EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Indian Airlines is the oldest carrier in the domestic aviation industry.

It has been the main stay for domestic air travel in India for more than 50 years. With the arrival of other private airlines, its interests have been hurt, but it is continuing its quest to be the leader in this industry. During the research, the main objectives of the study have been: a) To understand the perception of travellers towards Indian Airlines. b) Also to apprehend the perceptions of travel agents towards Indian Airlines.
c) To know how Indian Airlines can improve its overall performance. d) The specific objectives are to improve service quality of Indian Airlines. e) To have a better marketing strategy. f) Market image of Indian Airlines as compared to its counterparts.

To find out the required information primary data was collected through selfadministered questionnaire for the passengers and travel agents and secondary data from library and the internet. A sample size of 200 was taken including 150 passengers and 50 travel agents. The passengers and travel agents felt that private airlines were better in certain service factors. They also could identify a change in Indian Airlines, after the arrival of private airlines and believed that it was overcoming its I care less syndrome. For analysis of the data, statistical tools, based on the data collected were used and comparative analysis was done. Indian Airlines is a financially strong company and if it carefully plans its strategies, with more focus on passengers, it will remain the market leader. 1. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
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The purpose of the study was to understand the perception of travelers towards Indian Airlines, to apprehend the perceptions of travel agents towards Indian Airlines, to know how Indian Airlines can improve its overall performance in terms of its marketing as well as its quality of services provided and total customer satisfaction and hence with the help of the above to assess the image of Indian Airlines in the market as compared to its counterparts viz. Jet air and Sahara Airlines. 2. REASERCH OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY a) To understand the perception of travelers towards Indian Airlines. b) Also to apprehend the perceptions of travel agents towards Indian Airlines. c) To know how Indian Airlines can improve its overall performance d) The specific objectives are to improve service quality of Indian Airlines e) To have a better marketing strategy f) Market image of Indian Airlines as compared to its counterparts 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY OF THE STUDY Research Design: There are three kinds of research designs namely; Exploratory Descriptive Causative

In my project, a Descriptive Research was initiated because it was generally a study which was carried out to describe the market characteristics of various airlines and of Indian Airlines in particular, as well as the buying behavior of travellers. Situation Analysis: - Conducting a situational analysis means analyzing the company, its market, its competition and the industry in general. The situation analysis is a background investigation. It involves obtaining information about the company and its business environment by means of library, research. Data collection- primary and secondary data: Data would be collected through both primary and secondary data for carrying out the research project. Primary Data: - Primary data relates to data which has been collected first hand and which has been collected for the purpose of analysis. It is undertaken, when data needed by the researcher does not exist, or are dated inaccurate, incomplete or unreliable, the researcher has to collect primary data. The primary data was collected through questionnaires. Sources of Primary Data: Primary data was collected through Corporate travellers. Professionals Students.

Secondary Data Secondary research invariably precedes primary research. Secondary data are data that were collected for another purpose and already exists somewhere. Sources of Secondary Data Travel Magazine. Business Travel Journals. Brochures, Libraries Annual Report.

Sample design Doing research via sampling was important because of impossibility of finding all of a population, as well as other restrictive parameters like cost, time etc. Our sampling decision should be in-coordination with the research and data objectives. The method opted for taking samples was `Non-probability sampling. It was a `Purposive Nonprobability sampling/ Judgment Sampling was used. The key assumption underlined this type of sampling is that, with sound judgment or expertise, and an appropriate strategy, one can carefully and consciously choose the elements to be included in the sample, so that samples can be developed that are suitable for ones needs. My objective for using `Judgment Sampling was that since airline travel is not experienced by everybody, so `Judgment Sampling was a must to get the closest and the correct response.

Sample Size: 150 passengers/ respondents 50 travel agents. Method of Data Collection:Survey/ Personal Contact Method:- In a survey, the researcher carries out opinion polls involving customers, sales persons, dealers, traders and experts. In the survey, the main method of interviewing was by Personal Interviews, as this gave me a better understanding of the needs and preferences of the passenger. Most of the data is quantitative in nature and supported by qualitative data. Instruments for data collection: The research instruments used for this survey were structured questionnaires. The questionnaires were designed to find the satisfaction levels of Domestic Airlines, in particular, Indian Airlines. Questionnaire: A questionnaire consists of a set of questions prepared to respondents for their answers. Because of its flexibility, the questionnaire is by far the common instrument used to collect primary data. Closed Ended as well as Open Ended questionnaire were used in my market research . Drafting of a Questionnaire: The formulation of the questionnaire, i.e., the structure and the disguise to be used in the questionnaire depends upon the kind of information that is desired. Questionnaire was prepared over a period of 5 days by intensive brainstorming. Valuable advice regarding changes was given by my marketing teacher, Ms. Laxmi Reddy, has resulted in the formulation of the questionnaire through which responses were collected and analysed. A copy of the questionnaire has been attached as an annexure to the project.
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Since my objective was to derive out the maximum information out of the passengers without making the whole exercise boring and troublesome, I decided to keep majority of the questionnaire close-ended. In order to generate and sustain the interest of the respondents, the initial questions pertained to the gathering of simple information like the frequency of travel, the choice of airline and the purpose of travel. Since, I had to balance the twin objectives of gathering maximum information and at the same time retaining the interest of the customers, I was compelled to squeeze in a lot of questions and club them up in a single question. The question pertaining to assessing the impact of private airlines on Indian Airlines, for this the respondents ticked in the various options under different parameters. Last but not the least, the respondents were asked to pen down some personal information purely for statistical purposes, with an assurance that it would be kept confidential.

