AI to staff: Fly cheap, give up privileges

Arvind Jadhav, the newly-appointed Burdened with losses, Air India is making all its employees, from managers to top-rung executives, give up some of the privileges of the past.chairman and managing director, sent an e-mail to the staff asking them to travel economy class, reports Soubhik Mitra.

The bleeding Maharaja’s retinue has switched to flying economy class.

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Burdened with losses, Air India is making all its employees, from managers to top-rung executives, give up some of the privileges of the past.

On Friday, Arvind Jadhav, the newly-appointed Burdened with losses, Air India is making all its employees, from managers to top-rung executives, give up some of the privileges of the past.chairman and managing director, sent an e-mail to the staff asking them to travel economy class.

“We need to tighten our belts,” said Jitendra Bhargav, executive director, corporate communication. “The airline industry is passing through a difficult period.”

About 8,000 of AI’s 31,000 employees were entitled to business and first class travel till the e-mail. “A manager is eligible for business class and a senior manager is eligible for first class travel,” said an employee, requesting anonymity.

Others said the move would enable the airline to save Rs 3 to Rs 4 crore in a year.

The National Aviation Company of India, the holding firm formed after the merger of Air India and domestic carrier Indian Airlines, has nearly doubled its losses for 2008-09 to roughly Rs 4,000 crore from Rs 2,226 crore in 2007-08.

The circular also slashed the amount for furnishing the residences of executive directors and general managers, by half and 25 per cent respectively.

It put a restriction on foreign travel and made prior approval mandatory for trips abroad exceeded four visits in a year.

The consistent drop in flier traffic seems to have made the situation worse as these measures were introduced.