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CHAPTER - I

INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Airline Industry- Overview

An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight.
Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form
partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit. Generally, airline
companies are recognized with an air operating certificate or license issued by a
governmental aviation body.

Airlines vary from those with a single aircraft carrying mail or cargo, through
fullservice international airlines operating hundreds of aircraft. Airline services can be
categorized as being intercontinental, intra-continental, domestic, regional, or
international, and may be operated as scheduled services or charters.

Few inventions have changed how people live and experience the world as deeply
as the invention of the airplane. World War II, like World War I, brought new life to the
airline industry. During the both World Wars, government subsidies and demands for new
airplanes vastly improved techniques for designing and building them. World War II
brought tremendous long run gains for the development of the air transportation industry
including, a large body of experienced pilots, a large collection of aircrafts used in the
war field and above all the increased public interest to fly due to the motivation given by
the experienced military personnel. Following the Second World War, the first
commercial airplane routes were set up in Europe. The next dramatic step in commercial
aviation was the adoption of jet liners during the 1950’s. This provided increased travel
speeds, smoother flights and enlarged passenger-seating capacity.

The airline industry again leaped forward in the 1970’s with the introduction of
wide-bodied aircrafts like Douglas DC-10, Boeing 747s. The advantage was the increase
in passenger comfort and seating and freight capacity. The 1980’s witnessed still further
improvements in aircraft technology.
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The industry has progressed to the point now where it would be hard to think of
life without air travel. It has shortened travel time and altered our concept of distance,
making it possible for us to visit and conduct business in places once considered remote.
Many airlines foresaw a future explosive demand for civil air transport, for both
passengers and cargo. The global airline industry, counting both domestic and
international carriers, is a giant industry. As the airline industry grew, new brands of
airlines started coming up and so did the travel industry’s dependency on it. If the airline
industry could be described in three words, they would be "intensely competitive
market."

Air transport forms a unique global network linking people, countries and cultures
and lays a vital role in the further integration and development of the world. It is
increasingly accessible to a greater number of people who can now afford to travel by air
for leisure and business purposes.

Some of the salient features of air transport are:

• Over 1.8 billion passengers use the world’s airlines for business and leisure travel.
Research indicates that by 2012, this number cold exceed 2.3 billion

• Air transport is essential for world business – creating jobs and opening p new
market opportunities by attracting businesses to locations in the developed and
developing world. It moves products and services quickly over long distances
enabling economic and social participation by outlying communities.

• Air transport provides 28 million direct, indirect and induced jobs worldwide, a
figure that is expected to rise to 32 million by 2012.

• The combined direct, indirect and induced employment created at airports is 4000
jobs per million passengers served. The location of the airport creates an
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economic ripple effect, attracting other industries and business activities, and
secondary support functions.

• Over 40% of world trade of goods (by value) is carried by air.

• Aviation is directly linked to the tourism industry, generating receipts of 700

million euro per day, and creating considerable employment in the aircraft and
engine manufacturing industries and related activities.

The airline industry is classified into four categories by the Department of

Transportation (DOT):

• International - 130+ seat planes that have the ability to take passengers just
about anywhere in the world. Companies in this category typically have annual
revenue of $1 Billion or more.
• National - usually these airlines seat 100-150 people and have revenues between
$100 million and $1 billion.
• Regional - companies with revenues less than $100 million that focus on short-
haul flights.
• Cargo - these are airlines whose main purpose is to transport goods.

1.1.1 Major challenges facing the airline industry

Airport capacity, route structures, technology, and costs to lease or buy the
physical aircraft are significant in the airline industry. Other large issues are:

• Weather - The problem is that weather is variable and unpredictable. Extreme

heat, cold, fog, and snow can shut down airports and cancel flights (which costs
money). Weather is also the second-largest cause of flight accidents.
• Fuel Cost - on average, fuel can make up 14-16% of an airline's total costs,
although efficiency among different carriers can vary widely. Short haul airlines
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typically get lower fuel efficiency because take-offs and landings consume high
amounts of jet fuel.
• Labor - it is estimated that 40% of an airline's expenses are used to pay pilots,
flight attendants, baggage handlers, dispatchers, customer service, and others.

As a result of globalization the government opened the sky to many new airlines.
Consequently, the monopolists are facing competition from newcomers. In many ways,
the biggest winner in the deregulated environment was the air passenger. Indeed, the U.S.
witnessed an explosive growth in demand for air travel, as many millions who had never
or rarely flown before became regular fliers, even joining frequent flyer loyalty programs
and receiving free flights and other benefits from their flying. New services and higher
frequencies meant that business fliers could fly to another city, do business, and return the
same day, for almost any point in the country. The result of liberalization was customer
delight. Since there are many options for the customers they will go for the best. So every
firm tried to make their products best to attract new customers at the same time maintain
existing customers.

Another reason why airlines want to retain customers is the cost. The commercial
aviation industry as a whole was affected by the September 11th incident and the crisis in
the Middle East. This led to the reduction in passenger traffic. As a result many airlines
could not survive. Due to high fuel prices and other taxes many airlines wound up their
services.

Historically, air travel has survived largely through state support, whether in the
form of equity or subsidies. Today, the pace of change in the airline industry is faster than
ever before. The industry is becoming increasingly liberalized. The former blanket of
regulatory protection is being swept away and airlines are being forced to compete in all
the aspects of product, price and service. Its structure is changing, with airlines grouping
together through strategic alliances, equity swaps and franchising arrangements into
socalled “mega-carriers”. The segmentation of the market is evolving, with airline
customers becoming more demanding and, often, more price- sensitive as well. Airline
industry is one of the most competitive and growing industries in the world as it leads to
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economic growth, world trade, international investment and tourism. In the last decade, it
has grown strongly by 7% per year for both business and leisure purposes.

Airline industry is considered as one of the fastest expanding sectors of the world
with growth rates 2.4 times above the GDP rates on average. It is also predicted to grow
by an average of 5 % a year from 2000 to 2010 (INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT
ASSOCIATION).It is affected by the economical growth, trade and political factors. As
an economical factor, the increase in oil prices destroyed the profitability of the global
airline industry, accordingly it losses around $6 billion in 2005 (INTERNATIONAL AIR
TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION).

Due to the unstable political and economical situation, many airlines companies
started to modify their strategies and services to survive and succeed in the airline
industry. For example, many companies invested heavily in the quality of services they
provide by offering, e-booking system, new interactive entertainment systems, more
comfortable seats, low cost carriers and many technological techniques..

Overall, the airline industry will recover as the number of passengers seems to be
doubled by 2010 to exceed 2.3 billion due to the tourism, trade and economic
development (INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION). Thus, Successful
airlines will be those that continue reducing their costs and improving their services by
differentiating from competitors to secure a strong position in the aviation market.

1.1.2 Airline personnel

The various types of airline personnel include: Flight operations personnel including
flight safety personnel.

• Flight Crew, responsible for the operation of the aircraft. Flight crew members
include:
o Pilots (Captain and First Officer: some older aircraft also required a Flight
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Engineer and or a Navigator) o Flight attendants,

(led by a purser on larger aircraft) o In-Flight security
Personnel on some airlines
• Ground crew, responsible for operations at airports. Ground crew members include:
o Aerospace and avionics engineers responsible for certifying the aircraft for
flight and management of aircraft maintenance
 Aerospace engineers, responsible for airframe, powerplant and
electrical systems maintenance
 Avionics engineers responsible for avionics and instruments
maintenance
o Airframe and power plant technicians o Electric System technicians,
responsible for maintenance of electrical systems
o Avionics technicians, responsible for maintenance of avionics o Flight
Dispatchers o Baggage Handlers o Ramp Agents o Gate Agents o Ticket
agents o Passenger service agents (such as airline lounge employees) o
Reservation agents, usually (but not always) at facilities outside the airport.

Airlines follow a corporate structure where each broad area of operations (such as

maintenance, flight operations (including flight safety), and passenger service) is

supervised by a vice president. Larger airlines often appoint vice presidents to oversee

each of the airline's hubs as well. Airlines employ lawyers to deal with regulatory

procedures and other administrative tasks. 1.2 Problem of the Study

 Increasing competition from private players

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 Due to less man power the airlines in Coimbatore international airport are unable
to manage the passenger.

 Response towards the passenger by Coimbatore international airport is less

because of limited airlines.

 The quality level is low when comparing to other international airports.

 Continuous shifts in regulatory environment which has led to the growing

passenger sophistication.

1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

 The primary aim of this research is to examine the passenger satisfaction levels in
airline sector with special reference to Coimbatore international airport.

 To acquire a vibrant knowledge about airline industry and get through awareness
regarding customer satisfaction.

 To examine passenger satisfaction in airline industry with reference to

Coimbatore international airport.

 To understand and analyze the role of quantity of service in affecting passenger

satisfaction in airline sector in context with Coimbatore international airport.

 To delineate the most important current issues surrounding passenger satisfaction.

 To assess the passenger satisfaction of service quality of airlines.

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1.4 Scope of the Study

This study includes direct interaction with the passengers and this help us
to know the passenger satisfaction level to great accuracy. This study is of great
importance to the airlines which will know about the passengers preference to
travel in airlines. The airlines will gain information about passengers preference
depending on their response. So, the scope of the study is to achieve passenger
satisfaction.

1.5 Period of study

The study conducted during the period of December - 2011 to April - 2012.

1.6 Research Methodology

Research comprises defining and redefining of problem, collecting, organizing

and evaluating data, making deductions and reaching conclusions.

The study required both primary and secondary data.

1.6.1 Sources of Data

The data for this study is collected from primary and secondary sources. The
secondary data and the relevant material were collected from the magazines, company
profiles, broachers, etc. The primary data source for the study is the passengers of
Airlines in Coimbatore International Airport.
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1.6.2 Primary data

Since primary data is collected at hand it calls for a decision making on research
approaches, Questionnaire method has been used to collect the data. For this project the
data’s were collected by Questionnaires.. The main advantages with this primary data's
are that they give more information in greater depth and have greater flexibility.

1.6.3 Secondary data

Secondary data consist of information that already exists somewhere, having been
collected for another purpose. It is obtained more quickly and at a lower cost. Secondary
data provides the necessary information to do the work. Generally the different sources of
secondary data are internal sources, prior research reports, government publications
which provide summary data on demographics, economic, social and other aspects.
Periodicals and books, commercial data and international data are the other sources of
secondary data.
The secondary data for this study were collected from different sources like
books, magazines, journals, newspapers and websites.