LIMITATIONS The study could have been more comprehensive and more representative of the universe, had the sample-size been larger, but it was not possible mainly due to lack of time and some other constraints. The areas covered were restricted to Delhi city only and as such the results of questionnaires are valid for Delhi city only. All this report has been an individual attempt and also it involves the human process of interpretation and analysis, so there are chances of human error. The marketing research is done on the basis of certain assumptions as regards to the future of the industry, but due to environmental changes, research results may not be valid. Despite repeated proof-reading, there is a possibility of spelling error of otherwise, which may have been overlooked.

About Aviation Industry

The first Indian State air service began to function on 20 th Dec. 1929. All technical and operation control was left in the hands of Imperial Airways. After that Tata Airways came into existence. This airline was dealing with the taking off passengers and cargo from one place to another. There were as many as eight private airlines till 1953. Air India Limited Air Services of India Limited. Air Airways (India) Limited. The Bharat Airways Limited. The Deccan Airways Limited. The Himalayan Aviation Limited. The Indian National Airways Limited. The Kalinga Airlines. They were all having their own individual scheduled services in and around India. However, the private sector of Indian aviation industry was brought to an end in June 1953 by the introduction of an act of parliament known as Air Corporation Act 1953. This brought in the nationalization of air-transport. Consequently, all the existing eight private airlines were amalgamated to form one nationalized airline called Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines came into existence in June 1953. Today it is well-established brand name with sound infrastructure and an overwhelming size.

Progress of Indias Domestic Airlines. Item Hours flown (000s) Kilometers Flown ( million) Passengers 2056 5650 59.8 7484 88.0 8316 84.5 1971 90 33.4 1981 93 44.4 1990-00 89 49.7 2001-2010 107 57.6

carried (000s) Freight 14.1 Tonnes (km) OPEN SKY POLICY

The process of liberalization of the Indian air transport industry commenced with Governments declaration of open sky policy in 1990.In fact, the first step in this direction was taken when Air Taxi Scheme was introduced as nonscheduled operations in 1987. The scheme did not take off because of severely restrictive conditions. It was modified in 1990 to remove restrictions on capacity, schedules, route selection and airfares. The import duty on aircraft was also reduced to 3% to make airlines operations cheaper. This initiative further received impetus with the liberalization of the economy, trade and industry from 1991. The entry of private scheduled airlines in Indian domestic skies was signaled in October 1992.As a result of these measures a number of parties started air taxi operations on trunk and high density routes. As Indian Airlines began losing market share and technical staff, the government took a number of steps to bolster Indian Airlines. Achievements
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Air Cooperation Act, 1953, repealed on March 1st, 1994, ending the states monopoly of the skies.

Air Taxi Operation allowed in 1994 to seek scheduled airline status if they have at least 3 aircrafts. Vayudoot, the third public sector airline, is merged with Indian Airlines and its infrastructure offered to private airlines. No restrictions imposed by the government, of pricing by the private airlines and air cargo operators. Most restrictions on types and imports of aircraft and operating routes relaxed in 1994. Private Airlines Currently Operating: JET AIRWAYS and SAHARA INDIA

JET AIRWAYS :
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Jet Airways has emerged as a major competitor of Indian Airlines on the sector it operates. It was launched on 5, May 2000 by Mr. Naresh Goyal with approximately 100 employees and 2 aircrafts. It has an interline agreement with over 90 international airlines which facilitates ticketing and allows for convenient transfer of passengers. The crew has been trained in Malaysia Airlines and Ansett-Rankett among the leading aviation training centers in the world. Jet airways have the most latest and modern fleet of Aircrafts operating in India. They have a total of 50 Aircrafts, out of which AIRPLANES fleet Model Boeing A.T.R Total No. of Planes 40 10 50

The reservation system used by them is SABRE. They have an efficient and courteous ground staff to take care of the needs of passengers. They have the quickest baggage system. Jet Airways is not just a passenger airline an important part of their revenue accrues from their cargo division. They have capability of up to 2.5 tons per flight and with the current fleet expansion the tonnage would be 35000 tons. Their basic aim is to fly more people and more cargo to more destinations faster and more often than any other airline in the country.

History Of Indian Airlines Indian Airlines came into existence after nationalization of eight private airlines. At the
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time of nationalization, Indian Airlines inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft, consisting of various types of aircrafts. With nationalization, Indian Airlines started modernization in Indian civil aviation industry. Year 1964 heralded the beginning of the jet era in Indian Airlines, when the Caravelle Aircraft was inducted into the fleet. Airbus A320s, included it the fleet of Indian Airlines, were introduced in the 1990s. Continuous up gradation in the fleet Indian Airlines has been going on, ever since its inception. Re-branding Of Indian Airlines In the year 2005, India witnessed a number of re-branding initiatives, taken by some of the big names in the corporate world. One such noted move was made by Indian Airlines Limited, which changed its name to 'Indian'. The decision was a part of the promotional program, done to revamp the image of the airline. The advertising campaign of Indian airlines was a hit amongst the common masses. The 'turbaned Maharaja' mascot of 'Indian' clicked the minds of the people in the country. The campaign helped 'Indian' to become a household name in the country. In February 2007, the Government of India proposed the plan of Indian's merger with Air India. The merger process is currently in progress.

