As of October, the airline ranked third highest in passenger complaints.
Tata Group is drawing a 100-day plan for Air India which would improve the operational and service standards of the national carrier.
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Issues To Address
The basic aim of the plan is to bring about improvements in basic service standards.
Issues the plan will tackle include its on-time performance and those related to passenger complaints and call centres.
As of October, the airline ranked third highest in passenger complaints.
The number of its flights operating on time were the lowest among carriers in India.
Bringing In Outside Help
An anonymous source has said that Tata Group on its own doesn’t have any aviation expertise despite holding stakes in Vistara and AirAsia India.
In order to build its competitiveness and increase market share in overseas routes, it will have to recruit an expatriate as CEO.
This individual would be ideal to take charge of the airline because of their deep international aviation expertise.
Future Air India CEO?
Expatriate chief executive and former Delta president Fred Reid is a favorite among the shortlisted candidates for the CEO post.
He brings over 35 years of experience in the aviation industry, having worked as president with Lufthansa German Airlines, COO & president of Delta Airlines, CEO of Virgin America, Senior Advisor to the CEO and Co-founder of Airbnb.
He is currently the president of Surf Air Mobility based in California, US.
He is no stranger to the Tata Group, having worked as a resort manager at Taj Group of Hotels between 1974 and 1976.
No Word Yet
Tata Group declined to comment on its plans since the Air India share-purchase transaction is not yet complete.
It successfully bid to acquire the entire stake in Air India from the government through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace Pvt Ltd.
The airline’s transfer from the government to the Group is expected to happen by the third week of January.