KOCHI: Air India director board,
which met in Kochi on Thursday ratified the proposal to shift the headquarters
of the Air India Express (AIE) to the city from January 1.
The low cost wing of the national carrier operates the lion's share of flights from the three airports in Kerala and from the neighbouring Mangalore airport. Much of the control operations of this will now be shifted to Kochi, said Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan.
"We had taken this decision about seven months back, but the pilots' strike and other issues had deferred its implementation," he said in response to questions from reporters here.
Deployment of additional staff in various sections has already begun. "We have already recruited a deputy chief of operations to be posted in Kochi. Officers at the level of deputy chiefs will also be posted here in other wings like commercial and flight safety as well as a flight coordinator," deputy chief operating officer (COO) Pushpinder Singhtold TOI here.
Rohit Nandan said teams of dedicated staff from AIE would be posted in all the airports in Kerala for ensuring better rapport between the airline and passengers.
Ansbert D'souza, COO of AIE, said a call centre in Malayalam would be opened in Kerala soon.
Pushpinder Singh, however, disclosed that integrated operations control centre (IOCC) of the Air India and AIE would continue to remain in Delhi. This means the asset management would largely be controlled from Delhi, airline sources said.
Pushpinder Singh sought to underplay this by saying that with the introduction of airline resource management system (ARMS) software, the geographical location of the IOCC was not of much significance. "I am not suggesting that the location of IOCC closer to predominant area of operation has some advantages. But with the increased communication facilities it would be possible for effective resource management even from different locations," he said.
The low cost wing of the national carrier operates the lion's share of flights from the three airports in Kerala and from the neighbouring Mangalore airport. Much of the control operations of this will now be shifted to Kochi, said Air India chairman and managing director Rohit Nandan.
"We had taken this decision about seven months back, but the pilots' strike and other issues had deferred its implementation," he said in response to questions from reporters here.
Deployment of additional staff in various sections has already begun. "We have already recruited a deputy chief of operations to be posted in Kochi. Officers at the level of deputy chiefs will also be posted here in other wings like commercial and flight safety as well as a flight coordinator," deputy chief operating officer (COO) Pushpinder Singhtold TOI here.
Rohit Nandan said teams of dedicated staff from AIE would be posted in all the airports in Kerala for ensuring better rapport between the airline and passengers.
Ansbert D'souza, COO of AIE, said a call centre in Malayalam would be opened in Kerala soon.
Pushpinder Singh, however, disclosed that integrated operations control centre (IOCC) of the Air India and AIE would continue to remain in Delhi. This means the asset management would largely be controlled from Delhi, airline sources said.
Pushpinder Singh sought to underplay this by saying that with the introduction of airline resource management system (ARMS) software, the geographical location of the IOCC was not of much significance. "I am not suggesting that the location of IOCC closer to predominant area of operation has some advantages. But with the increased communication facilities it would be possible for effective resource management even from different locations," he said.
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