Destinations 'Indians' transport network spans from Kuwait in the west to Singapore in the east and covers 67 destinations (50 within India and 13 abroad). The destinations covered by the
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airline in India include Port Blair, Hyderabad, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam, Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Silchar, Gaya, Patna, Chandigarh, Raipur, Delhi, Goa, Ahmadabad, Jamnagar, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jammu, Leh, Srinagar, Ranchi, Bangalore, Mangalore, Cochin, Calicut, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhopal, Indore, Khujraho, Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Imphal, Aizwal, Dimapur, Bhubaneshwar, Amritsar, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai, Trichi, Agartala, Lucknow, Varanasi, Kolkata and Siliguri. The Indian Airlines international network covers Maldives, Nepal, Colombo, Yangon, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok, Bahrain, Kuwait, Muscat, Doha, Dubai and Sharjah. Presently, Indian Airlines has a fleet of 70 aircraft, including Airbus A319-100, Airbus A320-200 and Airbus A321-200. In the recent past, Indian civil aviation sector has grown manifold. Several new players have entered the industry and many more are about to enter the arena. Apart from the state-owned airline, a number of private companies have entered the arena, thereby providing more choices to the passenger. Today, air travel is no more the monopoly of the rich and the mighty. With the arrival of cheap airline carriers in India, air traveling has become simpler and cheaper. Private players including Kingfisher Red, Spice Jet, Jetlite, Indigo etc. are coming up with attractive rates for their passengers, thereby making civil aviation lucrative. Now, airline has become a common mans vehicle and revolutionized the way a common Indian traveler used to travel. The airlines are adding more and more cities to their list of destinations covered throughout the country. Therefore, it can be said that the domestic airlines of India have made traveling easier for the masses. More and more people are opting for traveling by air, because they save a lot of time in traveling, as compared to other means of transportation. Here is a brief preview of domestic airlines in India. This includes private airlines as well as low cost airlines in India.

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After being granted permission from government of India on 15 July 2007.india airlines and air India merged and started too operated as a single entity. Post merger the new airline will renamed as air India. This air line is also member the star alliance largest airline alliance.

Sahara India: It was launched in 1978 from Gorakhpur. It was started with a small capital of Rs. 2000/- and the establishment was one small room.
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The business today has reached over 2600 crores. Now they have 971 offices and the biggest infrastructure in the private sector in India. They work force is over 70,000 and the growth is over 280%. The various activities they carry out are Para banking, housing, steel, aviation and mass communication. The philosophy of Sahara India is growing emotionally and materially together like a family i.e. Collective Materialism. They operate with Boeing aircrafts. It follows the motto of Value Added flying. They have a central reservation system and Gabriel II programs. They have in-flight entertainment through audio-visual facility. They have taken technical assistance from British Airways and provide ratable maintenance and material management support. They have special security expert team and state of the art explosive detection equipment. PROBLEMS FACED BY PRIVATE AIRLINES These include: Lack of training facilities. Poor maintenance facilities. Low inventory of spares due to prohibitive costs of importing spares.

No proper monitoring cell for analyzing information.

Lack of skilled manpower with respect to pilots and engineering staff. Necessity of keeping operation at a low cost. Poor infrastructure at airport.

COMPANY PROFILE

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The saga of Indian Airlines began by the amalgamation of 8 private airlines, with the passing of Air Corporation Act to nationalise the air transport industry. The journey began with a modest fleet as well as high aspirations and over the years, Indian Airlines innovated and upgraded its fleet to emerge as one of the largest domestic airlines in the world. Today Indian Airlines, along with its subsidiary Alliance Air, provides an extensive network which encompasses the whole of India a geographical area equivalent to Western Europe, besides reaching out to 17 international stations. In the last four decades, Indian Airlines has progressed by leaps and bounds and has built an excellent track record of manpower and infrastructural development. It has thus emerged as a proud symbol of modern India. Some of the highlights of this glorious period of evolution include Increase in passenger carriage from 0.5 million in 1954-55 to 8.4 million in 199798. Spread of network from 23,000 kms in 1953 to 1,18,000 kms in 1998-99. Growth of assets from Rs. 21 million to Rs. 30,000 million in 1998-99. A manifold increase in system seat capacity from 3070 seats per day in 1955 to 35,700 seats per day.

THE HUMAN COMPONENT Indian Airlines success could not have been possible without its 21,990 personnel . Everyone from pilots, cabin crew and engineers to commercial and administrative staff.
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Moral building communication initiatives have helped at Indian Airlines to play their part in the turn around. Productivity linked incentives and greater transparency in recruitment, promotion and transfer policies have greatly contributed to major improvements in the efficiency of the companys service. The diverse programmes offered by the Central Training Establishment, Hyderabad virtually a university of the air, it trains personnel in all aspects of airlines operations. Effective refresher training programmes have helped to further enhance the skills learned at Central Training Establishment. The company also continues to provide various welfare measures to employees, such as medical facilities, subsidised canteens, educational scholarships, holiday homes, sports clubs, festival advance etc. CONTINUED FLEET EXPANSION AND MODERNISATION. On its inception in 1953, Indian Airlines took to the sky with the fleet that included: 74 DC-3 (Dakota) 1 Twin Beach 1 Saab Safir Aircraft 3 Sky Master 1 Single Beach 12 Viking 1 Auro xix 5 Sentinel 1 D.H.Dove

A phased fleet modernization programed was started by Indian Airlines with the introduction of Viscounts in 1957, followed by Fokker Friendship Aircraft in 1961. With the arrival of the pilot friendly Caravelle turbo jet in 1963, Indian Airlines took domestic aviation in to the jet age. In the 60s, the first Indian built aircraft HS- 748 (Avro) was induced into Indian Airlines and the year 1971 saw the induction of Boeing
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737s. In 1976, Indian Airlines, became the first domestic airline in the world to induct wide-bodied 273 seater Airbus A- 300 aircraft, thus setting new standards in passenger comfort. With the introduction of the state of the art Airbus A-320 in 1989 and its fly by wire technology, Indian Airlines acquired the latest in aviation equipment. Indian Airlines has an extensive fleet of 68 aircrafts comprising Model Airbus A300 Airbus A320 Boeing 737 Total No. of Planes 15 35 18 68

1.

