The Hindu Business Line : Kalam urges domestic airlines to become globally competitive

Customer delight, Dr Kalam said, should not be limited to a welcome smile at the aircraft doors, but should be at the top of the mind at the very first point of interaction, when the customer makes a booking with the airline, to the end, when he takes leave of the airline at his destination.

Mumbai , Aug. 1

RECOLLECTING incidents from a long innings, first as a student of aeronautical engineering and later as head of several scientific projects and as the Scientific Advisor to the Government, the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, once again underlined the importance of the student-teacher relationship, the role of a leader as a crisis manager and the need to overcome failures to see one's work to completion.

He was addressing a seminar, `Indian aviation on the global horizon,' organised by Air India as part of the centenary celebrations of J.R.D. Tata, who is regarded as the father of Indian aviation.

Speaking via a video link from Rashtrapati Bhavan, Dr Abdul Kalam, also highlighted the importance of hard work, customer delight and a bit of luck, as key ingredients for success in any field of activity.

He exhorted the staff of Air India and Indian Airlines to embrace these traits to succeed in the new business environment.

Customer delight, he said, should not be limited to a welcome smile at the aircraft doors, but should be at the top of the mind at the very first point of interaction, when the customer makes a booking with the airline, to the end, when he takes leave of the airline at his destination.

A cost-efficient and competitive production system, had generated wealth for the developed markets, and India, as a developing nation, should strive to achieve similar standards, he said.

In conclusion, he set out six missions for the aerospace industry in the country. First, he exhorted all domestic carriers, public and private, to become globally competitive. He encouraged the engineering and scientific community to develop a 150-200 seater passenger jet, besides becoming reliable manufacturers of aircraft spare-parts. The setting up of an aircraft maintenance base as well as an aeronautics training institute were the other projects he set out for industry.

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