers Association of India".


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