1.6.4 Sample Size

Here the sample size for this study was 100 questionnaires.

1.7 Data Analysis

The collected data was analyzed by using both quantitative and qualitative
techniques. Under the qualitative techniques, the collected data was converted into
numerical format in appropriate tables with percentage and diagrams. Each numerical
format was described by using qualitative techniques used in this research
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1.8 Tools Used For Data Analysis

As a tool or as a device used for the research a well structured questionnaire is

adopted. The questionnaire consists of closed-ended questions where the respondent is
forced to select an answer from the given choices. Under closed-ended questions there are
multiple choices, so that the RESPONDENTS don’t have any problem to answer. By
using the questionnaire, face to face interview were also possible. SPSS and MS-EXCEL
are also used to analyze the primary data. The mathematical tool used in this study is
Simple Percentage analysis.

1.9 Limitations of the Study

Every study has its limit, so does this study the major limitation was the time
constraint. Another limitation of primary data is that they are very much time consuming
and the researcher cannot be sure whether the information received is relevant, accurate,
current and unbiased. We will get only a vague idea about the work. Another limitation of
the study relates with the security of the airport in Coimbatore. Due to the security
reason, Airport authorities can’t issue pass. That affects the independence of doing work.
So researcher could only get limited amount of primary data. Hence this research mainly
depends upon secondary data. But secondary data may not always provide all the
necessary data that is required for the project.

Chapter – II

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction

Aviation sector plays crucial role in moving passengers or goods from one place to
another either it may be domestic or international, due to economic globalization and technical
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advancements, the airline industry is facing stiff competition. According to in the industry like
airline, quality of service is significant because providing excellent quality of service to
customers is necessary for the continued existence of the sector. Quality of service in
airline industry is the focal point of satisfaction by travelers, traveler’s loyalty, and traveler’s
choice of airline. Therefore, offering better service quality may deliver more customer
satisfaction which will result in attracting more customers and increasing profits in
business. Customer satisfaction is assessed to play a vital role in every business model
especially in service industries such as tourism, hospitality and airlines. The high level of
customer satisfaction will directly leads to high returns by reducing expenditure like marketing,
and word-of-mouth.
It is clearly evident that customers who are happy and delighted will attract
the new customers by word of mouth; this will impact on increase in sales, thus
resulting in profits to the firm. Hence customer satisfaction proves to be an important
aspect in airlines sector. Customer satisfaction derives from assessing customer
perceptions and performance.

2.2 Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction may be described as the notion which customers may

encounter about the products or services of a specific brand or business firm when
the customer expectations have been reached or surpassed the existence of that particular
goods or service. The satisfaction is an individual's feeling of pleasure or dissatisfaction
obtained from comparing a good's possible outcome in contrast to the customer's
demands. An organization may increase it sales and customer's loyalty by offering
excellent satisfaction by the customer. Therefore customer satisfaction has happened
to be one of the focal point for all business especially those in service industry.
Customer satisfaction is gauged to sustain existing customers and as a result,
effectiveness and growth of business. To maintain customer expectation and customer
loyalty in order to gain higher long-term performance of the company, customer satisfaction is
one of the important factors. Its certain that customer expectation meets the customer
satisfaction, this will be the driving force to build the strong relationship between client and a
company and also this will directly lead to more and more profitable to the organization. There
are two key analysis of satisfaction, Satisfaction itself a course of action as well as an end results.
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Customer satisfaction is constantly the outcome of the observation

processes. Customer satisfaction may be implied as a decision relied on the growing
practice through a distinct goods or service relatively than a business event. Customer
satisfaction may be explained as an individual's complete assessment of the performance
of a product or service till now. Customer satisfaction as a post purchase thoughts
framed through a rational evaluation of the quality that a customer expected to obtain
from an exchange and the intensity of quality the customer notices actually receiving
from the trade. To be specific it is the state of customer perceptions and expectations.
Customer satisfaction is a fundamental factor in improving production process and
end user relationship.

The importance of customer satisfaction and its use for determining the
quality from the Customer’s outlook has been highlighted by many researchers in airline
industry. Customer contentment is the emotion or outlook of a client towards a goods or
service following it had been consumed. Customer happiness is the significant end result
of endorsement activity, where it operates as a link between various levels of consumer
purchasing activities.

2.3 Customer Satisfaction in Airline Sector

Airline sector is considered to be major industry. In the year 1988, the sector
contributed $10.2 billion to GDP. The services offered by the industry are at par with the
international standards catering to the needs of both domestic and international
passengers. The airline sector is very significant to the tourism as citizens in the country
are engaged in this sector. Satisfaction of a customer is a purpose of observed
quality and notions of degree to which remarked quality unsuccessful to counterpart
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customer expectations. Customers will constantly evaluate the remarked performance

of goods or service with little performance mark. The customers are merely satisfied
and they find it simple to shift when other firm is providing a better cost or package while
the importance of customer satisfaction is highlighted in business where competition is
severe.

The primary objective of airline sector is to provide excellent service and

competency. The excellent service is vital while the number of absolutely contented
customers segment is an important factor as assessed by some analysts for high
profits. A business organization must regularly gauge consumer satisfaction in order to
analyze and identify whether clients were delighted or not. In the airline sector the
degree of customer happiness is plainly recognized off late in the process, whilst
the majority of the customers spent the cash by now.

According to the literature, outstanding service is achieved through

committed and loyal staff. To provide a reasonable level of service and quality stated
that a firms approach should be focused in improving the skills and ensuring efficiency,
motivation and commitment of the employees. Airline sector may develop the scope
of achievements if they allow its workforce to take individual responsibility and go
an extra mile to make the customers happy. Customer satisfaction is when the
consumer is delighted with the service delivered by the airline sector that meets the client
desires, wants and expects. Airline industry should focus on making customers happy and

should allocate finances on providing excellent customer service.

CHAPTER III

PROFILE OF THE AIRLINES

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3.1 COMPANY PROFILE

3.1.1 INDIGO AIRLINES

Indigo Airlines was an American airline headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It is

generally regarded as the world’s first business jet airline. It was founded in 1997 by
aviation veteran and University of Chicago graduate Matt Anderson; business executive
and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University alumnus John N. Fenton and McKinsey
consultant and MIT PhD Tom. During its life, its headquarters were at first located in the
Near North side area of Chicago, while later in its life its headquarters were at Chicago
midway Airport.

IndiGo is built for people with things to do, places to be, people to see - who don't
want to waste time, money or energy in the process. By minimizing the cost/time/tension
of air travel, IndiGo opens up a country full of opportunities. With IndiGo, you've got a
billion reasons to fly! The IndiGo team uses all of these resources to design processes and
rules that are safe and simple, that make sense, and that cut waste and hassles, which in
turn ensures a uniquely smooth, seamless, precise, gimmick-free customer experience at
fares that are always affordable. IndiGo focuses on doing one thing, and doing it well.
Our aircraft are brand-new Airbus A320-200s, with a single-class configuration
consisting of 180 passenger seats.

• One type of airplane - brand-new Airbus A320s

• One type of fare - low
• One type of customer service - professional
• One way to deal with delays and cancellations - honestly

We believe that we can offer the lowest fares by staying focused, which keeps our
costs down without cutting corners or compromising on things that matter.
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3.1.1.1 Citizen's Charter

IndiGo is built for people with things to do, places to be, people to see – who don’t want
to waste time, money or energy in the process. By minimizing the cost, time and tension
of air travel, IndiGo opens up a country full of opportunities. With IndiGo, you’ve got a
billion reasons to fly!

IndiGo incorporates the best hardware, software, interface design and personnel
from around the world. The IndiGo team uses all of these resources to design processes
and rules that are safe and simple, that make sense, and that cut waste and hassles, which
in turn ensure a uniquely smooth, seamless, precise, gimmick-free customer experience at
fares that are always affordable.

3.1.1.2 History

Indigo—or "individuals on the go", for the first time allowed individual travelers
the ability to reserve and purchase a single seat on a traditional corporate or business jet
which then flew a "scheduled" flight like a traditional airline. Prior to Indigo the only
business jet services available to consumers consisted of jet ownership or charter, both
expensive options to regular airline travel. Indigo is regarded as the originator of two new
categories of corporate jet air travel service: per seat, high frequency and the public or
commercial corporate jet.

Indigo priced its service between its first city pair Chicago and New York City
close to a so-called unrestricted coach fare. This allowed travelers an affordable travel
option while greatly expanding Indigo's addressable market, growth potential and
investment thesis.

Indigo's inventory was marketed and sold through American Express Travel
Related Services as well as through the American Express Platinum Card program. Indigo
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was the first business jet airline to list its seat inventory in major Global Distribution
Systems such as Sabre and Apollo, under the carrier code "I9" which allowed travel
agents easy access to Indigo's services. The Indigo project was also supported by
management consultants McKinsey and Company and was additionally advised by
corporate identity firm Interbrand (an Omnicom company), public accountants and
business advisors Arthur Anderson, public relations firm The Dilenschneider Group and
investment bank and financial advisory firm Merill Lynch and Company.

Indigo management also argued that the company helped advance the state of
general aviation security and pointed to its advanced security procedures that were unique
to the industry.

Indigo employed its own security personnel and was the first jet charter company
to operate sterile flights between general aviation, non-airline facilities. Indigo customers,
employees and vendors cooperated with comprehensive identity, background and
screening procedures that were unprecedented in the private jet industry. Indigo submitted
to numerous TSA security audits and was fully approved by relevant U.S. Government
agencies. Comprehensive general and private aviation security continues to be an
unresolved public policy issues.

By 2004, Indigo had voluntarily idled its operations after challenges in securing
additional capitalization. The Indigo concept continues to resonate strongly with the
traveling public and in 2005 the Net jets company, backed by Warren Buffett's, Berkshire
Hathaway announced its intention to begin scheduled business jet service between
Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Other projects mimicking the Indigo business
model include Geneva, Switzerland based Club Airways, started by World Economic
Forum founders the Schwab family. Other notable ventures borrowing on the Indigo "per
seat" inventory, distribution and pricing strategy include the Dayjet company, Linear Air
and various jet membership programs offering "shared per seat charter" services. Several
North Atlantic services (sometimes referred to as the "Indigo of the North Atlantic") also
directly applied the Indigo concept of a commercial corporate jet but in larger traditional
airline aircraft and included Maxjet, Eos and Silver jet. In 2008, a new company called
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Green jets began non-scheduled per-seat or shared-ride private jet service between major
eastern US metropolitan markets.

