AIASL’s ‘service lapses’ irk Air India, could scout for ‘alternatives’

Tata Group-owned Air India has flagged issues over flight delays and poor buyer expertise with its floor dealing with service supplier AI Airport Services Ltd (AIASL). In a letter to AIASL’s dad or mum firm AI Asset Holding Ltd (AIAHL), Air India famous that the bottom dealing with firm’s providers “have continued to deteriorate progressively” and that it’s trying to discover different preparations at airports.

AIASL was a subsidiary of Air India, previous to the latter’s disinvestment this yr. AIASL gives floor dealing with at most airports in India barring Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mangalore, and Thiruvananthapuram.

“While we are working towards exponentially improving our customer experience, AIASL is unable to match the requisite pace of change and we continue to face several challenges at the airports managed by AIASL as ground handling services provider for Air India,” Air India’s head–prospects expertise & floor dealing with operations

Rajesh Dogra wrote within the letter to AIAHL CMD Vikram Dev Dutt.

Dutt didn’t reply to messages searching for touch upon this growth.

Among its issues with AIASL, Air India listed elevated floor dealing with delays, perennial scarcity of manpower, discourteous behaviour with prospects, baggage mishandling and many others. It additionally identified that the share of Air India flights getting delayed has elevated progressively from 1.8 per cent in January (when Air India was handed over to the Tata Group) to 11.9 per cent in May. These major delays, the airline mentioned, additionally resulted in subsequent flights to be operated on the identical plane getting delayed.

“The service lapses including manpower shortages extend to the terminal as well as ramp operations impacting the check-in/boarding, baggage handling processes almost on a daily basis. We are getting large number of escalations across all channels highlighting delays as well as lack of professional handling of customers at AIASL handled airports,” Air India famous.

“We are unable to accept this situation any longer as inefficiencies in the AIASL operations is severely impacting our services, goodwill, and brand image. In view of the above, we are constrained to explore alternative arrangements for ground handling services at such AIASL airports. Further…we will be forced to discontinue/scale down AIASL ground handling services at such airports,” it added.