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Air india need a CEO committed to a long haul !
Finally, 56 years old Arvind Jadhav, CMD of National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), which succeeded in a short span of two years, bowed to bring India's leading airline to the brink of bankruptcy has  bowed out !

No doubt he had an impressive record of educational accomplishments and years of experience in handling diverse subjects being Commissioner, Karnataka Housing Board; Secretary, Energy Department; Managing Director, Mysore Minerals Limited, Commissioner, Commerce and Industries Department, and last but not the least as Principal Secretary, Infrastructure Development Department, of Government of Karnataka.

He also had a tenure at the Central Government, where as Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power he was reportedly responsible for ushering in some reforms in the power sector. He had also served as Chief Vigilance Officer, Gas Authority of India Limited (GAIL), but alas he had no clue of how to run a major Airline !

Perhaps his one significant contribution to NACIL has been to get it renamed as Air India on 26th. October 2010, an airline which for decades had carried the national flag and is still a brand name well recognized around the World.

His very first brush with employees and that too with the all powerful Pilots of Air India who struck work last year demanding higher wages proved to be his undoing as instead of finding a common ground he chose to employ strong arm tactics and walked rough shod all over them !

Fortunately for him having been already empaneled for a post of Secretary to the Government of India he will have a slot awaiting him on exiting the Airline, but the big mess he leaves behind will take his successor a herculean effort to clean up.

The all powerful IAS (Indian Administrative Service) fraternity to which he belongs, in view of mounting criticism could no longer support him nor find a volunteer from amongst their ranks to take up the captaincy of the sinking ship !

However some one had to take charge while the hunt is on for a permanent ‘numero uno’ to head Air India. Some one readily available to try his luck was Rohit Nandan, the Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation which oversees Air India’s activities.

However, perhaps it is high time that professionals were brought in and may be the likes of Tata once again persuaded to take over the nation’s premier airline. Infusion of fresh funds by the government into the ailing company would perhaps not be a futile exercise then !

A major airline such as Air India with its 5 subsidiaries viz. Air India Express, Cargo, Charters Services, Air Transport Services, and Regional Services (formerly Alliance Air) involves supervision and coordination of varied activities such as maintenance and operation of expensive air crafts, marketing, publicity, and handling people viz. Pilots with mile high ego and back end office staff, not to forget ticket paying passenger who are now very demanding in regards to the quality of service they get.

The monopoly of government business cannot keep Air India afloat even for a day, and what with no less than half a dozen private airlines who have entered the skies over the last one decade and are now feverishly competing to fill thousands of seats they have to offer, it is survival of the fittest .

A competent and capable manager with years of running a major Airline under his belt, the best what the market can offer has to be quickly found and adhoc arrangement with civil servants as CEO discontinued at the earliest.

Since 27th. Feb. 2011 all flights of Air India carries the new mapped AI flight number, and since then nearly 100 national and international flights are flying under the ‘AI’ code, consigning the ‘IC’ code to history. It is almost like being reborn and perhaps this will be the last opportunity for the ‘Maharaja’ to effect a turnaround. Its over 31,000 employees also deserve a better deal in the form of a CEO with a long term commitment.

With connections to 93 destinations (60 domestic and 33 international) in 24 countries, it is still a force to be reckoned with. The new CEO will have to possess a vision and zeal to get various divisive forces from protecting their respective turfs and instead work towards a common objective.

Undoubtedly it will be a herculean task for him from being sidetracked while focusing on the bolts and nuts of things, and carry a sustained campaign on a company’s image makeover when industry analysts, competitors and customers are falling over each other saying what needs to be done !

R.C.Acharya