Air India CMD targets low on time performance

Mumbai: Newly installed chairman and managing director of state-owned Air India, Rohit Nandan, is the proverbial man in a hurry. Two weeks after assuming charge, Nandan has given a 15-day deadline to AI staff to improve the airline's on-time performance (OTP) or face action.

DGCA data reveals that only 71 per cent of Air India flights were on time for the month of June, the lowest among all airlines. While Air India's OTP levels for June are at 70-72 per cent, this compares to Jet Airways' 91.4 per cent and IndiGo and Kingfisher's OTP of 89-90 per cent.

Ina conversation with a business daily Nandan said he was looking towards achieving an OTP of 80 per cent, and that employees could face action if they did not deliver. The OTP target set was 93 per cent, he added.

Nandan has already made it clear at the start of assuming charge that, product improvement, and in-flight service were priority areas.

Air India operates over 400 domestic and international flights every day.

Towards improving OTP, Nandan is looking to resolve the issue of 'block time', which is shorter than those of private airlines. Nandan alleges that most private airlines have higher listed block times.

In April, DGCA found that 70 flights were landing in Mumbai ahead of their scheduled arrival time as the actual flight time was less compared to the block time the airlines submitted in their schedules.