3.1.1.3 Fleet

Indigo's initial fleet consisted of four French-built Dassalut Falcon jets fitted with:
large executive style leather seats; a full hot galley; private bathroom; and laptop power
outlets. Indigo was headquartered in Chicago, Illinois at Chicago Midway International
Airport in the former Ameritech corporate hangar facilities. This was a comprehensive,
220,000-square-foot (20,000 m2) co-located hangar, office complex, private passenger
terminal and maintenance facility.

Indigo was a fully vertically integrated aviation company and fully owned,
employed and controlled its own aircraft fleet, pilots, dispatchers and maintenance
services. The company operated as a Federal Aviation Administration FAR 135
commercial operator and additionally was certified by the United States Department of
Transportation under parts 41101 and 380 as a public charter operator. Indigo was the first
business jet commercial operator to receive an additional DOT fitness approval and was
granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity.

As part of its overall planning and growth objectives, Indigo early in its initial
operations distributed a request for proposal to several global aerospace manufacturers for
a next generation regional business jet to eventually replace its initial aircraft. Brazilian
manufacturer Embraer both embraced Indigo's business model and responded strongly to
the RFP in its efforts to introduce its new corporate shuttle aircraft, the "Legacy" jet.
Indigo was the first U.S. certified commercial operator of the Legacy and launched
service with this new, environmentally advanced stage 4 aircraft in 2003 in a 16-seat all
business-class service.
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3.1.2 JET AIRWAYS

Jet Airways is the largest Indian airline based out of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It
operates over 400 flights daily to 76 destinations worldwide. Its main hub is Mumbai,
with secondary hubs at Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Cochin, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru. It
has an international hub at Brussels Airport, Belgium. Jet Airways is owned by Naresh
Goyal.

3.1.2.1 History

Early years

Jet Airways was incorporated as an air taxi operator on 1 April 1992. It started
commercial operations on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of four leased Boeing 737-300
aircraft. In January 1994 a change in the law enabled Jet Airways to apply for scheduled
airline status, which was granted on 4 January 1995. It began international operations
from Chennai to Colombo in March 2004. The company is listed on the Bombay Stock
Exchange, but 80% of its stock is controlled by Naresh Goyal (through his ownership of
Jet’s parent company, Tailwinds). It has 10,017 employees (as at March 2007).

Naresh Goyal– who already owned Jet Air (Private) Limited, which provided
sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India – set up Jet Airways as a full-service
scheduled airline to compete against state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had
enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air
transport providers were nationalized under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January
1994, when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received
scheduled airline status.
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Air Sahara buyout

In January 2006 Jet Airways announced that it would buy Air Sahara for US$500
million in an all-cash deal, making it the biggest takeover in Indian aviation history. It
would have resulted in the country's largest airline but the deal fell through in June 2006.

On 12 April 2007 Jet Airways agreed to buy out Air Sahara for INR14.5 billion
(US$340 million). Air Sahara was renamed JetLite, and was marketed between a low-cost
carrier and a full service airline. In August 2008 Jet Airways announced its plans to
completely integrate JetLite into Jet Airways.

Present

In October 2008 Jet Airways laid off 1,900 of its employees, resulting in the
largest lay-off in the history of Indian aviation. However the employees were later asked
to return to work; Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that the management reviewed
its decision after he analyzed the decision with them.

In October 2008 Jet Airways and rival Kingfisher Airlines announced an alliance
which primarily includes an agreement on code-sharing on both domestic and
international flights, joint fuel management to reduce expenses, common ground
handling, and joint utilisation of crew and sharing of similar frequent flier programmes.

On 8 May 2009 Jet Airways launched its low-cost brand, Jet Konnect. The
decision to launch a new brand instead of expanding the JetLite network was taken after
considering the regulatory delays involved in transferring aircraft from Jet Airways to
JetLite, as the two have different operator codes. The brand was launched on sectors that
had 50% or less load factor with the aim of increasing it to 70% and above. Jet officials
said that the brand would cease to exist once the demand for the regular Jet Airways
increases.
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According to a PTI report, for the third quarter of 2010, Jet Airways (Jet+JetLite)
had a market share of 26.9% in terms of passengers carried, thus making it a market
leader in India, followed by Kingfisher Airlines with 19.9%.

3.1.2.2 Subsidiaries

JetLite

JetLite was a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways. It was established as Sahara
Airlines on 20 September 1991 and began operations on 3 December 1993 with two
Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Initially services were primarily concentrated in the northern
sectors of India, keeping Delhi as its base, and then operations were extended to cover all
the country. Sahara Airlines was rebranded as Air Sahara on 2 October 2000. On 12 April
2007 Jet Airways took over Air Sahara and on 16 April 2007 Air Sahara was renamed as
JetLite. JetLite operated a fleet of mixed owned–leased Boeing 737 next generation
aircraft and Bombardier CRJ-200 ER. JetLite ceased operations on 25 March, 2012 after
merger with Jet Konnect.

Jet Konnect

Jet Konnect is the low-cost brand of India-based Jet Airways. It was launched on
8 May 2009, and shares the same airline designation as Jet Airways. It operates a mixed
fleet of ATR 72-500s and Boeing 737-800.

The rationale for launching Jet Airways Konnect was to close down loss-making
routes and divert the planes to more profitable routes with higher passenger load factor.
Jet already ran a low-cost airline named JetLite. According to Jet Airways, the decision to
launch a low-cost brand instead of expanding the existing JetLite was taken to avoid the
regulatory delays associated with moving excess aircraft and assets from Jet Airways to
JetLite, which have separate operating codes. Jet Konnect offers a no frills flight where
meals and other refreshments have to be purchased on board. To identify if the flight is a
full service or Konnect the flight numbers for Konnect are in the series 9W 2000-2999.
Jet Airways merged the JetLite brand into Jet Konnect on 25 March 2012.
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3.1.2.3 Fleet

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300 ER at San Francisco International Airport.

The Boeing customer code for Jet Airways is 5R. The airline is known for
constantly maintaining its average fleet age below 10 years with regular phasing out of
aircraft which are over 10 years of age.

As of May 2011, the Jet Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft with an
average age of 5.4 years:

Table No: 3.1.2.3.1

Jet Airways Fleet

In Passengers
Aircraft Service Orders Notes
P J Y Total
2 owned 10
0 30 190 226 dry leased
Airbus A330-200 12 5
0 18 236 254

All leased from Intrepid Aviation

Airbus A330-300 – 5 TBA Group
Deliveries starting 2011
0 0 62 62 6 owned 14
ATR 72-500 20 – dry leased
0 0 68 68
3 owned 8
Boeing 737-700 11 – 0 16 102 118 dry leased

0 16 138 154 12 owned 34

Boeing 737-800 45 27 dry leased
8 0162 170
Boeing 737-900 2 – 166 Both owned
0 28 138
Boeing 777- 10 2 8 30 274 312 1 owned
300ER 8 dry leased
5 re-leased to Thai Airways
 22

International

Boeing 787-8 – 10 TBA Deliveries starting 2014

Total 100 49
Source: www.Jetaiways.com

3.1.2.4 Incidents and Accidents

On 1 July 2007, Jet Airways Flight 3307, an ATR 72-212A (registered VT-JCE)
which was flying on the Bhopal-Indore route was involved in an accident which was
caused by a storm. There were no fatalities amongst the 45 passengers and 4 crew on
board, however the aircraft suffered damages beyond repair.

3.1.3 KINGFISHER AIRLINES

Kingfisher Airlines Limited is an airline group based in India. Its head office is in
 23

Andheri (East), Mumbai and Registered Office in UB city, Banglore. Kingfisher Airlines,
through its parent company United Breweries Group, has a 50% stake in low – cost
Kingfisher Red. The airline has been facing financial issues for many years. Until
December 2011, Kingfisher Airlines had the second largest share in India's domestic air
travel market. However due to the severe financial crisis faced by the airline, it has the
fifth largest market share currently, only above GoAir.

Kingfisher Airlines was the holder (along with only seven other airlines) of the
5star rating by Skytrax along with Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Asiana Airlines,
Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, and Hainan Airlines. However, in light of the
current turmoil of the airlines, Skytrax ranking for Kingfisher Airlines has now been
suspended. Kingfisher operates 120 daily flights with regional and long-haul international
services. In May 2009, Kingfisher Airlines carried more than 1 million passengers, giving
it the highest market share among airlines in India. Kingfisher also won the Skytrax
award for India's best airline of the year 2011.

Kingfisher Airlines is also the sponsor of F1 racing outfit, Force India, which Vijay
Mallya also owns.

3.1.3.1 History

Kingfisher Airlines was established in 2003. It is owned by the Bengaluru based

United Breweries Group. The airline started commercial operations in 9 May 2005 with a
fleet of four new Airbus A320-200s operating a flight from Mumbai to Delhi. It started its
international operations on 3 September 2008 by connecting Bengaluru with London.

The airline is currently going through some bankruptcy problems, forcing the
airline to ground many destinations and aircraft.

3.1.3.2 Financial difficulties

Ever since the airline commenced operations in 2005, it has been reporting losses.
After acquiring Air Deccan, Kingfisher suffered a loss of over 1,000 crore (US$199.5
 24

million) for three consecutive years. By early 2012, the airline accumulated losses of over
7,000 crore (US$1.4 billion) with half of its fleet grounded and several members of its
staff going on strike. Kingfisher's position in top Indian airlines on the basis of market
share had slipped to 5 from 2 because of the crisis. As response, Dr. Vijay Mallya called
on the Chairman of Central Board of Excise and Customs and offered to pay up the dues
by 13 December 2011. The Kingfisher bank accounts were unfrozen on 14 December
2011. Due non-payment, several Kingfisher's vendors had filed winding up petition with
the High Court. As on November 2011, winding up petition of seven creditors was
pending before the Banglore High Court. In the past Lufthansa Technik and Bharat
Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) had also filed winding up petition against
Kingfisher Airlines.

