Looking Inward

The privatization of airlines in India and the challenges faced by our aviation ministry is often entertaining to read about in our national dailies. Be it the sermons given by the aviation minister or be it the tough stance taken by the airlines worker unions. Private airline companies in India have often exhibited a rare entrepreneural example, and more often than not, the CEOs have bungled in assessing the traffic trends, rupee devaluation and changing customer trends.

I was in discussion with my colleague on this very topic and he insisted me to blog about this, While ‘aviation’ is not my turf – as a business vertical or as an activity – I nevertheless thought of putting down some random thoughts on the aviation frame at large.

1. For Managements: You know that every takeoff is optional. Customers may not agree. But they will agree that every landing is mandatory.

2. For all potential cutomers, you need to emphasize that ‘Flying isn’t dangerous’. You need not stress on the fact that ‘Crashing is what’s dangerous.’

3. In case of technical snags before take off, your communication to waiting customers should have the line: ‘It’s always better to be down here wishing you were up there than being up there wishing you were down here.’

4. For technology freaks who get alarmed by the condition of the propeller fan of the aircraft, they should know that it is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. He sweats when it stops. All he has to do is hold on the altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.

5. Customers should know that all aviation companies are interested in a ‘great’ landing and are not content with a ‘good’ landing. This is beacause, unlike in a ‘good’ landing, a ‘great’ landing is one after which they can use the plane again. However, in case you still experience a ‘bumpy’ landing, they should remain in their seats with seat belts fastened while the Captain taxis what’s left of the airplane to the tarmac! Expect some questions from them like: “Did we land, or were we shot down?”

6. Customers should also know that the airline pilots are very fast learners. They learn from the mistakes of others because they would’nt have been alive if they did all of the mistakes themselves.

7. Customers should beware of all the airline schemes where they ‘award’ additional flights against ‘bonus points’. They should note the fine footprint and ensure that the number of landings they make equal to the number of take-offs they’ve made.

8. Every airline will tell you that their pilots have great judgement besides experience. Great judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the
experience usually comes from bad judgment.

9. Passengers should be informed of their choices in case of a sudden loss of cabin pressure. They should stop screaming, grab the mask, and pull it on their faces. If they have a small child traveling with them, they should secure their mask first before assisting with theirs. If they are traveling with more than one small child, they should pick their favorite.

There would be many more….waiting for your share!

MW

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