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THE CONTEXT

Image source:
http://home.airindia.in

Air India was founded in 1932 by J. R. D. Tata


and at that time, it was called Tata Airlines. A
trained pilot, Tata is aptly known as the Father
of Civil Aviation in India. The first flight of the
airlines carrying airmail was flown by Tata
himself from Karachi to Mumbai. Tata Airlines
was made a public limited company in 1946
and rechristened as Air India.

After Indias independence in 1947, the government acquired 49%


stake in the airlines with an option to purchase 2% more at a later
date. Air India was designated as the national carrier and was allowed
to fly internationally. In 1953, the government exercised its option to
buy 2% more stake and thus, became the majority shareholder of Air
India. The Air Corporations Act nationalised the whole of air
transportation in India at this time and all the domestic airlines were
merged with Indian Airlines to ply on domestic routes.
Air India started getting symbolised with its unique
caricature called the Maharajah (meaning the
King of Kings) since 1946. It represents the
warmth, comfort and cosiness that one expects in
an emperors abode. Indeed, Air India represented
luxury in the air till the time new-generation
airlines were born in India.
Image source:
http://home.airindia.in

The monopoly of Air India and Indian Airlines was broken in 1994, when
Jet Airways was granted the scheduled airline status after having
operated as an air taxi operator since 1992. The next few years
witnessed the mushrooming entry and growth of several new airlines in
India, including Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan (later acquired by
Kingfisher Airlines), Sahara Airlines (eventually taken over by Jet
Airways), SpiceJet, Indigo, GoAir, Paramount, and so on. Things have
gone down for both the national carriers since then. In February 2011,
Air India and Indian Airlines were finally merged to form National
Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) under the Air India brand
name.
Frequent strikes by employees has literally crippled operations and
tarnished the reputation of Air India severely. Action against
All rights reserved by Dr. Kanishka Bedi, 2015

overweight air hostesses has often resulted in litigation. On one


occasion in 2008, both the pilots fell asleep during an Air India flight,
resulting in the plane going beyond the final destination of Mumbai by
about 200 miles, before the air traffic controllers sounded special
alarms in the aircraft to wake them up.
In 2010, similar laxity on part of a pilot
resulted in a tragic accident in Mangalore
with 158 persons dead, when the aircraft
could not be landed properly on the
tabletop airstrip. Several incidents of
impoliteness and unprofessional conduct
have been reported in the recent times,
which have further worsened the sagging
fortunes of the airline.
Image source:
http://im.rediff.com

Incidents have been reported from other parts of the world, where Air
India has lacked professionalism in managing its global operations. In
July 2012, an Air India flight from Delhi to Shanghai entered into a
major turbulence in the air when several of its passengers were
injured. Instead of landing the plane at a nearby airport for allowing
medical treatment to the passengers, the pilot decided to take the
plane all the way to Shanghai without reporting about this incident to
the concerned officials. In March 2013, just after landing an Air India
plane damaged the rudder of a JetBlue aircraft taxing towards the
runway at the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
The Indian government has bailed out Air India several times in the
past and the latest fund infusion is no surprise. It is dj vu for the
airline, as its pilot's strike in May 2012 resulted in hardships for the
stranded passengers on airports nationally as well as internationally.

THE TASK
Considering the current reputation of the airlines, the Civil Aviation
Minister of India, Mr. Ajit Singh is exploring BPM projects to address
some of the issues above. He is open to the advice of outside
consultants, particularly in relation to the people phase of BPM
implementation.

GUIDE TO THE TASK


All rights reserved by Dr. Kanishka Bedi, 2015

After suitable deliberations with your teammates, you consult your


course notes, the textbook and eLibrary to plan your presentation on
following lines:

Identify specific BPM projects that Air India should undertake to


address the issues faced by it currently.

Critically examine if the people phase would be crucial for the


successful implementation of the BPM projects identified above.

Analyse if process breakdowns are common in Air India due to


being a public sector organization and the associated mind-set of
its people (employees).

All rights reserved by Dr. Kanishka Bedi, 2015

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