During late February 2012, Kingfisher Airlines started to sink into a fresh crisis.
Several flights were cancelled and aircraft were grounded. The cash-strapped airline
claimed that the disruptions will continue for four days due to unexpected events
including bird strikes which rendered aircraft out of service. The airline shut down most
international short-haul operations and also temporarily closed bookings. Out of the 64
aircraft, only 22 were known to be operational by 20 February. With this, Kingfisher's
market share clearly dropped to 11.3%. The cancellation of the flights was accompanied
by a 13.5% drop in the stocks of the company on 20 February 2012. The CEO of the
airlines, Sanjay Agarwal was summoned by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to
explain the disruptions of the operations.

In March 2012, the airline was suspended by the International Air Transport
Association from using its inter-airline fund clearing system, the suspension means the
airline will have to deal directly with other airlines when sharing revenue on services.

Due to the ongoing financial crisis, an Airbus A330-200 aircraft was impounded
at London Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom under Court Orders due to unpaid
fees to aircraft leasing companies and RBS.

3.1.3.3 Fleet
 25

Current

Due to the financial problems of Kingfisher Airlines, the fleet was drastically
reduced from 63 to 23. A majority of the fleet was repossessed by lessons in March 2012.
Although Airbus has not cancelled/suspended the orders yet, but it is unlikely that
Kingfisher Airlines will start taking the deliveries in near future. The Kingfisher Airlines
fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of April 2012):

Table No: 3.1.3.3.1

Kingfisher Airlines Fleet
Aircraft In Notes
Fleet
Airbus A319- 1 VIP for UB Group
133 5
Airbus A320-
232 1

Airbus A321- 1
232
Airbus A330-
223
ATR 42-500 2 Dry leased
ATR 72-500 12

Boeing 727-044 1 VIP for UB Group

Total 23
Pre-2012 Fleet

Kingfisher Airlines' fleet mainly consisted of ATR 42, ATR 72 and Airbus A320
family aircraft for domestic and short haul services and Airbus A330-200s for
international long-haul services. The average age of its fleet as of January 2009 was 2.3
years. All ATR's and a few aircraft from the A320 family are used for Kingfisher Red
service.
 26

Table No: 3.1.3.3.2

All dry-leased
0 180
32 119 0 199
11 dry-leased
Deliveries were throughout up
until 2016

2 dry leased

Deliveries were throughout up

until 2015

3.1.3.4 Cargo Deliveries were planned: 2015

Kingfisher Xpress is a new Door-to-Door cargo delivery service from Kingfisher

Deliveries were planned: 2014
Airlines. Kingfisher Xpress same day service will be India's first and only same day
delivery by air service.
All dry leased
Kingfisher Airlines Fleet
3.1.3.5 Accidents and Incidents

— Passengers
Aircraft
On 10 November 2009, Flight 4124 operated by ATR 72-212RNotes
Total Orders Options VT-KAC, skidded
P Y Total
off114
20 the0runway
174 after landing at Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport. The aircraft
—
suffered substantial damage, but all 46 passengers and crew escaped unharmed. In
November 2010, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation released its final report into the
accident. It revealed that the cause of the accident was pilot error, with the aircraft
—
landing at too high a speed and too far down Runway 27A, which was the designation
given to Runway 27 whilst it was being operated at a reduced length due to the closure of
—
Runway 14/32 for maintenance.

0
5

0 48 48
—
0 66 66
20
0 72 72

25
 27

3.1.4 AIR INDIA

Air India is the flag carrier airline of India. It is part of the government of India
owned Air India Limited (AIL). The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft
serving Asia, Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India
Building at Nariman point in South Mumbai. Air India has two major domestic hubs at
Indira Gandhi International Airport and Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport. An
international hub at Dubai International Airport is currently being planned.

Air India has the third largest share in India's domestic air travel market, behind
Jet Airways and IndiGo. Following its merger with Indian, Air India has faced multiple
problems, including escalating financial losses, discontent amongst employees, and poor
customer service. Between September 2007 and May 2011, Air India's domestic market
share declined from 19.2% to 14%, primarily due to stiff competition from private Indian
carriers. In August 2011, Air India's invitation to join Star Alliance was suspended due to
its failure to meet the minimum standards for the membership. In October 2011, talks
between the airline and Star Alliance have resumed. In April 2012, the Indian government
granted another bailout package to Air India, including Rs300 billion ($5.8 billion) of
subsidies.

3.1.4.1 History

Early years

Air India was founded by J. R. D. Tata in July 1932 as Tata Airlines, a division of
Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group). On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a single-engine
De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperical Aiways) from
Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft
continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by former Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vintcent.
In 1932 Air India was based out of a hut with a palm thatched roof at Juhu Aerodrome
 28

and had 1 pilot and 2 apprentice mechanics along with 2 piston engined aircraft, one Puss
Moth and one Leopard Moth aircraft.

Early 1990s

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing
747-400 named Konark (registered VT-ESM) made history by operating the first non-stop
flight between New York City and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India
Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at O’Hare
International Airport in Chicago. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at
the renamed Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

2000 – Present

In 2000, Air India introduced services to Shanghai and to its third US gateway at
Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark. In May 2004, Air India launched a
wholly owned low cost airline called Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting
cities in India with the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air
India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in
Los Angeles (which has since been terminated) and expanded its international routes to
include flights from Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Banglore and Hyderabad.

On 1 December 2009, Air India introduced services to its fifth US gateway at

Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C., accessed via a stopover at
JFK Airport in New York City. This service has been terminated.

3.1.4.2 Merger with Indian Airlines

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Air India would be merged with
Indian Airlines. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National
Aviation
Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along
with Air India Express) and Indian Airlines (along with Alliance Air) will be merged.
 29

On 27 February 2011, Air India and Indian Airlines merged along with their
subsidiaries to form Air India Limited.

3.1.4.3 Financial crisis

Around 2006–2007, the airlines began showing signs of financial distress. The
combined losses for Air India and Indian in 2006-07 were 770 crores ( 7.7 billion).
After the merger of the airlines, this went up to 7,200 crores ( 72 billion) by March
2009. This was followed by restructuring plans which are still in progress. In July 2009,
SBI Capital Markets India Ltd was appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of
the airline. The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747-300 M in March 2009
for $18.75 million to survive the financial crunch.

As of March 2011, Air India has accumulated a debt of Rs. 42,570 crore
(approximately $10 billion) and an operating loss of Rs. 22,000 crore, and is seeking Rs.
42,920 crore from the government. For the past three months (June, July, August 2011),
the carrier has been missing salary payments and interest payments and Moody’s Investor
Service has warned that missing payments by Air India to creditors, such as the State
Bank of India, will negatively affect the credit ratings of those banks. A report by the
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) blamed the decision to buy 111 new planes as
one of the major causes of the debt troubles in Air India; in addition it blamed on the ill
timed merger with Indian Airlines as well. Due to high fuel and loan costs, Indian
government has already pumped 32 billion rupees into Air India since April 2009 and in
March 2012 government bailed out Air India Ltd. with 67.5 billion rupees ($1.4 billion)
which the amount almost double of the federal government has spent on new hospitals
over the past three years.

Air India's corporate headquarters is located at the Air India Building at Nariman
Point in South Mumbai. The airline moved there in 1970. The Air India Building also
serves as a regional office for Indian.
 30

Return to profitability plans

The new Chairman and Managing director wants to change the order of some of
the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrow-body aircraft instead of the wide-body
aircraft.

3.1.4.4 Subsidiaries
Air India Cargo

In 1954, Air India Cargo started its freighter operations with a Douglas DC-3
Dakota aircraft, giving Air India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate
freighters. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has
ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.

A member of INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION, Air India

carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live
animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to INTERNATIONAL AIR
TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION Dangerous Goods Regulations and INTERNATIONAL
AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION Live Animals Regulations.

At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed a system of inventory

management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire
management of cargo, supports Electronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian
Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs,
Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at
the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.

Air India Express

Air India Express is the airline's low-cost subsidiary which was established in
2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates scheduled passenger services
primarily to the Persian Gulf and South East Asia. Air India Express is currently the only
airline in Air India Limited which posts profits. It operates a fleet of Next Generation
 31

Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Cochin International Airport is the main hub of the airline from
which it has connections to almost all the Gulf countries.

3.1.4.5 Fleet

The Boeing customer code for Air India is 37, meaning a model name of, for example, a
747-437 (an Air India747-400). As of May 2010, the average age of the Air India fleet is
9.5 years.

New aircraft orders

• On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for fifty eight jets - eight
Boeing 777-200LR World liners, twenty-three Boeing 777-300ER and twenty
seven Boeing 787-8 Dream liners
• The airlines received its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007 and
Boeing 777-300ER on 10 October 2007.
• In April 2010, the airline has ordered three Boeing 777-300ERs.
• Air India expects to get its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in at the end of May 2012.

3.1.4.6 Accidents and incidents

Ten Air India flights have fatally crashed, including those due to terrorist attacks.
Air India has a record of 6.82 fatal events per million flights.

1950s

• On 3 November 1950 Air India Flight 245 Malabar Princess a Lockheed L-749
Constellation (registered VT-CQP) carrying 48 people (40 passengers and 8
 32

crew), flying on the Bombay-Cairo-Geneva-London route, crashed onMony

Blanc,
France, killing all on board.

• On 11 April 1955 Kashmir princess a Lockheed L-749A Constellation registered

(VT-DEP) carrying 19 people (11 passengers and 8 crew) was bombed in midair,
killing 16 of the 19 on board.

• On 19 July 1959 Rani of Aera a Lockheed L-1049G super Constellation

(registered VT-DIN) carrying 46 people (39 passengers and 7 crew) approached
Santacruz Airport in conditions of poor visibility due to rain. The captain was
using an altimeter with the barometric pressure set at 29.92". An overshoot was
delayed and the aircraft crashed and suffered damage beyond repair. There were
no fatalities.

The Air India Memorial in Toronto, Canada dedicated to the victims of Air India
Flight
182

1960s

• On 24 January 1966 Air India Flight 101 Kanchenjunga a Boeing 707-420

(registered VT-DMN) carrying 117 people (106 passengers and 11 crew) crashed
on Mont Blanc, France, on the border between France and Italy, killing all on
board. Among the dead was the noted Indian scientist, Homi J. Bhaba.

