The Hindu Business Line : Budget express in the air

Offering quality service at affordable rates will be Air-India Express' USP, the country's first international budget airline, which is all set to take off on its maiden flight.

APRIL 2005 will go down as a watershed month in the annals of the Indian commercial aviation sector. The newspapers have been full of information about this sector.

The Minister concerned seems to be in overdrive and the customer should thank her stars that finally there is someone who can push this monolith into action.

The air traffic between India and West Asia has been heavy for quite some time now. Our industrious friends from Kerala and the opportunities available in the Gulf countries have ensured this. Yet, the now familiar sight of waiting list counters being mobbed at airports could soon be a thing of the past.

Not just that, the opening up of the skies could mean that the hard-working travellers would have newer, more comfortable aircraft flying them up and down at rates they could never imagine even a year ago. Airlines too, could benefit from the slew of initiatives being rolled out.

Air-India

First, I must write about an airline I have loved and flown often. I might have written some not-so-flattering things about it, but it is more on account of the anguish I feel at times than anything else.

Air-India has been and will be, for some time at least, the face of the Indian civil aviation industry. Partly because of all the time it has been around and partly because of its very name. People will always associate India with Air-India and therefore the airline has a more onerous responsibility than the other Indian flag carriers.

On April 29, India's first international budget airline, Air-India Express, will take to the skies and carry around 181 passengers from Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi, and with that a little bit of aviation and marketing history will be written. This will be the country's first brush with actively marketing a budget airline in India and abroad.

For Air-India, this is an all-new experience. A venture where it is investing in new Boeing 737-800 aircraft, new aircraft maintenance engineers, new cabin crew and pilots who will all handle services on aircraft that have not previously been a part of their fleet.

The airline seems to be leaving nothing to chance. The National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi, has been commissioned to design the uniforms of the cabin crew. The idea seems to be to ensure a totally separate and new experience for the passengers of this new airline. And rightly so. The trick will be to establish a distinctive identity for the new baby, make sure it is contemporary and still ensure it does not dilute the equity of the parent which will hopefully regain its place as a premium airline at some time.

Mudra (the advertising agency) has played a role in designing the exterior livery of the spanking new aircraft and the results are pretty impressive. The tail of each aircraft is gaily painted with a camel, an elephant and so on. The rendering is very ethnic-chic, and the Indian look is seen throughout. The logo and name of the airline is bold and clear across a major portion of the aircraft. And from a design perspective, the aircraft will bear a distinctive look, differentiating them from most other aircraft standing on a crowded international tarmac.

Yet, no one buys a ticket on an airline because of the way its aircraft look, and Air-India is aware of this. This Air-India Express is offering dynamic Web-based fares at 20-50 per cent lower than prevailing market fares. And that will be the big USP. Advertising will no doubt highlight this factor.

Keeping with its Indian hospitality orientation, this budget airline will provide a snack box free on board the flight. I thought it was a very civil thing to do. You pay for everything else.

Keeping in mind the fact that initially Air-India Express will fly from five Indian destinations to four West Asian destinations, the relatively short flying time will really not make the absence of frills very conspicuous. In the months to come, the airline intends winging its way to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta, apart from adding to its Gulf destinations.

Tech-savvy passengers can log on to www.airindiaexpress.in, check schedules, use their credit card and get going. The more conservative passengers can book tickets through Air-India's offices or travel agents but will have to pay a service fee of Rs 125 per sector.

What does this mean for the customer? Newer aircraft, dedicated design for interiors, exteriors and uniforms. Lower rates and hopefully functionally qualitative service, which essentially translates into on-time performance.

As I often say, on a short haul flight all I want is to be transported from point A to point B safely, politely and on time. Air-India Express has its job cut out for itself. I wish it well.

On a lighter note, I am sure that the VVIPs will not hijack the aircraft of Air-India Express for their official trips, as they do of Air-India, throwing schedules out of gear. They have got used to flying in jumbos, not 737-800s.

Jet

Travellers on Jet Airways flights on April 14 were pleasantly surprised to be treated to a nice bar of chocolate specially packaged and branded to announce Jet Airways' inaugural flight to Singapore. A sweet touch indeed. And the quality of the chocolate was good. Thank you.

(The writer is Head, Canco Advertising.)

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