Air India winning over flying public

CHICAGO: With one of the most state-of-the-art aircraft – Boeing 777 -flying non stop from Chicago to New Delhi and improved customer friendly schedules with easy connectivity to all major destinations in India, the national Indian airline, Air India, seems to be winning over not only Indian travelers but also quite a number of non-Indians too, according to travel industry sources.
Mafat Patel, a leading Indian travel business executive, said that the factors that are contributing to a relatively high level of patronage for Air India is the food that is served during the flight taking into consideration the religious preferences and the customer friendly staff. “My company, Air Tours markets not only Air India but many other airlines too that fly between India and Chicago, and I could say with impunity that we have the least number of complaints about Air India,” he said.
Sharing the view expressed by Mafat Patel, Dial Gidwany, yet another veteran of travel business said that Indian authorities seem determined to march strides with other countries in offering all possible facilities and accessibility at international airports. “The new Terminal 3 at New Delhi is reflective of this determination. It can be described as a state-of-the-art international standard airport. Easily among best even at the global level,” he observed. Gidwany heads Intra World Travel and said that he would prefer flying Air India all the time and has no regret asserting that.
According to Air India sources, the number of senior citizens flying with the airliner has gone up and so also the number of non-ethnic Indian passengers. The occupancy rate has also gone up. The direct non-stop flight between Chicago and New Delhi with easy connections to go to other cities has proved very helpful. The schedule is changed in such a way that it takes into consideration the customers’ convenience. For instance, passengers with ultimate destination to Mumbai would reach there by evening after a halt of couple of hours in New Delhi. The same would apply to other destinations.
Gidwany, who had earlier worked for Air India, said that he was happy to notice a change for better in dealing with the customers at all levels, especially here and in New York, as he feels that this is the only way to survive the prevalent severe competition among major airliners. The surge in fuel prices has upped the air fares and globally bad economy deters frequent flyers, especially at the corporate level. “Unless customers get Maharaja treatment, they would switch loyalty. I am happy that the Air India culture is more customer-friendly now than ever before,” he added.
Surendra Ullal

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