1970s

• On 1 January 1978 Air India Flight 855 Emperor Ashoka a Boeing 747-237B
(registered VT-EBD) crashed into the Arabian Sea after takeoff from Sahara
International Airport (now Chatrapathi Shivaji International Airport) in Mumbai,
killing all on board (213 persons; 190 passengers, 23 crew).
 33

1980s

• On 21 June 1982 Air India Flight 403 Gouri Shankar a Boeing 707-420
(registered
VT-DJJ) carrying 99 passengers and 12 crew from Kuala Lumpur International
Airport via Madras (now Chennai) crashed at Sahara International Airport after a
heavy landing during a rainstorm. The fuselage exploded after starting a late
goaround. Two crew members and 15 passengers were killed.

• On 23 June 1985 Air India Flight 182 Emperor Kanishka a Boeing 747-347B
(registered VT-EFO) was blown up in mid-air, mid-flight by a suitcase-bomb
planted by Babbar Kalsa Terrorists allegedly as revenge for the Indian
Government's operation on the Golden Temple on June 1984. The flight was on
the first leg on its Montreal-London-Delhi-Bombay flight when it exploded off
the coast of Cork, Ireland. The plane crashed into the Atlantic Ocean. All 307
passengers and 22 crew on board died. After this incident Air India suspended all
services to Montreal.

1990s

• On 24 December 1999, Friday Indian Airlines Flight 184 (VT-EDW) had 178
passengers on board (most of whom were Indian nationals) that were coming to
India after vacationing in Nepal was hijacked, shortly after the aircraft entered
Indian airspace at about 17:30 Indian Standard Time. The aircraft was hijacked by
gunmen. After touching down in Amritsar, Lahore and Dubai, the hijackers forced
the aircraft to land in Kandhahar, Afghanistan. The hijackers released 27 of 176
passengers in Dubai but fatally stabbed one and wounded several others. The
hijacking lasted for seven days and ended after India released three militants —
Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh and Maulana Masood Azhar.

2000s
 34

• On 4 September 2009, Air India Flight 829 Konark a Boeing 747-437

(registered VT-ESM) flying on the Mumbai-Riyadh route caught fire at
Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. The fire started in number one engine
while the aircraft was taxing to Runway 27 for take-off. An emergency evacuation
was carried out with no injuries among the 228 people (213 passengers and 15
crew) on board.

3.1.5 SPICE JET

Spice Jet is a low-cost airline headquartered in Gurgaon, India. It began service in

May 2005 and by 2008, it was India's second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market
share. Spice Jet was voted as the best low-cost airline in South Asia and Central Asia
region by Skytrax in 2007 and 2009. Spice Jet was reported to be far ahead of other
lowcost carriers in India like IndiGo, JetLite, Kingfisher Red and GoAir and also full
service carriers like Jet Airways and Kingfisher.

However, services have been riddled by delays. Some passengers have been left
stranded after repeated delay announcements followed by abrupt cancellations. According
to reports, more than 17,480 passengers of Spice Jet have been affected by delays of more
than two hours in January 2011 alone. That Spice jet is the worst hit among low cost
carriers is exemplified by the fact that this number stays unabated at a staggering 15,629
in July 2011.

In 2012, the airline again hit the headlines for its debacle in the disabled passenger
handling issue for which it has been issued a notice by the Supreme Court.

3.1.5.1 History
 35

Early years

MODILUFT logo

The origins of Spice Jet track back to February 1993 when ModiLuft, one of
India's first post-deregulation airlines that was launched by the Indian industrialist S K
Modi, in technical partnership with the German flag carrier Lufthansa. The airline
project was started in February, 1993 by S K Modi, Ashutosh Dayal Sharma and Kanwar
K S Jamwal and on 5 May 1993 took the first flight from New Delhi to Mumbai. The
airline actually started operations within three months of its conception - a record of kinds
in itself. It maintained very high standards in flight safety, ground maintenance and on-
time performance, owing to a strong support from Lufthansa AG. The team consisting of
Indian and German technical staff and pilots was built by Kanwar K S Jamwal, General
Manager Projects, a thorough professional himself, was responsible for setting up the
Airline and its operations. Captain R L. Kapur and Retired First officer Cdr. S. Raj along
with a team of able Airline experts helped further, in meeting the highest standards in the
aviation industry and in conforming to the Indian Aircraft Rules set by the Director
General Civil Aviation. The first two batches of the cabin crew were extensively trained
at the flight crew training facility at Frankfurt. Modiluft was perhaps the only Airline to
achieve an average aircraft utilization of a minimum 12 hours per day in Indian Skies.
This was no ordinary feat, as it required constant supervision, resources and a team of
through professionals at every level to make this possible.

3.1.5.2 Emergence as Spice Jet

ModiLuft was the only airline in India to fly a three class configuration compared
to others Airlines, It had a First, Business and an Economy Class and an incident free
track record of flying. It used Boeing 737-200 Aircraft leased from Lufthansa. ModiLuft
did not last very long specially because the business parity of the German and Indian
partners was not the same and problems arose. Then the cooperation was broken off and
ModiLuft acquired Boeing 737-400 aircraft to replace the 737-200s from Air U K, but the
 36

future of ModiLuft was already sealed and the airline ceased operations in 1996.
However, the airoperating certificate (AOC) of ModiLuft did not lapse and the airline due
to lack of funds changed hands and renamed Royal Airways. Thus, was born Spice Jet
following the low cost model. Spice Jet leased 3 Boeing 737-800 Next Generation jet
aircraft. Spice Jet chose to buy in modern Boeing NGs after an year long research and
study. On March 7, 2005, the Airports Authority of India approved three overnight
parking slots (for aircraft) to Spice
Jet, with two in Delhi and one in Mumbai. They announced that flights will commence in
May after the first of the 30 Boeing 737-800 aircraft arrive in April. Spice Jet opened
bookings on May 18, 2005 and results followed immediately as over 37,000 were booked
out in just one day, setting a new record in the Asian continent. Red Hot Special Fares
were introduced ranging from 99 (US$1.98) to 799 (US$15.94). The first flight was
flagged off by the Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri. Praful Patel. The first Boeing
737-800 aircraft left Delhi for Mumbai via Ahmedabad on May 24, 2005. It was very
successful and by 2008, it was India's second-largest low-cost airline in terms of market
share. On 15 July 2008 billionaire Wilbur Ross suggested he would invest 345 crore
(US$68.83 million) in the airline. Indian media baron Kalanidhi Maran acquired 37.7% in
the business in June 2010. After completing 5 years of flying, Spice Jet was allowed to
commence international flights by the Airports Authority of India on September 7, 2010.
Spice Jet launched flights from Delhi to Kathmandu and Chennai to Colombo. The first
international flight took off on October 7, 2010 from the Delhi airport. On December 9,
2010, Bombardier Aerospace announced that Spice Jet placed a firm order for 15 Q400
NextGen turboprop airliners and has also placed an option to buy another 15 of those.
Spice Jet used their fleet of Q400's for short-haul operations.

3.1.5.3 Fleet

Table No: 3.1.5.3.1

Spice Jet fleet

In Passengers
Aircraft Service Orders Options Notes
(Economy)
 37

15 dry leased, 11 owned

Boeing 737-800 26 21 — 189 New deliveries since
December 2010
Boeing 737-900ER 6 — — 212

Bombardier Dash 8 New deliveries since

7 8 15 78
Q400 August 2011
Total 39 29 15
3.1.5.4 Spice Jet Cargo

Along with passenger services, Spice Jet also offers cargo services on the same
flight. The service is available on flights connecting Ahmedabad, Agartala, Bagdogra,
Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi,
Kolkata, Madurai, Mumbai, Pune and Visakhapatnam. Between 2 to 3.5 tons of cargo is
ferried on each flight ensuring maximum utilization of the aircraft.

3.1.5.5 Incidents

1. On the evening of September 8, 2010 at around 06:40 PM IST, the pilots of flight
SG 219 noticed fire on one of the engines while taxiing towards the runway on
Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport. The plane called for emergency
services and the problem was fixed. The plane took off at 08:20 PM with all the
passengers safe. However, just 15 minutes into the flight, the pilots reported a
steep fall in cabin pressure and made an emergency landing back at the same
airport. All the passengers were safe and the plane was grounded for repairs.

2. On February 20, 2012, a lady named Jeeja Ghosh - a teacher at the Indian Institute of
Cerebral Palsy in Kolkata was forcefully offloaded from a flight to Goa. Though a
frequent air traveler, the lady was forced to stay back because the pilot - Utprabh
Tiwari - claimed that she wasn't fit to fly even though the Spice Jet rules say that
disabled people can fly. Jeeja issued a complaint against the pilot and claimed that
 38

action be taken since the entire differently-abled community was at stake. The airline
later relented to the demand and issued a statement apologizing for the
inconvenience caused to the passenger and that the issue will be taken seriously.
Notwithstanding, Ghosh filed a plea with the apex court. Supreme Court has issued a
notice to Spice Jet for causing this mental trauma to a differently-abled woman.
Ghosh claimed that pilots like that do not deserve to hold the job and be suspended.

3.1.6 SILKAIR

SilkAir (Singapore) Private Limited (Chinese: Shèngān Hángkōng) is an airline based

in Singapore. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines and operates
scheduled passenger services from Singapore to 31 cities in Southeast Asia, South Asia
and China. It has its head office on the fifth storey of Super hub 1. As the regional wing
of
Singapore Airlines, it serves 31 out of 50 short-haul destinations in the Singapore Airlines
Group network, and flew 1.56 million passengers in 2006. It made a profit of S$30
million, as turnover rose 20.4% to $415 million.

As of 31 March 2010, SilkAir employs 278 staff.

3.1.6.1 History

The airline had its roots as a regional air-charter company in the form of Trade
winds Charters, formed in 1976, and using planes predominantly leased from parent
company Singapore Airlines serving leisure destinations. Scheduled services were
introduced as Trade winds Airlines on 21 February 1989, when it leased McDonnell
Douglas MD-87 airplanes for services to six destinations, namely Bandar Seri Begawan,
Pattaya, Phuket, Hat Yai and Kuantan from Singapore's Changi Airport and Tioman from
Singapore's Seletar Airport. As the carrier matured, regional business destinations such as
Jakarta, Phnom Penh and Yangon were added to its network, thereby broadening the
airline's appeal beyond the holiday-maker to include the business traveler. SilkAir
 39

A319100 at Singapore Changi Airport, with a Singapore Airlines (parent company)

Boeing 777 in the background.