AIRPLANES fleet

2. Indian Airlines flies 25000 passengers on 210 flights to 59 cities in India and 17 international destinations. Indian Airlines has the largest domestic reach in the country with the network that stretches from Leh and Srinagar to Port Blair and Dibru Garh.

3. Indian Airlines bases are situated at the 4 metros. No. of bases 4 Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Chennai. CONTRIBUTION TO NATIONAL EXCHEQUER.

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The company has contributed Rs. 569.88 crores to the Govt. Exchequer by way of customs duty, sales tax, excise duty etc., during the year. Joint Venture & Hub and Spoke Operations. Arrangements with Air India Ltd. for joint venture operations on the Indo- Gulf sector and the Hub and Spoke operations continued during the year. The hours flown during the year vis--vis the hours previous year were as follows: 1998-99 Joint Venture Hub and Spoke 4687 538 1997-98 4812 600

Jet Engine Overhaul Complex. The JEOC, functioning as a separate profit centre since May 1996, has saved the company expenditure to the tune of Rs. 6.70 crores, besides saving precious foreign exchange. Cargo Promotion:With a carefully planned marketing strategy the company was able to generate substantially high revenue of Rs 156.83 crores on carriage as compared to Rs126.73 crores in the previous year. This is due to the success of its new door-to-door cargo service with M/S Gati Cargo.
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Capacity Production and Utilisation:The performance of the company in terms of Capacity Production -`Available Tonne Kilometers (ATKms) and Capacity Utilisation -`Revenue Tonne Kilometers (RTKms) improved significantly. Similarly, the number of passengers also registered a growth, despite recession in the economy and sluggish market conditions, as results below indicate.

ATKms (Millions) RTKms (Millions) Passengers Carried (Including Alliance Air)

1998-99 1296.157 827.553 8.38

1997-98 1170.767 765.209 8.17

Financial performance of Indian Airlines:The net profit has dropped from the previous year from 47.27 crores in the year 199798 to 15.6 crores in 1998-99. Although in the current financial year, i.e, 2008-2009, it is expected to rise to Rs. 170 crore. Real Time Computer:The Passenger reservation system of Indian Airlines was switched on to the new IBM ES-900 computer on the 8,March 1998 replacing the UNISYS mainframe computer which was in use since March 1985.The improved central processing response time of the system has resulted in a three fold increase in the capacity to handle queries. The new system uses the IBM hardware and software designed by the subsidiary of British Airways. Computerised Reservation System Indian Airlines possesses an extensive computerised reservation system to provide online reservations service to its clients. The reservation system is being maintained
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through a powerful mainframe computer, which is accessed by more than EDP 2000 terminals across the length and breadth of India, apart from the International Stations. Access to the reservation system is also available through several hundred travel agencies operating in the country. Indian Airlines participates in the following major CRS' in the world thereby providing access to the Reservation System to travel agents around the globeSabre Galileo Amadeus Abacus World Span Gemini Infiniti GETS Access

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ANALYSIS OF PASSENGER SURVEY

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On collection of all the completed questionnaire from passengers and travel agents, the data was aggregated and methods of its analysis applied so as to interpret the required information and meaning. 1) Purchasing decision of tickets for the passengers:Out of the 150 respondents surveyed, it was found most of the passengers, purchased their tickets from a travel agent. Primarily because travel agents offered discounts and provided better options. 47% of the passengers purchased their tickets from travel agents. 32% say that their company books it. 21% purchased their tickets directly from an airline counter.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

t d n p s e R f o N

30% 20% 10% 0% Travel Agents Company Booking Airline Counter

2) As, air travel is more convenient and less time consuming than other modes of travelling, people with now increased purchasing power as well as due to better services in air travel are flying more often.
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The results show that 42% of the passengers travel every week. 40% of the passengers travel every fortnight. 16% of the passengers travel every month. Only 2% of the passengers travel every year. 3) Which of the following domestic airline have you travelled by? Out of the 150 passengers surveyed, all had traveled by Indian Airlines, as it is the oldest and has better connections than rest of the airlines and it still is the leader. These results indicate the following: 100% respondents/passengers have traveled by Indian Airlines 96% respondents/passengers have travelled by Jet Airways. Showing that it is the main competitor of Indian Airlines.

92% respondents/passengers have traveled by Sahara Airlines. Sahara is slowly and gradually increasing its market share through continuos advertising, discount and better flight services.
102 100 98 96 94 92 90 88 No. of Respondents

IndianAirlines 4) Most Preferred Airline

Sa hara Airlines

In accordance to the survey, the passengers are seeking better levels of service and quality than ever before. Out of the 150 respondents surveyed the results are indicating
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a growing preference for private airlines over Indian Airlines. But, passengers also feel, Indian Airlines is improving after being bitten in the knee. Indian Airlines - 42% Jet Airways 44% Sahara Airlines 16%

100%

80%

60%

40%

t d n p s e R f o N
20% 0% Indian Airlines Jet Airways Sahara India Airlines

Out of the 150 travelers, who prefer Indian Airlines for domestic travelling say that they prefer Indian Airlines because of the following reasons: It has better connections all over India and it has a wide coverage all over the country.
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 For its flight timing and improving punctuality. Since it is a Government undertaking, all the government employees travel by this airline Oldest airline, therefore goodwill. 5) Purpose Of Travel The purpose of this question No. 5 is to determine the trend of the new age traveller. Does he use the airlines just for business/work, as was the case in 70s and 80s due to high tariff and low purchasing power. The results indicate that 74% of the passengers surveyed travel both for work as well as leisure/holiday. 20% of the passengers only travel by air for work purposes and remaining 6% travel by air only for leisure/holiday.
100%

