CAG India

Air India pilots strike again. Perhaps the government should let the CAG run the airline?

Air India is in trouble again. Nearly 120 of its pilots have threatened to quit; 25 of them,on deputation to Air India Express,have already started reporting sick,causing considerable disruption in services,which are likely to continue. Previous problems with the airlines pilots have centred on those who were,pre-merger,part of what was then

Indian Airlines,who believe that the conditions of the merger were discriminatory. This round of problems emerges from an association of 200 pilots who were with Air India pre-merger,and who object to those from Indian Airlines being trained to use the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner that the airline has bought. With touching concern for their fellow pilots,they worry that this will stall their career progression. Well,pilots worry about stalling. But Air Indias pilots are pretty unique in that they never seem to worry about stalling their airline.

Why,after all,should they? The government has shown,time and again,that its a weak employer,willing to cave to what it sees through reflexive,1970s-tinted lenses as labour problems,even when the blue-collar workers in question are some of the highest paid professionals in the country. Of course,it could be the case that striking to prevent your fellow workers from receiving training as good as yours is the sort of behaviour that any reasonable company would tolerate,and the only reason that Air India is imploding is that the government doesnt love and respect the national carrier enough. Or so,at least,is the opinion of the Comptroller and Auditor General,which famously warned that the ministry of civil aviation and the government must recognise that Air India is the national carrier… it must be given more than a level playing field.

The CAG report,which had all the answers,seemed to think all the airlines problems stem from stepfatherly treatment by government. So how would that reports drafters believe this problem should be solved? Perhaps by even more generous performance-linked incentives to underperforming employees from a bankrupt airline thats Rs 40,000 crore in debt? Perhaps by rewarding employees who,when not striking to deny training to others,ensured that the airline has an on-time performance of 60 per cent for international flights,about 20 per cent lower than its competitors? What mysterious managerial miracle would the CAG use to solve this problem? Just put the CAG in charge and find out.