A major marketing overhaul was started in 1991, culminating on 1 April 1992, by

giving the airline its present name and logo as a new corporate identity. The re-branded
airline utilized up to six of the new Boeing 737-300s introduced just a year earlier. The
mid-1990s saw two Airbus A310-200 aircraft in use and the expansion of services to
India as well as mainland China. It was the first Asian carrier to offer handheld portable
videoon-demand (VOD) in-flight entertainment in the form of the DigEplayer 5500,
available on flights to selected countries.

3.1.6.2 Fleet

SilkAir Airbus A320 at Davao International Airport, Philippines

SilkAir began operations with 2 leased McDonnell Douglas MD-87 aircraft in

1989, before investing in its own fleet of six Boeing 737-300s, the first of which began
operations in 1991. It operated two Airbus A310-200s for a brief period from 1993 to
1995 before they were transferred to Singapore Airlines, and two Fokker F70 from 1995
to 2000. It began replacing its Boeing fleet with Airbus aircraft when the first Airbus
A320-200 arrived in 1998, and retired all Boeing aircraft a year later. On 20 December
2006, SilkAir signed an agreement to purchase 11 Airbus A320-200 aircraft with nine
more on option.
These aircraft will be delivered between 2009-2012.

The SilkAir fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of 29 February 2012)

Table No: 3.1.6.2.1

SilkAir Fleet

In Passengers
Aircraft Servic Orders Options
J Y Total
e
Airbus 1 — — 12 106 118
 40

2 120
A319- 3 8 112 128
100 8 120
Airbus 5 16 126 142
A320- 4 4 1
9 138 150
200 2
Total 20 4 4
3.1.6.3 Incidents and accidents

On 19 December 1997, SilkAir Flight 185, operated by a Boeing 737-300 and

piloted by Captain Tsu Way Ming, plunged into the Musi River in Sumatra during a
routine flight from Jakarta to Singapore, killing all 104 people on board. The crash was
investigated by various groups, with different results. The Indonesian NTSC, who were
lead investigators, stated that they were unable to determine the cause, while the U.S.
NTSB concluded that the crash resulted from an intentional act by a pilot, most likely the
captain.

3.1.7 AIR ARABIA

Air Arabia is a low-cost airline with its head office in the Sharjah Freight Center,
Sharjah International Airport, in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.

The airline is the first and largest low cost airline in the Middle East, Air Arabia
operates scheduled services to 46 destinations in the Middle East, North Africa, the
Indian subcontinent, Central Asia and Europe to 22 countries from Sharjah, 11
destinations in 10 countries from Casablanca and 5 destinations in 5 countries from
Alexandria.

Its main base is Sharjah International Airport where it functions as a low cost
conduit base, similar to low cost airport bases in Europe such as Rome Ciampino, London
Stansted and Brussels South Charleroi Airport. Air Arabia separates it from many low
 41

cost carriers in that it offers connections to many flights at its base in Sharjah. It also
offers some checked luggage at no cost. Air Arabia also has focus cities in Alexandria and
Casablanca. Air Arabia is a member of the Arab Air Carriers Organization.

3.1.7.1 History

Air Arabia was established on 3 February 2003 by an Amiri decree issued by Dr.
Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah and member of the Supreme
Council of the United Arab Emirates, becoming the first low-fare airline in the region.
The airline started operations on 28 October 2003 with the first flight from Sharjah, UAE
to Bahrain International Airport. The airline was profitable from the first year of being in
business. It launched a successful initial public offering for 55% of its stock early in
2007.

3.1.7.2 Joint ventures

An Air Arabia Airbus A320-200 (2008)

Air Arabia has created joint ventures at three international bases. The following
countries have had or still do have JV airlines based there:

Egypt

Air Arabia Egypt (2010–present) - On 9 September 2009, Air Arabia announced

Air Arabia Egypt as a joint venture with Egyptian travel and tourism company Travco
Group to be based in Alexandria, Egypt. The airline received its operating license on 22
May 2010, with commercial flights beginning 1 June 2010. The fleet in Egypt currently
consists of three aircraft, two operating a scheduled service and one carrying charter
traffic from Europe to the Red Sea.
 42

Jordan

Air Arabia Jordan (TBA) - On 7 June 2010, Air Arabia announced that they had
signed a deal with Tantash Group to form Air Arabia Jordan which will be based in
Amman, Jordan. The proposed airline will operate flights from Queen Alia International
Airport to Europe, Middle East and North Africa. On June 14 2011 the airline announced
it was delaying plans to establish a hub in the country amid regional unrest and soaring
fuel costs.

Morocco

Air Arabia Maroc (2009–present) - Air Arabia, in a joint venture with Moroccan
investors established Air Arabia Maroc and set up a secondary base in Morocco's largest
city, Casablanca; it began operations on 6 May 2009, allowing them to expand into
Europe and Africa. The Maroc fleet currently consists of three aircraft serving mainly
European destinations.

Nepal

Fly Yeti (2007–2008) - In 2007, Air Arabia opened a base in Nepal's capital
Kathmandu to serve Asia and the Middle East, with the signing of a joint venture
agreement with Yeti Airlines, establishing a low-cost carrier, called Fly Yeti that provided
affordable and convenient service to a broad range of international destinations. Due to
the uncertain political and economic situation prevailing in Nepal and lack of local
government support, FlyYeti operations were suspended since early 2008.

3.1.7.3 Fleet

As of November 2011, the Air Arabia fleet consists of the following aircraft, with an
average age of 3.2 years. which are all equipped with 162/168 passenger seats in an
alleconomy class cabin layout.
 43

Table No: 3.1.7.3.1

Air Arabia
In
Aircraft flee Order Passengers
t
Airbus A320- 27 44 162/168
214
Number of Business and Economy seats varies according to demand

3.1.7.4 Incidents and accidents

On 6 May 2006, an Armavia aircraft that was leased to Air Arabia at that time was
destroyed in a hangar fire at Brussels Airport, along with four other airliners parked there.

3.1.8 COIMBATORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Coimbatore International Airport (INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT

ASSOCIATION: CJB, ICAO: VOCB) is a customs airport located at Peelamedu,
Coimbatore. It was previously known as Coimbatore Civil Aerodrome. It is about 17 km
(11 mi) from the city center. It is located along Peelamedu and Neelambur, with
passenger entry at Neelambur and cargo entry at Peelamedu. It is the eleventh largest
airport in India in terms of total passenger movement and the second largest in Tamil
Nadu, after Chennai International Airport.

3.1.8.1 History

The airport had its commencement in the 1940s in the form of a civil aerodrome
with just the Indian operating Fokker F27, Douglas DC-3 and Hawker Siddeley's Avro
 44

748. For a considerable phase, the air services were restricted to the cities of Chennai and
Mumbai. However, in the later years services to Cochin and Bangalore were also added.
The airport in the 80s had a thorough transformation when it was closed down for runway
expansion so as to enable modern days jets like Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 to operate.
The year 1987 is a landmark in the history of this airport since on that year the project of
runway expansion was completed and a new terminal started operation.

Nowadays, the airport is served by 10 airlines and 5 more are likely to initiate
their operations in the coming years. In the meanwhile, two airlines, Silkair and Air
Arabia, started operations to Coimbatore, linking Coimbatore with Singapore and
Sharjah.

3.1.8.2 Airport with a Mission

The airport had its commencement in the 1940’s in the form of a civil aerodrome
with just a few airplanes of the Indian Airlines. From that period for a considerable phase
the air services were restricted to the cities of Chennai and Mumbai. However, in the later
years services to Cochin and Bangalore were also added. The airport in the 80s had a
thorough transformation when it was closed down for runway expansion so as to enable
modern days jets like Boeing 737 and Airbus to operate. The year 1987 is a landmark in
the history of this airport since on that year the project of runway expansion was
completed and a new terminal started operation.

Nowadays, the airport is served by 10 airlines and 5 more are likely to initiate
their operations in the coming years. In the meanwhile, the reputed international airline
SilkAir has started operations to Coimbatore, linking Coimbatore with Singapore. The
other two international airlines that are operating from here are Air Arabia and Air India-
Express. In the airport there is also a runway that is 10,000 feet in length and it is destined
 45

that the final expansion will expand it to12,500 ft in length. This will be done to handle
wide bodied aircrafts in a better manner.

There are two hangers in the airport. While one of them provides housing for the
planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, the others provides shelter for private carriers. The
airport has only one terminal and the other is under construction.

The airport is on the verge of expansion and projects are being chalked out in this
direction. The airport authority is pondering over the construction of a parallel taxiway to
reduce the runway occupancy time and turnaround of aircraft. In addition, plans for
modernizing the present terminal with all modern facilities are sought after.

3.1.8.3 Infrastructure

The new passenger terminal complex at Neelambur is used for passenger

operations. The passenger terminal complex consists of a domestic terminal and an
International terminal, although the complex is one continuous structure. The first part to
be built was the old terminal at Peelamedu followed by the new domestic terminal with
three aero bridges at Neelambur. The old terminal at Peelamedu is used for handling
cargo.

The airport has one runway that is 9,760 feet (2,970 m) in length extended from
8,500 ft (2,600 m). The airport can now accommodate larger aircraft such as the Boeing
747 and Airbus A330 because of this runway expansion. The runway is further slated to
be extended to 12,500 feet (3,800 m) to handle wide bodied aircraft in a efficient manner.
An Instrument Landing System (ILS) has also been installed. Although the cargo
complex is one continuous structure, it was built incrementally, with the Domestic and
International terminals being added in 2007 to the already existing terminal.

The airport has a parking management system will be in place with separate
entrance for VIP/Government and other exempted class of vehicles, with a dedicated area
for parking for 12 vehicles. The airport parking area has the capacity to park 282 cars.
 46

3.1.8.4 Facilities inside the airport

Coimbatore Airport has many facilities like ATMs, money restore counters, checkup
aid, dietetic and rinse etc. Travelers can make use of next facilities at the airport:

 Baggage Trolleys and sweep cope for disabled passengers

 Checkup / First Aid Room

 Tourist Information
 Car Rental
 Drinking Water
 Money Exchange  STD / ISD / PCO
 Pre-paid Taxi
 Gift Shops
 Restaurant and Snack Bars
 Tea / brunette Vending Machines
 Silky draft Vending Machines
 ATM

3.1.8.5 Proposed Expansion

The further proposed expansion of the airport includes the construction of a

parallel taxiway to the runway. This will minimize the runway occupancy time and
turnaround of aircraft, as aircraft currently taxi on the runway. Two more parking bays
will be added, raising the total number to eight. There are two hangars in the airport; one
provides housing for the planes of Coimbatore Flying Club, the other provides shelter for
private carriers. The airport has only one terminal and another is under construction. The
airport is on the verge of expansion and projects are being chalked out in this direction. In
addition, plans for modernizing the present terminal with all modern facilities are sought
after.
 47

3.1.8.6 Transport links

The airport is located on the National Highway 47(Avinashi Road). Frequent bus
services are available from the central bus stand in Gandhipuram and also from other
auxiliary bus stations of Singanallur and Ukkadam. Cab services and auto rickshaws also
provide commuting services from and to the airport.