80%

60%

40%

t d n p s e R f o N

20%

0% Leisure and Work Work Only Leisure Only

6) Frequent Flier Programme Frequent flier programmes were started first by Indian Airlines, to promote travel with them, as they faced threat from various private airlines. All, the airlines now have a

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frequent flier programme, but as of now it has not gained much popularity as the results show.
Percentage of Members , of a frequent flyer programme 26%

Yes
74%

7) The number of respondents who were members of a frequent flier programme out of 150 were 38. Out of these 38 people 20 were the members of Jet Privilege, the frequent flier programme of Jet Airways and the rest 15 were members of Indian Airlines frequent flier programme. 2 were members of both and 1 was a member of Sahara and Indian airlines. The travellers are mostly corporate travelers who are members of these programmes. And they get following benefits:

Priority reservation. Free tickets after certain mileage. Separate check in counter. Extra baggage allowance. Priority waitlist. Priority on booking of international tickets, who are in

collaboration with the domestic airlines. 8) Factors considered important for relative influence on the Choice of Airline

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In the buying process decision for an airline ticket, consumer usually goes through these factors viz, suitability of timings, on time performance, in flight service, in flight comfort, appearance and hospitality of crew, ease of reservation and cancellation, baggage handling, frequent flier benefits and airfare. In the questionnaire I have taken all these factors with a rating of 1 to 4. 1) Stands for Not Important 2) Least Important 3) Important 4) Very Important Suitability of timings: - in accordance to the important survey conducted, the following results were achieved. (Suitability of Timings) (%) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important
3)

4% 2% 58% 36%

Important

4) Very Important

Important

Not Important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

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On time performance: - On time performance is an important consideration for corporate travellers but when compared on time performance standards of domestic airlines are relatively poor as compared to the west. (On time performance) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important
3)

(%) 0% 28% 54% 18%

Important

4) Very important

Important

Not Important
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

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In flight service: - With the recent entry of private airlines, the in flight service standards have improved both for national domestic carriers and private airlines. Continuos improvements seem to be a part of the programme. ( In Flight Service) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important
3)

(%) 0% 0% 62% 38%

Important

4) Very Important

Important

Not Important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

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Ease of reservation and cancellation: - Indian Airlines, Jet and Sahara are all in the race for providing better service, and ease of reservation and cancellation is another important factor considered by the respondents (Ease of reservations And Cancellation) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important
3)

(%) 10% 40% 40% 10%

Important

4) Very Important

Important

Not Important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

Baggage handling: - Baggage handling systems have improved over the few years and special baggage handling service are provided by Indian Airlines, Jet and Sahara for its business class travelers.
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(Baggage Handling) 1) Not important 2) Least Important

3)

(%) 6% 68% 26% nil

Important

4) Very Important

Very Important

Important

Least Important

Not Important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

In flight comfort: - In flight comfort, is a relatively new factor for consideration, so, many respondents associated it with the in-flight service. As more or less all operators have similar models of aircrafts comfort was given less importance as results indicate.
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(In-flight comfort) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important

3)

(%) 0% 30% 62% 8%

Important

4) Very Important

Very Important

Important

Least Important

Not Important

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

No of Respondents

Appearance and hospitality of crew: - Appearance and hospitality of crew is also one of the factors that passengers look in the relative choice of airlines.
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(Appearance and hospitality of crew) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important

3)

(%) 8% 58% 32% 2%

Important

4) Very Important
Very Important Important Least Important Not Important 0% 20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

No of Respondents

Frequent Flier Benefits: - Frequent Flier benefits are now being offered by every airline and so are also the various and varied kinds of benefits. From priority check-ins to
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disco at 5-star hotels. Only a few respondents are members of frequent flier programme, but they agree this definitely influences their buying decision towards an airline (Frequent flier benefit) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important
3)

(%) nil nil 36 64

Important

4) Very Important

Very Important

Important

Least Important

Not Important

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

No of Respondents

Airfare: - Airfare is also a factor, which plays a dominant role in the buying decision of an air-ticket. Recently passengers were a witness to a major price war in the important routes. And this also lead to an increase in overall demand for air travel.
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(Air Fare) 1) Not Important 2) Least Important

3)

(%) 0% 4% 62% 34%

Important

4) Very Important

Important

Not Important 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

No of Respondents

9) Customer Satisfaction Levels of All Domestic Airlines Based On Certain Parameters

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Customer service satisfaction of various airlines has been evaluated on the rating scale of 1-3 where 1) Stands for Bad Performance 2) Stands for Average Performance 3) Stands for Excellent Performance It has been evaluated in terms of the following attributes viz, on time performance, inflight service, in-flight comfort, cabin crew behavior, reservations and cancellations, baggage handling, frequent flier benefits, airfare and discounts, safety and security measures and flight schedules. The first and foremost objective of the passengers service survey is to measure the passengers satisfaction.

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Comparative Analysis Excellent Performance IA Jet Sahara 22% 52% 32% 6% 86% 54% 22% 34% 24% 6% 80% 32% 20% 32% 28% 12% 36% 22% 12% 38% 36% 24% 8% 14% 16% 22% 20% 44% 10% 8% Average Performance IA Jet Sahara 54% 44% 60% 68% 10% 38% 74% 62% 60% 64% 16% 58% 66% 60% 54% 62% 58% 74% 64% 52% 56% 66% 76% 78% 74% 48% 60% 36% 74% 56% Bad Performance IA Jet Sahara 24% --26% --4% -8% 24% -2% 14% 4% 10% 26% 6% 4% 24% 10% 4% 6% 12% 4% 6% 22% 12% 12% 8% 28%

