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Air-India to expand in U.S.
Friday, 11 July 2003, 19:30 IST
NEW YORK: India's national flag carrier Air-India plans to significantly expand its services for the U.S. market with a view to corner a larger share of inbound traffic, says an airline director.
"The expansion plans in the U.S. had been long on hold," said Seema P. Andhare, Air-India's regional director for Americas.
She said from July 4 the number of Air-India flights out of Newark, New Jersey had gone up from thrice a week to five times a week.
"From end-October, we will be having a daily service. The same thing we are planning for Chicago --- from three services, we are going to increase it to six a week by the end of October. The West Coast is also opening up. We already have code share agreements with Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines."
Asked whether post-September 11 security was an issue for the airline, Andhare told IANS: "What has affected other airlines in the West will never affect us, for the simple reason, our ethnic traffic will still travel. We get threat alerts all the time and we are perfectly geared for that.
"We check out the profile of our passengers. Even at the gate, before they enter the aircraft, we have Air India-arranged security. That is after checks by the Transportation Security Administration," Andhare said here.
Andhare started her career as a ticketing agent for the airline.
"I joined Air-India way back in 1967. But I just didn't stick there and sit in the ticket office and write tickets. I looked for openings. Within three years, I had mastered my task so well that the management said, 'you will be a good instructor'.
"I jumped a whole lot of people who either did not want to be instructors, or didn't have the ability," she said.
When asked about her corporate success strategy, Andhare quipped: "Management graduates (MBAs) learn corporate strategies. What I did was without being an MBA. I have worked in all the 13 or 14 sections of the commercial department (the core department).
"Today, if you ask me anything in the commercial department -- who has to do what and why -- I can tell you."
Andhare, who has plans to retire after her present assignment, promised: "By the end of my tenure, the passengers who have flown Air-India will come back.
"(For example), I have made it very clear any delay because of mishandling by staff will not be tolerated. Technical snags or weather are beyond my control."
Is it tough for a woman to hold the job she does?
Andhare replied: "I have faced certain challenges. I am not calling them setbacks because they were challenges for me. With these challenges I think that I have just grown stronger. I look at it that way rather than saying there was discrimination.
"Throughout my career there has never been any such factor where a disagreement with a boss or a colleague or my ultimate superiors who do my annual appraisals has led to my being overlooked for assignments or promotions.
"In fact, I must say that I have risen ahead of my male or female colleagues and I have been a subject of envy because of that."
Andhare earlier served from 1992 to 1995 as Air-India's head of administration at the JFK Airport here.
As for her plans, Andhare said: "By the time I finish this assignment, I will reach the retirement age -- 58. I am not going to do anything to do with the airline business. Air-India is my love and my life. This was my first real job.
"People have told me (the industry) to be a consultant, (or) training director. But I want to go away from it. What I plan is two different areas: One is looking at the growth of children. Start a crèche for babies.
"Not to run it myself, but organise crèches in India. There are women who want to work but can't because they don't have anybody at home to look after their babies or it is too expensive. I want to start crèches.
"The other idea is helping these women with their meals. Maybe, offer a meal service to women who are working and don't have time to cook and end up eating trash outside. You can't run a home on junk food."
Source: IANS
Source: IANS