MESSAGE FROM CMD > DATED 4th JULY 2014 Dear Colleagues, I feel proud to inform you that Air India has become the first Airlines of India to become a member of Star Alliance – the largest and most prestigious Alliance of Airlines which has Lufthansa, United, Singapore, ANA, Thai, Turkey and twenty other Airlines of the world as its members. The Chief Executives Board at its meeting in London on 23.06.2014 unanimously endorsed Air India’s membership of Star. We shall be formally joining the Alliance on the 11th of July, 2014 when representatives of all the 26 other Airlines and CEO of Star Alliance shall join us in our moment of pride and joy. This momentous event is a landmark in the history of Air India. It marks the rebirth of Brand Air India on the world stage. You are aware that Air India for many years was recognized as one of the best Airlines of the world in 50s, 60s and 70s. Our entry into Star provides us a platform to again rise like the legendary phoenix and dazzle the world with our hospitality, service and quality. It is time to remind the world again of Indian capability of excellence. While admitting Air India in Star, the Star leadership referred to us as the New Air India. After close scrutiny of our operational, functional and financial performances for nearly 18 months, Star acknowledged that the new Air India has left much of its negative baggage and history of recent years behind. They have expressed confidence in the stability of our current performance which has shown improvement in every sphere an hence found us suitable to be placed at par with best Airlines of the world. I would like to congratulate every Air Indian for his/her contribution during the last three years to change the fate of the airline and make this great achievement possible. Today, Air India is a strong fighting team, not dissipating its energies in internal conflicts, but united as one, to face the competition which becomes fiercer with time. I commend you for the loyalty that each one of you has displayed for the Company and sacrifices that you have made to make the Company strong and vibrant. This is your achievement and I salute each one of you. Many of you have asked this question as to what Star means to Air India. In simple terms, it signifies the follow 4 things to Air India : Prestige of being a member of the largest and most powerful Airlines’ Alliance in the world (Star has 25% share of world aviation traffic) Additional feeds, especially in the premium classes, leading to improved occupancy and higher revenues. Expansion of network. Air India gets plugged into the 1300 destinations that Star Members fly to. At present, Air India flies to only 37 international destinations. Benefits of joint and common procurement at major hubs that will lead to drastic reduction in costs. For the passengers, Star would mean the following : Seamless connectivity to 1300 destinations on 27 Airlines world over. Star Alliance member fly to 195 Airports in the world thus opening the world to India. Opportunity of burning FFP awards on other 26 Airlines. Service of more than 1000 lounges all over the globe. World class service offering which will take their flying experience to a new height. For India too, this is a tremendous honor, as one of its publicly owned entities joins the most popular and reputed international Alliance of Airlines. It also opens huge inbound tourism opportunity in terms of passengers from 1300 destinations to seamlessly travel to India. It must, however, be remembered by each one of us that while our entry in Star is a landmark achievement, it is poses a challenge for Air Indians as never before. All successes bring with them a huge burden of responsibilities. While our entry marks a successful completion of one journey, it signifies the beginning of a new one, with greater passenger expectations and hopes. We shall now not only be responsible and accountable to our own management and ownership but also to a larger of comity of partners and millions of international passengers who are accustomed to the highest standards of airline services and who would expect nothing less than the best. We would now be tested every day, every minute, every moment. This is where the challenge lies. Every Air Indian has to now rise to a new level of service. We have now to gear up to provide our clients and patrons a new experience that will make him see a visible difference between Air India of old and the new Air India which joints Star on 11.07.2014. Our patrons would now expect clockwork precision, on-the-dot punctuality, exceptional courtesy at all points of contact, be it call center or counter or transfer desk. They would expect a smile and greeting while being checked-in. They would expect efficiency and friendliness from our staff. They would like our staff to be smartly dressed and properly groomed. They would expect sparkling planes, clean toilets, better inflight services marked by briskness and courtesy. They would expect international standards of food and beverage service and an efficient delivery of baggage with hassle-free transfer if he is connecting on another flight. And of course, he would expect to see Indian hospitality at its best in every interaction with us. He would not appreciate being confronted with any bureaucratic rigidity. Underlying all these would be their expectations of safety, Air India has been the safest of Airlines with the best trained Pilots and Engineers. We need to not only continue with this glorious tradition but to improve it further. Friends, I want to thank you all for all your efforts to give a new lease. of life to Air India. I feel proud to head this organization which has been nurtured by your sweat, blood and loyalty. Let us all brace ourselves up for the new journey ahead. Air India will be what the person at the cutting edge makes it – every tele-caller, every check-in staff, every Cabin Crew, every Pilot, every Engineer, every check-in manager, every airport manager will now represent Air India which is a member of a prestigious Alliance. People will forget the CMD and senior managers whom they might never see but will always remember you all as the face of Air India. Let the smile on your lips, the fire in your heart, the gleam in your eyes and the warmth in your touch be the memory that every passenger carries about this glorious Airline. This and this alone will make Air India the Star of Star Alliance. Let that be our aspiration, our dream and the new anthem of Air India. Rohit Nandan
Posted on: Fri, 04 Jul 2014 11:41:54 +0000
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