It is unusual for a top airline executive to stand at a railway station or a bus stand and observe travel behaviour. Amisha Sethi has been doing just that since taking over as the chief commercial officer of AirAsia India in July. The exercise is part of a plan to attract virgin fliers, as the lowcost carrier prepares to start operations by the end of this year. "Airlines try to build an image about the kind of passengers they fly," says Mittu Chandilya, CEO of AirAsia India, elaborating on the strategy. "We want to break that image."
It will, however, require a lot of hard work. Especially in India, where existing airlines are struggling to make money. A recent report by consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) said local carriers, excluding state-run Air India, were staring at a combined loss of $400 million to $450 million for the July-to-September quarter. The report said that recent discounts on fares by airlines have failed to boost traffic while expenses remained high due to costly fuel and a weakening rupee.
So how will AirAsia buck this trend, keep costs under control and offer the low fares it is famous for? Can Chandilya, a 32-year-old former model and entrepreneur and his young team do it? Some aviation analysts feel AirAsia India - a joint venture of Malaysia's AirAsia Group, India's Tata Group and the Arun Bhatialed Telestra Teleservices - needs more experienced management given the tough domestic market. Sethi, the bubbly and raring-to-go telecom marketer who previously worked with Bharti Airtel and BlackBerry, laughs this off. "You do not need grey hair to make it happen," she says. "You need grey cells."
Read News In Full 12/09/13 Manisha Singhal/Business Today
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