Mutt
Some points you may not be aware of.
The IPG also deos not want to operate flights to Kuwait.Why?
"Security situation in the middle east". That too at a time when every other airline has resumed services. These and SARS aree two different issues.
Second point, it is not just the crew alone, but also any aircraft which operates into the SARS region in the past 10 days.
Now what does this mean. Air India is primnarily a two a/c type operation. They have about 8 (if my memory serves correct) 747-400 plus a couple of 300 combis and one or two classics. Now the 747-400s are mostly used in the routes to US (EWR/JFK and ORD) as well as the ones to FRA/LON terminators. So these aircraft are generally not affected (the cabin crew on a JFK leg generally go on a 10 to 12 day duty schedule).
The remaining are about 15+ A310s. Now this is the workhorse of the fleet operating not just to the so called SARS regions (HKG/SIN/BKK/KUL) but also the same aircraft are used on flights to the middle east where Air India has an extenisve network.
Now coming back to the real situation. The US/ Europe routes on AI has been loss making or at best break even for years! So the very flights the IPG iis ordinarilly willing to undertake is not the one which is giving revenue for the company.
The routes which AI make money are the middle east routes most of which are operated by the A310s. Unfortunately these are the routes which IPG by its directive end up not operating because many of the aircraft/crew are also operated to SIN/BKK routes. So what happens, the routes where AI makes money end up not being operated, not to speak of inconveniencing thousands of passengers, most of them poor expatriate workers trying to go back to their companies after taking a vaction one/two/three years away from their families and who loose their jobs if they dont report back on time (and who earn even in the middle east one tenth of the salary IPG members make). I am not speaking of the well of expatriate Indians in the middle East which I know there are a few, but the ordinary taxi driver/gardner/driver who slog it out there to make a hard earned living.
As JagBag pointed out how come Indian Airlines pilots who also operates to SIN/BKK and KUL as well as KWI does not have any of the problems and apply the same yardsticks the AI pilots face with? The answer again as JetBag points out lies in the fact that IA pilots know that if they do the same , they will just end up giving the market to the private sector Jet and Sahara who have something like 50 aircraft between them for the domestic routes and will make use of the windfall. While the IPG knows that the government and AI is at their mercy with not many alternatives since international flights are tightly regulated into India and capacity is limited.
Just like the domestic aviation industry in India got a big boost thanks to another of these misguided industrial action by the Indian Airliens pilots sone years back when the government at the time was finally pressured into allowing private players in the industry, it is high time that the government puts an end to Air India pilots holding the country to ransom by opening up the international aviation sector by allowing more flights to India by foreign carries by liberalising the restrictive air services agreements as well as allowing private carriers to operate International services.
Cheers
Last edited by rsoman; 27th Apr 2003 at 19:38.