On-Time Performance In-flight Service In-flight Comfort Cabin crew behavior Reservation & Cancellations Baggage Handling Frequent Flier Benefits Air-fare and Discounts Safety and Security Flight Schedules

Comparative Analysis based on Excellent Performance

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100%

Indian Airlines

Jet Airways

Sahara India

80%

60%

40%

t d n p s e R f o N
20% 0%

On Time Performance

In Flight Service

In Flight Comfort

Cabin Crew Behaviour

Reservations & Cancellation

Baggage Handling

Frequent Flier Benefits

Safety and Sercurity

Flight Schedules

Airfare and Discounts

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10) Indian Airlines has been a different ball game. Developed and groomed in an environment of monopoly, its staff had developed I care less syndrome which it will take long to overcome. Over staffing and ill discipline was another problem, with the former still existing. The earlier image of long waiting lists in popular routes of Indian Airlines, frequent delays and unsympathetic attitude is slowly beginning to change as the results may indicate. This has happened as a result of the recent induction of private airlines in the same sector and the new pro-active board, in turn have forced Indian Airlines to become a better service oriented and customer friendly airline.

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Passenger Perception of Indian Airlines

BETTER OPINION

SAME AS BEFORE

WORSE NO

CABIN CREW Behaviour Ground Staff Behaviour In-flight service In-flight comfort Redressal of Complaints On-time Performance 26% 58% 6% 10% 6% 50% 20% 24% 22% 42% 26% 60% 54% 68% 6% 2% 12% 2% 6% 48% 44% 4% 4%

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Better

Same as Before

Worse

No Opinion

100%

80%

60%

t d n p s e R f o N

40%

20%

0%

C abin Crew Behaviour

Ground Staff Behav iour

In Flight Servic e

In Flight Comfort

R edres sal of Complaints

On Time Performanc e

11) Passengers are feeling the changes in Indian Airlines and its service levels therefore they are now encouraged to buy the Indian Airlines ticket. The results indicate that the probability results are fair: Definitely will buy 28% Very likely will buy 36% Probably will buy 36%

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100% 80% 60% 40% t d n p s e R f o N 20% 0% Definitely will Very Likely Probably will Buy will Buy Buy

12) The last question is an open-ended question with a purpose to find what passengers want from Indian Airlines, the way they feel improvements can be made in its service standards, as well as understanding what are the requirements of a traveller. This answer has been very useful to give suggestions and recommendations.

ANALYSIS OF TRAVEL AGENTS

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Ans. 1 The domestic airlines sector only has 3 major players and all 50 (i.e. 100%) travel agents stocked the tickets of all the three major airlines (i.e. Indian Airlines, Jet and Sahara). Ans. 2 Percentage of tickets sold for Domestic Airlines out of the sample size of travel agents surveyed, the percentage of tickets for Indian Airlines sold each week has the maximum share of 52% whereas Jet Airways was second highest at 36% and Sahara third at 12%.

Ans. 3 Out of the total sample size, it was found that the maximum number of Travel Agents have corporate clients are: 92% 84% Corporate Clients Professional/ Businessmen
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60% 70% 72% -

Govt. Public Sector Clients Walk in Clients Foreign Clients

100%

80%

60%

t d n p s e R f o N

40%

20%

0%
Corp. Clients Profressional / Businessmen Govt. / Public Clients Walk in Clients Foreign Clients

Because of opening up of the Indian Economy, there has been a considerable rise in corporate clients and since there is continued encouragement to tourism by the Indian Government, the share of foreign clients (tourists) has also increased. Ans. 4 Use of computer Reservation system (CRS). Out of the total travel agents surveyed 38 travel agents use CRS (i.e. 76%).
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 Out of the 38 travel agents 58% use Amadeus and Sabre/Star, 42% use Galileo for the of

Domestic airline ticket.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

t d n p s e R f o N

30% 20% 10% 0% Galileo Amadeus & SABRE / SITAR

Frequency of Air Travel

Ans.5 Out of the 50, Travel agents surveyed, it was found that the private airline performance was preferred in relation to the prescribed factors. For In-flight services: 54% of the travel agents have considered Jet Airways as best airline for in flight services and 46% have considered Sahara Airlines. Sahara Airlines with its recent improvement in menu is already on its way to compete with the best.
46

Booking/Reservation: 38% of the travel agents have considered Indian Airlines the best airline for its booking services, thanks to the new reservation system, whereas 36% of the travel agents feel the same for Jet and 26% for Sahara. Check in Services: 52% of the travel agents consider Jet Airways and 48% Sahara to be the best in check-in-services to passengers.

Indian Airlines

Jet Airways

Sahara India Airlines

100% 80% 60%

) s t n e g A

40% 20%

l v a r T ( t d n p s e R f o N

0%

In Flight Services

Booking / Reservations

Check In Services

100% 90% 80% 70%

Ans. 6 The airlines in order to attract customers are resorting to short-term promotional schemes (like discounted fares on certain sector free stays in 5 stars) free car rental etc. This means increased customer attraction to travel by air. Out of the 50 travel agents, 74% of the travel agents feel that Sahara India Airlines offers the maximum short term promotional schemes, followed by 26% who said Indian Airlines offers the maximum short term promotional schemes.
10% 0%
S.T.P Indian Airlines S.T.P Jet Airways S.T.P Sahara India Airlines

60% 50% 40% 30% 20%

t d n p s e R f o N

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* S.T.P Short term Promotion

Q.7

The customer preference while buying an airline ticket as according to

the travel agents. Out of the 50 travel agents surveyed 54% of the travel agents say that most of the customers generally look for and in-flight services of the airline. 48% of the travel agents, feel the, that most of the customers 40 for cheap fares and discounts offered by the airline. 40% of the travel agents feel that, most of the customer look for punctuality, timing and least cancellation of flight.
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100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40%

t d n p s e R f o N

30% 20% 10% 0%

Good In Flight Cheap Fares Services & Disc. Punctuality Least Cancellation of Flight

Ans. 8 Indian Airlines flies to the most destinations across India, to be precise 59, and it is ever expanding. The travel agent with there trade knowledge, acknowledged the fact that it flies to more destination than any other airline. But, private airlines operations are also very rapidly expanding. The result of the question was 100% i.e. all agreed.

