We can create a fundamentally durable long term airline: Vinay Dube

Yes, we expect the AOC by May and we’re planning to start the airline by June. We will get about 18-20 aircraft in the first year. We have an outstanding reception for the first 20 aircraft from lessors. We’ve been heavily oversubscribed for these aircraft. Some have been very supportive, some have not.

No, we haven’t faced any challenges so far.

Pricing is way too dynamic for us to look at a month or two, or three. The last few years have been regulated, so I wouldn’t draw conclusions. The price paid by the customer makes a difference for the airline’s longevity and profitability . 

It never just yields. It has to be a mix of yield and load factor; it doesn’t matter how much you focus on revenue optimization, you cant do that without sacrificing customer satisfaction. Where and how prices will go, we don’t know. If we take care of our customers and employees, and have an efficient cost-structured airline, I think we can create a fundamentally durable long term airline. We are more focussed on our own than on other airlines.

We’re trying to build a service ethos that is like that of Jet . when I was there– the warmth, hospitality and caring. That’s something we are trying to build.

Having said that, you have to marry that with operating efficiency which is as important as customer efficiency, timely performance, quick baggage arrival , and seamless experience with regard to tech.

But the focus is on planning cost structure, the business model and the fundamentals of aviation . Whether you look at South West, Ryan Air, IndiGo– we too will focus on the same factors. . For us, that’s the X-factor. We want an employee centric culture which will be one of our differentiators as well. We think happy and satisfied employees give better customer service and operation efficiency.

We are planning to have a mix of men and women flight attendants. There are some airlines who are only going for women, but that’s not who we are. We will have paternity and maternity leave. The design of our uniform will reflect equality between men and women. We will put comfort first, and our women flight attendants will not be in heels.

We haven’t made that call. The first 20 aircraft will not have those. Beyond that, we will see who will be providing service for the satellite wifi, and how that will change with low orbit satellites from a cost and bandwidth perspective. These are points where we are at a relatively nascent stage in India. 

This is a topic that goes across multiple ministries. If you build it in hope that it will happen, you will add extra weight, spend money too, and not generate revenue for a couple of years. So ya, if you do it later, it will be a little more expensive, but how much do you design for the future versus what you need now.