3.1.8.7 Airlines and destinations

Table No: 3.1.8.7.1

Airlines Destinations

Air Arabia Sharjah

Air India Chennai, Delhi, Kozhikode, Mumbai

IndiGo Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata,

Mumbai
Jet Airways Bangalore, Chennai

JetLite Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai

Kingfisher Airlines Bangalore

Silkair Singapore
SpiceJet Ahmedabad, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai

Cargo
Airlines Destinations
Air India Cargo Chennai
Blue Dart Aviation Delhi
Kingfisher Xpress Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai
Yanda Airlines Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Sharjah
 48

3.1.8.8 Incidents

On 17 November 2007, an accident at the parking bay of the airport was averted
when the wing of a SpiceJet Boeing 737, bound for New Delhi with 130 passengers,
almost struck the wing of a stationary Air Deccan A320 aircraft. The aircraft was stopped
on time and the accident averted.

CHAPTER - IV

ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION

4.1 Simple Percentage Analysis

Table No: 4.1.1

CLASSIFICATION OF AGE GROUP

Chart No: 4.1.1

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

1 BELOW 25 YRS 21 21
2 25-35 38 38
3 35-45 19 19
4 45-55 13 13
5 ABOVE 55 YRS 9 9
 49

Total 100 100

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.1, it shows that 38% are of 25-35 years, 21% are of
below 25 years, 19% are of 35-45 years, 13% are of 45 -55 years and 9% are of above 55
years of age.

Table No: 4.1.2

CLASSIFICATION OF GENDER
S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 MALE 77 77
2 FEMALE 23 23
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.2
 50

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.2, it shows that 77% are of male respondents and 23%
are of female respondents.
Table No: 4.1.3

CLASSIFICATION OF INCOME LEVEL

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 BELOW Rs50,000 34 34
2 Rs50,000-Rs1,00,000 32 32
3 ABOVE Rs1,00,000 34 34
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.3
 51

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.3, it shows that 34% are of below Rs.50,000 in their
income level, 32% are of Rs.50,000 – Rs.1,00,000 in their income level and 34% are of
above Rs.1,00,000 in their income level.

Table No: 4.1.4

CLASSIFICATION OF MARITAL STATUS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 MARRIED 68 68
2 UN MARRIED 32 32
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.4
 52

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.4, it shows that 68% are of married respondents and
32% are of unmarried respondents.

Table No: 4.1.5

CLASSIFICATION OF FAMILY STRENGTH

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENT PERCENTAGE
S
1 3 37 37
2 4 48 48
3 5 and ABOVE 15 15
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.5

 53

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.5, it shows that 48% are of family strength is 4, 37% are
of family strength is 3 and 15% are of family strength is 5 and above.
Table No: 4.1.6

CLASSIFICATION OF LOCATION
S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 URBAN 84 84
2 RURAL 16 16
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.6
 54

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.6, it shows that 84% of respondents are from urban and
16% of respondents are from rural.
Table No: 4.1.7

CLASSIFICATION OF PREFERRED CLASS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENT PERCENTAGE
S
1 FIRST CLASS 12 12
2 BUSINESS 19 19
3 ECONOMIC 69 69
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.7

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.7, it shows that 69% of respondents are preferred economic
class, 19% of respondents are preferred business class and 12% of respondents are
preferred first class.

Table No: 4.1.8

 55

FLIGHT DEPARTS AND ARRIVES AS PER SCHEDULE

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 YES 71 71
2 NO 29 29
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.8

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.8, it shows that 71% of respondents are said yes and 29% of
respondents said no for flights departs and arrives as per schedule.

Table No: 4.1.9

CHECK IN PROCESS FOR AIR CARRIERS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 21 21
2 SATISFIED 62 62
3 NEUTRAL 14 14
4 DISSATISFIED 2 2
5 HIGHLY 1 1
DISSATISFIED
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.9
 56

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.9, it shows that 62% of respondents are satisfied, 21% of
respondents are highly satisfied, 14% of respondents are neutral, 2% of respondents are
dissatisfied and 1% of respondents are highly dissatisfied.

Table No: 4.1.10

BAGGAGE HANDLING PROCESS FOR AIR CARRIERS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 18 18
2 SATISFIED 63 63
3 NEUTRAL 16 16
4 DISSATISFIED 2 2
5 HIGHLY DISSATISFIED 1 1
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.10

 57

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.10, it shows that 63% of respondents are satisfied, 18% of
respondents are highly satisfied, 16% of respondents are neutral, 2% of respondents are
dissatisfied and 1% of respondents are highly dissatisfied.

Table No: 4.1.11

LEVEL OF COIMBATORE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT COMPARING TO

OTHERS
S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 EXCELLENT 9 9
2 GOOD 50 50
3 FAIR 26 26
4 POOR 13 13
5 VERY POOR 2 2
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.11

 58

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.11, it shows that 50% of respondents are good, 26% of
respondents are fair, 13% of respondents are poor, 9% of respondents are excellent and
2% of respondents are very poor.

Table No: 4.1.12

RESPONE LEVEL BY CRM OF AIRLINES

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 13 13
2 SATISFIED 64 64
3 NEUTRAL 17 17
4 DISSATISFIED 6 6
5 HIGHLY DISSATISFIED 0 0
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.12
 59

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.12, it shows that 64% of respondents are satisfied, 13% of
respondents are highly satisfied, 17% of respondents are neutral, 6% of respondents are
dissatisfied and 0% of respondents are highly dissatisfied.
Table No: 4.1.13

TICKET BOOKING PROCESS FOR AIR CARRIERS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 22 22
2 SATISFIED 54 54
3 NEUTRAL 20 20
4 DISSATISFIED 4 4
5 HIGHLY DISSATISFIED 0 0
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.13
 60

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.13, it shows that 54% of respondents are satisfied, 22% of
respondents are highly satisfied, 20% of respondents are neutral, 4% of respondents are
dissatisfied and 0% of respondents are highly dissatisfied.

Table No: 4.1.14

HANDLING OF DELAYS AND CANCELLATIONS OF AIRLINES

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 EXCELLENT 10 10
2 GOOD 47 47
3 FAIR 36 36
4 POOR 6 6
5 VERY POOR 1 1
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.14
 61

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.14, it shows that 47% of Respondents are good, 36% of
respondents are fair, 10% of respondents are excellent, 6% of respondents are poor and
1% of respondents are very poor.

Table No: 4.1.15

ON TIME PERFORMANCE OF FLIGHTS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 EXCELLENT 17 17
2 GOOD 52 52
3 FAIR 24 24
4 POOR 7 7
5 VERY POOR 0 0
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.15

 62

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.15, it shows that 52% of respondents are good, 24% of
respondents are fair, 17% of respondents are excellent, 7% of respondents are poor and
0% of respondents are very poor.

Table No: 4.1.16

BEHAVIOUR OF AIR HOSTESS AND STEWARDS IN INFLIGHT

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 VERY GOOD 11 11
2 GOOD 46 46
3 NEUTRAL 23 23
4 POOR 19 19
5 VERY POOR 1 1
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.16

 63

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.16, it shows that 46% of respondents are good, 23% of
respondents are fair, 11% of respondents are excellent, 19% of respondents are poor and
1% of respondents are very poor.

Table No: 4.1.17

QUALITY OF FOOD SERVED BY AIR CARRIERS

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 VERY GOOD 9 9
2 GOOD 29 29
3 NEUTRAL 39 39
4 POOR 17 17
5 VERY POOR 6 6
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.17

 64

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.17, it shows that 29% of respondents are good, 39% of
respondents are fair, 9% of respondents are excellent, 17% of respondents are poor and
6% of respondents are very poor.

Table No: 4.1.18

EXPECTATION MATCHES WITH THE REALITY OF AIRLINES

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 YES 63 63
2 NO 37 37
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.18
 65

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.18, it shows that 63% of respondents are said yes and 37%
of respondents said no for expectations matches with reality of airlines.

Table No: 4.1.19

CLEANLINESS IN YOUR TIME OF JOURNEY

S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 HIGHLY SATISFIED 24 24
2 SATISFIED 53 53
3 NEUTRAL 16 16
4 DISSATISFIED 4 4
5 HIGHLY DISSATISFIED 3 3
Total 100 100

Chart No: 4.1.19

 66

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.19, it shows that 53% of respondents are satisfied, 24% of
respondents are highly satisfied, 16% of respondents are neutral, 4% of respondents are
dissatisfied and 3% of respondents are highly dissatisfied.

Table No: 4.1.20

LIKE THE INSIDE ENVIRONMENT OF COIMBATORE INTERNATIONAL

AIRPORT
S.No PARTICULARS RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 YES 68 68
2 NO 32 32
Total 100 100
Chart No: 4.1.20
 67

Interpretation

From the above table 4.1.8, it shows that 68% of respondents are said yes and
32% of respondents said no for like the inside environment of Coimbatore international
airport.

4.2 Reliability Test

Table No: 4.2.1

Reliability

Scale: ALL VARIABLES

Case Processing Summary

 68

N %

Cases Valid 10 100.0

Excluded a
0 .0
Total 10 100.0
a. List wise deletion based on all variables in
the procedure.

Reliability Statistics
Cronbach's N of
Alpha Items
.773 20
Interpretation:

From the above table 4.21, the reliability test has been done for 10 variables with 20
items and the reliability statistics is 0.773. Hence the variables are reliable

4.3 Chi Square Test

Table No: 4.3.1

N par test Frequencies

Age
Observed Expected Residual
N N
below 25 23 20.0 3.0
years
 69

25-35 37 20.0 17.0

35-45 18 20.0 -2.0
45-55 13 20.0 -7.0
above 55 9 20.0 -11.0
Total 100
did the flight departs and arrives as per schedule
Observed N Expected N Residual

Yes 71 50.0 21.0

No 29 50.0 -21.0
Total 100
Chi Square Test Statistics
did the fight departs and
Age arrives as per schedule
Chi-Square 23.600a 17.640b
Df 4 1
Asymp. Sig. .000 .000
Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.1 it shows that the calculated value is higher than the
table value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.

