Tackling AI's delayed flights: Deducting Rs 500 for every 5 min delay is not enough

New Delhi: Will deduction of Rs 500 for every five minute delay in reporting to work by an Air India cabin crew member be enough punishment for errant staff? This is one of the proposals the airline has been working on and it still needs clearance from its board of directors. The penalty is being discussed within the airline after Civil Aviation Secretary V Somasundaran said earlier this month that any delay in flights attributable to late arrival of cabin crew must be dealt with by lopping off some of the errant crew member’s salary. He had, at that time, promised to work out a formula by which salary deductions would be determined. Air India has had a dismal on-time performance record these past few months, with airline sources saying only 53% flights were on time in December and close to 60% in January. They claim the OTP for February has improved significantly, to between 75-80% till now. A source in the airline confirmed that the Rs 500 deduction for every five minute delay in reporting for work by a cabin crew member was being discussed internally. But this move, even if implemented, is unlikely to sort out the mess within Air India. For several reasons. [caption id=“attachment_2076153” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters image.[/caption] 1) Take the example of the Delhi-New York flight which was allegedly delayed by two hours on February 7 morning. In a letter to Somasundaran with copies to the DGCA and the top brass of the airline, the All India Cabin Crew Association (AICCA) has alleged that AI 101 was delayed because the airline rostered a “retired and re-employed” cabin crew employee who misbehaved on arrival, fought with other crew members and subsequently deplaned himself. But the matter did not end there, according to the AICCA letter, which goes on to allege that the same errant crew member was rostered for another flight, AI 995, as Cabin Crew In-Charge. Reporting time for this flight was 1835 Hrs the same day!. An airline source confirmed that since it is facing a severe shortage of crew, Air India has been re-appointing retired cabin crew for short periods to fill the gaps. But there is no word on how the two-hour delay caused allegedly by one such crew member is being explained . Will his salary be deducted using the ‘Rs 500 every 5 minutes’ formula? 2) Separate reports in the Times of India and Hindustan Times yesterday quoted airline officials as saying AI 302 was to take off for Sydney with 252 passengers at 0100 hrs (India time) on Saturday but got delayed by well over eight hours on cabin crew shortage. This meant the passengers, many of whom were booked on the flight to watch Sunday’s India-Pakistan match, were unable to reach in time. Air India is the only carrier with direct connections between India and Australia. How will employees be held accountable for this massive delay? Also, why should this salary-delay equation only be valid for cabin crew and not for others like engineers, cockpit crew etc? The airline source quoted above said the Executive Director of the Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC) has already volunteered for getting his salary deducted according to the formula AI finally works out. 3) Another source in the airline said that if one were to look at actual numbers - AI has a little over 3000 people as designated cabin crew - and compare these with number of flights, there was really no shortage of cabin crew. “The problem lies in inefficient rostering, crew members taking long breaks between flights especially on the Delhi-Sydeny-Melbourne route etc. If rostering is beefed up and crew is efficient, we may not need more people immediately,” said this source. But what about frequent complaints of Air India operating flights with less than minimum crew, as per DGCA specifications? The first source said about 350 new cabin crew members have already been hired and the process is on to fill the remaining 450 vacancies. But merely hiring more crew will not solve Air India’s troubles. It needs to overhaul the department that rosters crew - decides who should be put on duty on which flight, after how much rest etc. There have been continuous allegations from cabin crew members of wrong doings in this department. Also, the airline must set an example by imposing penalties on all errant staff, not just cabin crew members, for flight delays. Accountability should flow from the top so this penalty system should be applicable to every employee, whatever his position in the organisation.