A year after being a part of the international Star Alliance, which operate more than 18,500 daily departures and serves 193 countries around the globe, there are many who are not satisfied with what Air India has to offer — at least going by the tweets of passengers.
Take the case of Aravind Ganesh V who tweeted: “when compared to the kind of on board service other members of Star Alliance are offering Air India is a disgrace to the alliance” or MarC R F Delhem who tweeted: “customer service is either unknown or a blacklisted word with Air India. This is so not Star Alliance like.”
Consumers, though a significant focus area for any airline, are not the only ones who have problems with AI. At a recent conference, Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer of Star Alliance, praised the progress made by AI as a part of Star Alliance but said, “Many – not yet all – of the people in Air India have understood what it means to be a player in the global aviation arena.”
However, there is little denying that AI still remains the only Indian carrier to be part of a global airline alliance.
In AI’s case this is no mean achievement as it won membership to the international club after years of trying. In September 2002, British Airways’ CEO, Rod Eddington met the then Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and discussed the possibility of Air India joining oneworld, an alliance of which British Airways is a member. A short while later, Skyteam invited Air India to join its alliance. The then Chairman of Air India, K Roy Paul was invited to Paris to meet with the Skyteam alliance members. But all these initiatives died a natural death.
29/07/15 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
Take the case of Aravind Ganesh V who tweeted: “when compared to the kind of on board service other members of Star Alliance are offering Air India is a disgrace to the alliance” or MarC R F Delhem who tweeted: “customer service is either unknown or a blacklisted word with Air India. This is so not Star Alliance like.”
Consumers, though a significant focus area for any airline, are not the only ones who have problems with AI. At a recent conference, Mark Schwab, Chief Executive Officer of Star Alliance, praised the progress made by AI as a part of Star Alliance but said, “Many – not yet all – of the people in Air India have understood what it means to be a player in the global aviation arena.”
However, there is little denying that AI still remains the only Indian carrier to be part of a global airline alliance.
In AI’s case this is no mean achievement as it won membership to the international club after years of trying. In September 2002, British Airways’ CEO, Rod Eddington met the then Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain and discussed the possibility of Air India joining oneworld, an alliance of which British Airways is a member. A short while later, Skyteam invited Air India to join its alliance. The then Chairman of Air India, K Roy Paul was invited to Paris to meet with the Skyteam alliance members. But all these initiatives died a natural death.
29/07/15 Ashwini Phadnis/Business Line
