AIR INDIA Express COO Cap PP Singh Answers to the Open Letter

by Walter Nandalike Daijiworld.com
Feb 8, 2009
Dear Readers, Cap P. P. Singh, Chief Operating Officer has kindly replied to our open letter dated Jan 20, 2009 on which we addressing various issues faced by the passengers travelling from and to the gulf destinations.
Though his reply does not fully satisfy us, we must appreciate his efforts to listen our problems and his assurances to solve them.
The good news is that , with immediate effect the fares have been modified and the current fare structure looks much more satisfactory when compared to the previous one.
There is at least about 15 -20% advantage on the revised fares ,specially during the peak season. Those who are booking tickets from Dubai to Mangalore for travel in June can avail the price range of AED 1500/- return including tax as against the earlier price of AED 2200/- of last December Season.
The disappointing news is that there is no immediate plan to start the Mangalore - Saudi Arabia destination flights due to technical reasons.
Cap P P Singh has assured us that he will personally supervise the problems addressed by us. Let us hope that his promise will get the money’s worth for Mangalore-bound passengers.
We reproduce Capt PP Singh’s reply herewith.

Date: 06.02.2009
Dear Sir,
At the outset allow us to extend our sincere thanks to the Mangalorean Community for welcoming our airline with open arms and making our flights a huge success. In a short span two-and-a-half years the number of flights per week from Managlore to Gulf have increased from 3 to 18 . Thank you too for your interest and feedback as these serve as a constant guide to us and encourage us to improve our services and satisfy our loyal customers.
Our comments to the complaints are as under:
Our fares, like most other low cost airlines are dynamic, the general trend being that the fares are higher as the number of bookings increases and we move closer to departure date. Even for peak seasons of July, August, December etc, the fares begin at reasonable levels. It is only closer to departure and for the last few seats that the fares are raised to higher levels.
As these attractive fares are the introductory fares offered on first-come-first-serve basis, we urge you to book well in advance and be a little flexible with respect to the dates so as to get the best deal for your trip. It is only when the bookings are made at the last minute for a flight where only 5-10 seats are available, that the passenger ends up paying a premium amount. Our flights for July-August 2009 are already available for sale and you can see the changes in the fares, and we encourage you to take advantage of low fares which are almost at the same level as Calicut.
I am sorry to learn that our ground staff and cabin crew are not behaving in a manner satisfactory to our esteemed customers. You can rest assured that I will personally look into this issue and corrective steps will be taken to ensure that the staff is well-trained, helpful and committed to make your journey more comfortable, both on ground and in the air.
Baggage allowance, unfortunately, has to stay limited because of engineering and operational reasons. The concept of low cost airline, coupled with payload restrictions of the aircraft does not permit us to allow more baggage or waive off excess baggage. This, I may say, is the policy with most airlines across the world û be it low cost carrier or legacy carrier.
Regarding the Ground Handling at Mangalore, we are informing our Manager to talk to the Handling Agent to ensure that satisfactory service is provided. I am sure that you will see the change in the near future.
As you are aware that right from the beginning, we provide complimentary snack box to the passengers. We do not think that it is a good idea to sell food on board. This has been our Company policy. At the request of some passengers, we have introduced hot meal on our flights from Mangalore. I will talk with the Manager once again to talk to the caterers and if hot meal is not appreciated, than we will revert to snack box to be on both the sectors i.e to and from Mangalore. AI Express is not considering operations to Saudi Arabia primarily because of the length of the flight as we have B737-800 aircraft and payload penalty to operate on this long sector will result in flights being uneconomical. However, the Community in Dammam is served on the flights from Bahrain.
Thanking you once again for having given valuable suggestions.
Cap P. P. Singh
Chief Operating Officer