H1= There is significant relation between age and flight departs and arrives as per
schedule.
H2= There is no significant relation between age and flight departs and arrives as per
schedule.

Table No: 4.3.2

Frequencies

Gender
Observed N Expected N Residual
 70

Male 77 50.0 27.0

Female 23 50.0 -27.0
Total 100
Level Of CBE International Airport Comparing To Others
Observed N Expected N Residual

Very Poor 2 20.0 -18.0

Poor 13 20.0 -7.0
Fair 26 20.0 6.0
Good 50 20.0 30.0
Excellent 9 20.0 -11.0
Total 100
Chi Square Test Statistics
level of CBE international
airport comparing to
gender others
Chi-Square 29.160a 71.500b
Df 1 4
Asymp. Sig. .000 .000
Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.2 it shows that the calculated value is higher than the table
value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.
H1= There is significant relation between gender and level of CBE international airport
comparing to others.
H2= There is no significant relation gender and level of CBE international airport
comparing to others.

Table No: 4.3.3 Frequencies

 71

Income Level
Observed Expected Residual
N N
below Rs 50,000 35 33.3 1.7
Rs 50,000-Rs 31 33.3 -2.3
1,00,000
Above Rs 1,00,000 34 33.3 .7
Total 100
Response Level By CRM Of Airlines
Observed N Expected N Residual

Dissatisfied 6 25.0 -19.0

Neutral 17 25.0 -8.0
Satisfied 64 25.0 39.0
highly
13 25.0 -12.0
satisfied
Total 100
Chi Square Test Statistics

income level response level by CRM of airlines

Chi-Square .260a 83.600b
Df 2 3
Asymp. Sig. .878 .000
Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.2 it shows that the calculated value is higher than
the table value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.
H1= There is significant relation between income level and response level by CRM
of airlines.
H2= There is no significant relation between income level and response level by
CRM of airlines.
 72

4.4 One Way ANOVA Test

Table No: 4.4.1

One way income level BY quality of food served by airlines

Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.2 it shows that the calculated value is higher than the table
ANOVA

Income level
Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups 3.166 4 .791 1.142 .341
Within Groups 65.824 95 .693

Total 68.990 99
value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.
H1= There is significant relation between income level and quality of food served by
airlines.
H2= There is no significant relation between income level and quality of food served by
airlines.
 73

Table No: 4.4.2

ONEWAY marital status BY expectations matches with the reality of airlines.

ANOVA
Marital Status
Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups .058 1 .058 .261 .611
Within Groups 21.702 98 .221

Total 21.760 99
Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.2 it shows that the calculated value is higher than the
table value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.
H1= There is significant relation between marital status and expectations matches with
the reality of airlines.
H2= There is no significant relation between marital status and expectations matches with
the reality of airlines.

Table No: 4.4.3

ONEWAY gender BY cleanliness in time of your journey
 74

ANOVA
Gender
Sum of df Mean Square F Sig.
Squares
Between Groups .700 4 .175 .977 .424
Within Groups 17.010 95 .179

Total 17.710 99
Interpretation

From the above table 4.3.2 it shows that the calculated value is higher than the
table value. So, the H1 can be accepted and H2 can be rejected.
H1= There is significant relation between gender and cleanliness in time of your journey.
H2= There is no significant relation between gender and cleanliness in time of your
journey.

CHAPTER - V
 75

Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion

5.1 Findings

• Now a day’s aviation industry is facing a huge competition between the carriers. To
know about the need and taste of customers is very much important. As the major
marketing technique Frequent Flyer Programme has great influence in customers. The
competition among FFP of major airlines is also high. So that innovative methods will
help for the success of airlines. FFP as a loyalty based programme airline can retain
the existing customers.

• As per the response of respondent airlines in Coimbatore international airport seem to

be ok on its quality of food providing in-flight for attracting the customers. Finding
reveals 39% choose an airline because of its quality of food is neutral.

• It is found that passengers expectations matches with the reality of airlines in

Coimbatore international airport. 63% of people say yes.

• An obvious weakness is the high prices of airlines due to its huge investments in
ordering aircrafts. Although it has opportunities many threats are concerning it, such
as increase of oil prices, and the spread of killer diseases.

• The services employed by low cost carriers are significantly different from those
employed by full service carriers.

• Low Cost airlines slash traditional fare structures in a bid to offer a new breed of
highly price sensitive flyer the cheapest ticket.
 76

5.2 Suggestions

• Investigating technology is recommended for improving customer service and

airlines has to sign contract with an e-business company that offers airlines
technology solutions. E-CRM strategy is a new technology that airlines should
implement since Internet users' number is increasing. It allows managing long term
relationships with customers. Generally Airlines should do analysis for internal and
external factors and its competitors and develop new strategies to stay competitive in
the maturity stage.

• As the Airline industry is in the maturity stage, there is a strong competition between
airline firms. Each firm should use offensive strategies besides doing analysis for
internal and external factors that may affect its position. Airlines should aggressively
market its product and services through innovative techniques.

• Airlines should enhance its connectivity across the country and even outside in order
to sustain the business.

• Promotional methods should be changed as per the current market

• Airlines should give more emphasis on the yield than the revenue
 77

5.3 Conclusion

After detailed study, assessment and evaluation of primary and secondary data, it
is significant to underline about how the aims and objectives of the thesis work were
analyzed. The research study attempts to understand and critically analyze the
customer satisfaction in airline industry with special reference to Coimbatore
International Airport. Therefore to examine this, the investigation was executed to
identify the main service determinants of Airlines and based on these to gauge the
satisfaction levels of the passengers and also to evaluate the passenger satisfaction and
quality of service among travelers in airlines and further to emphasize the several
measures taken by them to provide excellent customer service to its passengers. Further
in-depth study revealed that customers who fly were more concerned with the
ticket fares and also few passengers responded that they were worried about the
baggage facilities and few of them expressed security issues as an area of concern.

After closely examining, it is clearly understood that airline passengers judge the
quality of flight services offered to them on the basis of prompt arrivals and departures,
air fares and then based on the various facilities such as safety, food & beverages, attitude
of staff, baggage to name a few. Overall conclusion may be interpreted from the
passenger interview, feedbacks and secondary data on airline industry, it is evident that
in airline industry attaining excellent passenger satisfaction is little beyond the
reach of a specific airline when the competition is worldwide. In today's global
economy people are more educated and intend to travel internationally both for
work and leisure purposes than before and they enjoy travelling to more locations very
easily and with better value of money. Therefore, the passenger insists for better
connectivity, reasonable ticket prices and improved flight services than before. In today's
competitive world with many best alternatives available to the passengers it is very
critical for the airlines to meet the passenger satisfactions and offer excellent service
to reach great heights in the near future.
 78

BIBILOGRAPHY

1. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2003/06/04-indigo-teterboro.html “Indigo
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incrisis/1/160579.html India Today, Kingfisher in trouble: Vijay Mallya refuses to
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flights114123710.html
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12. 12. "Air India, Star Alliance resume talks". Official website of Hindustan Times.
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AirIndia-Star-Alliance-resume-talks/Article1-756987.aspx. Retrieved 15 October
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 79

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facts/spicejet/history/SJ01#SJ01.
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inSpiceJet/articleshow/6037165.cms
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23. http://www.aai.aero/traffic_news/mar2k11annex3.pdf
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 80

ANNEXURE

‘‘A Study on Passenger Satisfaction in Airline Industry with Special Reference to

Coimbatore International Airport”
Greetings:-
I Aravindraj.R Final year MBA student from Excel Business School in
Komarapalayam ,Tamil Nadu .I am going to do a project on the above topic in your
esteemed organization. Hence, I request you to give your valuable opinion regards the
below statement. Your opinions will be kept as confidential.

Personal Details:-

1. Name :

2. Age : a) Below 25yrs b) 25-35yrs c) 35-45yrs

d) 45-55yrs e) Above 55yrs
3. Gender : a) Male b) Female
4. Income Level : a) Below Rs50, 000 b) Rs50,000 – Rs1,00,000

c) Above Rs1, 00,000

5. Marital Status : a) Married b) Unmarried
6. Family Strength : a) 3 b) 4 c) 5 & above
7. Location : a) Urban b) Rural
8. Preferred Class : a) First Class b) Business C) Economic
9. Email ID :
[Highly Dissatisfied –HDS, Dissatisfied -DS, Neutral-N, Satisfied –S, Highly satisfied-
HS]
[1- Very good, 2- Good, 3- Neutral, 4- Poor, 5- Very poor]
A) LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN AIRPORT
1. Did the flight departs and arrives as per schedule.
a) YES b) NO
 81

2. Are you satisfied about the CHECK IN process for air carriers in CBE international
airport?

a) HS b) S c) N d) DS e) HDS

3. How do you feel about the BAGGAGE HANDLING process for air carriers in
CBE international airport?

a) HS b) S c) N d) DS e) HDS 4. What is
the level of CBE international airport comparing to others?

a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor e) Very Poor

5. What is the response level by CRM of airlines in CBE international airport regarding
airline clarifications?

a) HS b) S c) N d) DS e) HDS

B) LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN AIRLINES

6. How do you feel about ticket booking process for air carriers in CBE international
airport?

a) HS b) S c) N d) DS e) HDS
7. How do you rate the handling of DELAYS & CANCELLATION of airlines in CBE
international airport?
a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor e) Very Poor
8. How do you rate ON TIME PERFORMANCE of flights in CBE international airport?
a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor e) Very Poor
9. Rate the scale of behavior of air hostess and stewards in INFLIGHT.
a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4 e) 5
10. Rate the scale of quality of food served by the air carriers.
a) 1 b) 2 c) 3 d) 4 e) 5
11. does your expectations matches with the reality of airlines in CBE international
airport.a) YES b) NO
12. How do you feel about the cleanliness in the time of your journey?
a) HS b) S c) N d) DS e) HDS
13. Do you like the inside environment of CBE international Airport.
 82

a) YES b) NO

14. If Yes, Give your opinion for the below category

a) Excellent b) Good c) Fair d) Poor e) Very Poor

15. Give your Valuable comments and suggestions for the improvement of CBE
international Airport
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Thanks for your kind co-ordination.