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Ans 9&10 SWOT ANALYSIS OF INDIAN AIRLINES A SWOT Analysis of Indian Airlines was conducted from the perception of the travel agents and the findings of the survey. The analysis revealed the following dimensions. STRENGTHS Networking and scheduling Fleet Strength Market Share built during the monopoly phase Government Infrastructure which can be upgraded at a comparatively low cost. Enjoys the strength of NRI traffic as it operates on certain international routes. Weaknesses Bureaucratic Organization Strict Hierarchical System followed in the organisation Low employee morale and motivation Customers dissatisfied with the certain aspects (as compared to competitors) inflight service and ground staff handling. OPPORTUNITIES To increase flight operations on those routes, which have a high tourism potential, so as to reap the benefits of an upward moving Tourism Industry. Awareness and realisation among the employees of the growing competition. The decision to increase the fleet strength To gear up to the domestic competition at a time, when the majority share is still in Indian Airlines kitty.
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THREATS Growing competition from the private airlines. Customer services being redefined by private airlines. Dissatisfied travel agents may prove to serious threat of IA existing market share.

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FINDINGS The Questionnaire study has provided me with the information on the levels of customer satisfaction and understanding the needs and preferences of travellers. After doing an in- depth survey of the passengers and travel agents, the following was found: In the travel agent questionnaire, two direct questions were asked regarding the ticket sales and number of destinations it flies (QuestionNo.8). The findings proved that, firstly in regard to ticket sales, Indian Airlines sold the maximum number of tickets than any other airline. With regard to number of destinations, Indian Airlines flies to maximum number of destinations and findings have proved that . This result hence proves the hypothesis correct, that Indian Airlines is still the largest domestic airline in the country in terms of sales of tickets and number of destinations. For the second hypothesis, that is, Indian Airlines is the most preferred airline by passengers a direct question was asked in (Question No.4). The response was in favour of Jet Airways. Thus proving the hypothesis wrong. According to the survey conducted, Jet Airways is the most preferred domestic airline, followed by Indian Airlines and then by Sahara Indian Airlines. Although the result was in favour of Jet Airways, it also indicated that Indian airlines was not far away in the preference results, indicating a growing trend for travelling by Indian Airlines. There were also other indirect questions for preference asked both from Travel agents as well as passengers for their opinion on the various attributes that come in passenger satisfaction viz. Inflight service, cabin behaviour etc.

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For the third hypothesis that is, passengers are giving importance to the

service levels offered by the airlines, the response has been gauged indirectly. In Question No. 8 of passenger questionnaire, the passengers were asked about the factors considered important for relative influence on the Choice of Airline. In this, questions about factors relating to service were asked viz. Inflight service, in-flight comfort appearance and hospitality of crew. Also a question relating to passenger interest was asked in travel agent questionnaire (Q. No.7). The results for both indicate that service levels have become paramount for customers along with other factors. The information gathered from passenger questionnaire indicates that these factors have been considered important or very important by majority of the passengers. While in the travel agents questionnaire (Q. No. 7) their majority response was for In-flight service, indicating that passengers are increasingly looking for better levels of service from the airlines. From the analysis of Question 1 of the passenger questionnaire, it was found that maximum number of travellers, purchase their ticket through travel agents, followed by company bookings and airline counter. Primarily, people preferred travel agents because, travel agents offered discounts and provided better options. According to the passengers survey conducted, (in Question No. 10 of passenger questionnaire) considering the parameters for customer satisfaction viz. On time performance, in-flight service, In-flight comfort cabin crew behaviour etc. The results based on Excellent performance of these factors, Jet Airways was the airline which was the most preferred and provided maximum satisfaction to its passengers, as most people surveyed believed that Jet Airways provides the best in-flight, food, check- in services etc. to the passengers. People feel that Jet Airways being a new airline is very professional in their approach, while dealing with passengers. Indian Airlines is considered by many as an average airline as regards to customer satisfaction but it has some of the
53

best discounts and cheap airfares. Also, due to its large fleet, its flight schedule is also unmatchable. The survey conducted also showed that all the passengers surveyed, had travelled by Indian Airlines, while majority of them had travelled also by Jet followed by Sahara. Passengers perception about Indian Airlines is also changing, through better levels of customer service, which have been initiated by the airline and the passengers are also feeling the same. The response in Question No. 10 indicates that, efforts are being done by the airlines to uplift their standards of their service. The result chart shows that there is a good percentage of travellers who feel that the airlines levels of cabin crew behaviour, In-flight service, Ontime performance etc. are improving and are much better than before. Regarding the frequent flier programme, the travellers felt that not enough was being done by all the airlines to attract travellers to such a programme. Another reason why, they did feel it was not popular was the lack of much air travel by individuals to be entitled to its rewards. In the travel agents questionnaire, it was found that maximum number of travel agents have corporate clients (in Question No. 3 of Travel Agent Questionnaire), but felt that with increase in purchasing power and the convenience offered by other airlines, it was also getting popular for holiday travel. The information gathered from the questionnaire states that travel agents mostly recommend Indian Airlines, because it flies to maximum number of destinations and has goodwill in the industry, because it is the oldest airline in India.

