“I Don’t Know Why Profitable Routes Were Abandoned, Fresh Look Needed”

Union civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi has had his plate full since he took office earlier this year. His primary brief—nursing the sick national carrier, Air India, back to health—has seen him fire-fighting financial problems, strike-threatening unions and planning the big turnaround. In an interview to Amba Batra Bakshi and Chandrani Banerjee, Vayalar talks about his vision for the national carrier. Excerpts:

What are some of the corrective measures that need to be taken to nurse Air India back to its lost reputation and health?

Air India has had a name among customers in India and abroad and we need to lift the profile of the airline again. And for doing that, we need to improve its credibility.

In the last 4-5 years, the airline has given up some 30-odd profitable routes. Are you looking at reintroducing these?

Yes, a fresh look needs to be given to Air India’s routes. This will be done without harming private airlines. I don’t know why the profitable routes were abandoned. Most of them were flights to the Gulf region.

Are you confident of getting additional financial assistance from the government?

No, the government isn’t going to pump in money. We have to prove that changes are being made. The GoM thinks everything has been done very lavishly. It’s not what I think, but we have to take steps to reduce expenditure.

What measures are being taken to utilise the budget properly for Air India’s revival?

Air India’s in a difficult financial situation. An enhanced budget allocation was made and then, keeping the PMO in the loop, a plan was laid out about two years ago. Then there was a GoM constituted to look into the finer points. The GoM submitted a turnaround plan. Its main point was to see a reduction in the number of workers. We have 41,000 workers.

The merger between Air India and Indian Airlines has not gone according to script. Do you feel the merger was not necessary since it has brought greater financial losses with it?

It is not for me to do a post-mortem. It is my job to build the institution. We are working to make the merger go well. A lot of issues need to be addressed, from pay parity to old aircraft.

Is disinvestment an option for generating funds?

No, disinvestment is not an option.

What are some of the other changes up your sleeve?

I feel we need to now focus on decentralised recruitment, as most of this is done in Delhi or Mumbai. This is not reflective of a national carrier and we have been getting complaints from other parts of the country that we should be recruiting from there too. So we have begun an exercise to reach out to people all across the country.

There has been a change of guard at the top management level of Air India. Do you feel this was necessary and what were the reasons for this?

It was proving very expensive to keep them in those posts.