REASON FOR BAD EXPERIENCE

Yes 29%

No 71%

Ques11. Which is the most Preferred Domestic Airlines in terms of service?

The most preferred Domestic airline in term of service is Sahara

airlines followed by the Air Deccan and then the Indian airlines, with jet airways and Go Air taking last two spots in the competition.

Jet Airways 19% Indian 21% Sahara Airlines 30% Go Air 7% Air Deccan 23%

RECCOMENDATIONS

The research study and the analysis of the various aspects tapped lead to the following recommendation:

1) With the oncoming of the Private Airlines on the country the customer awareness and aspiration of quality of service has been enhanced considerably. So all the airlines should emphasis on providing more efficient services both on the ground and in the air as done by Jet Airways to a large extent.

2) The check-in time should be minimal. Wherever there is likely to be long que more counters should be opened.

3) The facility of valet services as introduced by Sahara Airlines should be adopted by all airlines and it should be extended to all classes.

4) Tele reservation and computerized check-in procedure should mandatory for all airlines.

5) The process of ticketing and cancellation should be made more easily, smooth and as flawless as possible as most of the respondent were not happy with the present ticketing procedure.

6) Delayed flight, which is a very painful experience for the travelers, should be attended to as top priority because the main clientage is businessmen and they are time bound.

7) There is a need to improve the quality of in-flight comfort especially for the economy class by way of seat pitch, legroom, quality and choice of food.

8) The aspect of check-in procedure, which the traveler found most cumbersome, was elaborate baggage check-in procedure.

9) In case the baggage got loss there should be computerized baggage detection system as the most preferred service as the travelers get irritated with baggage (lost) handling facilities and do want extra attention to paid to this aspect of the service.

CONCLUSION

The healthy competition of domestic airlines has set new trends in the quality of service. In the monopolistic environment of Indian Airlines the quality and the desire to win over the constraints was totally dismal. With the oncoming of Jet Airways and Sahara Airlines there is sea change in the quality of service and the pride of the job.

It is a matter of great significance that the airlines staffs now care about the passenger comfort and take pains to see that the flight is on time. The service of Sahara Airlines is the hallmark of their quality of service.

Effects of Recent changes Air Fares set to dip:

It’s rush hour in the Indian skies. But this is making everyone associated with the aviation industry, from the government to the airline operator and finally to the traveler grinning.

While the government is under the glory of opening-up the skies and increasing air connectivity both within the country and outside world- the operators are raising a toast over the rapidly increasing number of air passengers.

Air Fares-with the advance purchase (APEX) schemes- are already at a record low and if airlines are to be believed, the coming few months will see domestic ticket prices dropping by another 30-40% and, a host of new no frills and low-cost carriers will lead this second wave of fare cuts- nine at last count-waiting for take-off this summer.

Official statistics reveal that air travel in India since the introduction of APEX fares, has seen an over 20% jump year-on-year and scope for the growth, government officials say, is immense.

With a host of new airlines starting operations this year with promises to drop airfares, the number of passengers in India is expected to grow to 50 Million in 5 years. The global success of this low-fare model is now creating huge new investment opportunities in airline startups and restructuring older airlines.

While the scenario might seem similar to the early 1990s-when a host of entrepreneurs rushed-in to set up aviation ventures that folded up at an equally fast pace- analysts are confident that the industry is today more resilient.

Global Touch and Look for Airports:

The UPA Government with Airport Authority of India has been busy these days for mega plans to transform the airport infrastructure across the country.

Rs. 3000 crores has been earmarked for the short-term upgradation of the non-metro airports alone. In addition, around Rs 20,000 crore is

expected to invest in modernizing the infrastructure and the facilities at the Delhi and Mumbai airports.

The government is close to finalizing its joint venture partners for developing the two metro airports of Delhi and Mumbai. Steps have also been initiated to upgrade the facilities- both city-side and airside at 25 non-metro airports.

The upgrades do not cover just runway extensions and navigation aids. The focus is on having user-friendly airports and terminals that provide a pleasant and clean ambience. The new concept for upcoming terminal buildings, the official adds, include features such as structured steel with toughened glass glazing and walkways.

The other facilities being planned include in-line baggage screening for check-in, escalators, improved parking in the city-side for passengers, and a common user terminal system that will enable passengers to check-in from any counter.

Besides using both the private and public sector enterprises, the government is now planning to get air travelers to also pay for development of new Greenfield airports across India.

Railways losing out to Aviation:

If airlines slash fare drastically, Rajdhani’s most loyal passengers mostly consist of middle-class, upper-middle-class individuals, politicians and not corporate clients (who are more pressed for the time and less price sensitive) increase in the number of airline service

operators has given way to dramatic price cuts giving birth to APEX fare tickets enabling the common man start traveling by air. It can also safely be said that the cash-rich but short-on-time J (Club) class passengers are confirmed aircraft users.

That leaves the more price sensitive ACI and ACII class travelers of Rajdhani trains who are more likely to switch their loyalty to air travel. But once again, the airlines will have to cut their price down dramatically as the Rajdhani Vs Air Travel story could be summed up as a low fares Vs less Time battle. While Apex fares make air travel affordable and comparable to Rajdhani fares, such tickets are limited in number and not readily available.

Agents may stop Air India ticket sale:

Over 2000 travel agents across the country threatened to suspend the sale of Air India tickets to protest the national flag carrier’s decision to cut agent commission from 7% to 5%.

This is evident that these commercial agents for the aviation industry in India generate Rs 20,000 cr of revenues

High Fuel Costs:

Airlines in the domestic sector have blamed the high cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) and the high sales tax on fuel ranging from 4% to 32%. Recently the government has reduced ATF for turboprop aircraft to 4% of declared goods category under the central sales tax act, 1956

and exempted from Inland Air Travel Tax (IATT) operations in the north-east, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep.

With this tax exemption it is privileges for the low profile airlines by bringing turboprop plane like ATR-42 and ATR-72, which is very economic to operate.

Fuel Costs of Rs. 32,250 per kilolitre of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) during April 2005, compared to Rs. 27,250 last month. The ATF rate for April is close to November’s all time of high of Rs. 33,600 per kilolitre. It is expected that the first casualty would be the heavily discounted fares offered by the LCA (low cost airlines).

Regions get thicker

This is another problem in front of all airlines. India’s metro-routes that are the air corridors connecting the five metros are getting ‘thicker’. This means more and more connections everyday. Five airlines today fly about 64 flights between Mumbai and Delhi everyday. The number of flights has increased to 40% after the operation of two airlines Kingfisher and spice jet. Future growth has to come from point-to-point flights connecting the non-metro airports will also make thicker. The region like Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Kochi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Pune and Lucknow will be crowded in coming years.