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 In the opinion of travel agents, the maximum number of short-term promotional schemes is carried out by Sahara India Airlines followed by Indian Airlines. They felt Sahara does this because, it is relatively new carrier with the fewest destinations, and in order to gain customer confidence, it kept carrying out such promotional schemes. Indian Airlines primarily did it, to save its market share as well as to create a bonus for its Goodwill. The survey with travel agents also indicated that the customers preference while buying an airline ticket were good in-flight services, cheap fares and discounts, punctuality, timing and least cancellation of flight. They felt that these factors were the most important for the customers. Travellers today are demanding higher levels of service, and comfort them ever before. Travel agents also felt that the Private Airlines were more preferred because their service standards were believed to be higher than Indian Airlines. But, they agree that Indian Airlines is slowly and gradually improving its standards, and majorities of the travel agents have considered Indian Airlines as the best airline for booking services.

SUGGESTION
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CUSTOMER VALUE Customer delivered value is the difference between total customer value and total customer cost. Total customer value is the bundle of benefits customers expect from a given product or service. Total customer cost is the bundle of costs customer expect to incur in evaluating, obtaining and using the product or service. (Source: - Marketing Management by Philip Kotler) Customer Satisfaction: Satisfaction is a persons feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comprising a products perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations. (Source: - In Charge of Customer Satisfaction by Roger Cartwright & George Green, Preface) Indian airlines must focus on making strategies that create quality and value that will meet or exceed customers expectations, by completely satisfying the customer there is no reason for them to consider alternative airline.

IN FLIGHT SERVICE As Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet Airways in India has written, Any airline may get you from place to place, but what happens between take off and landing is what makes the difference. In-flight service is being given far more importance than every before, since the arrival of private airlines. It should give on its all main routes, complementary gifts, not only for first class and business class passengers but also to the economy class passengers. They should encourage innovative and fresh ideas for in-flight service. Overall, they should encourage and believe in service with a smile. CABIN CREW BEHAVIOUR
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The I care less attitude which was once trademark of Indian Airlines Cabin Crew, is slowly and gradually shedding away. Firstly, it calls for focussed HRD initiatives from the company itself. The company must help and teach the present staff to be more courteous and understanding. The company, must also recruit smart, young and active people who can handle the job profile better. The major disadvantage of Indian airlines, since it is a Government undertaking the cabin crew age limit is the same as of a person in another job, so it has a old workforce in its flights also, this discourages the traveller and does not give a fresh look to the airline. Indian Airlines must give encouragement to its cabin crew in every way possible, to improve their standards, as this is a service industry and behaviour does matter.

ON TIME PERFORMANCE The on time performance was a cause of concern for travellers, as we found during the survey. The on time performance of Indian Airlines is not great, as is required in this business. The private airlines are a major cause of envy on this particular factor for Indian Airlines. The major delay facts is the delay due to VVIP flights and VVIPs travelling with the other travellers on the same flight. The delay due to this factor must be totally avoided by better co-ordination between the airline and VVIPs agencies. Another facts of delay is considered to be, the lazy approach by the allied services staff before the take-off i.e. engineering staff, security staff etc. This must totally be avoided by the Airline, by better training to set new standards for on time performance for the airline.

EFFECTIVE COMPLAINT HANDLING

57

Effective complaint handling can have a dramatic impact on customer retention rates, deflect the spread of damaging word of mouth and bottomline performance. Indian Airlines has set up few grievance cells and is setting up a few more in every area of operation but travellers feel that it is not much of help. The grievance cell should be more empowered, and should also find out and report the features that customer look for and what dissatisfies them.

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

Relationship Marketing as explained earlier in literature review, should be evolved in itself by developing, maintaining and having more interactions with the customer. When compared with other private airlines, passengers felt that there was a lack of warmth shown by the staff. Therefore the staff must be very professional in their approach and very efficient, but the Indian passenger is used to being pampered, especially when they pay so much for the services. Therefore, Indian Airlines should train their staff accordingly. Indian Airlines must give calls to its regular travel agencies and maintain a good rapport with them. They should also give gifts to the travel agents which they can keep on their counters as this will keep reminding them of the airline. The concept of Relationship Marketing must also be used for travel agents as they are a very influential medium between the airline and the traveller. Indian Airlines, in order to increase its market share and fight competition, must introduce short-term promotional schemes, especially in the lean season. Short
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term promotional schemes can offer a lot of advantage to the company, firstly it is benefiting the traveller in every manner, so he is happy, it also gives the chance to the company to create and improve its goodwill among its traveller, and the short term promsotional schemes also offer the company better market presence. Indian Airlines can offer short-term promotion schemes because, it is a financially stronger compared to its competitors, plus it is more experienced and therefore can offer better deals. Encouragement must also be given to low traffic sectors, and for that sales promotion measures must be used.

ADVERTISING Another major area in which Indian Airlines is weak, is advertising field. Advertising is the missing link between the brand name and the customers perception. Even if the product/service has been designed to target the customers want with pin-point precision, it is only the communication with the customers, in general and advertising at its most patent form, in particular that will inform them just how one is trying to provide value to them. Advertising had been scarce by Indian Airlines before the private airline operators arrived Their advertisement should be differentiated from that of competitors. The benefits offered by their advertising must match their service usage. Advertisements should focus on brand name Their advertising should be designed to wake an emotional response. Indian Airlines enjoyed its monopoly, so they never felt the need to advertise. Now, it has become an altogether different ball game, with advertising forming an important part to inform the customers, so as to create more awareness about the airline, and its schedule and its was felt by the travel agents and travellers that private operators were advertising more.
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Indian Airlines should develop different advertisements targeting towards different consumer i.e. international travellers, domestic travellers, corporate clients etc. The clever use of media can clean a path through the clutter for the advertising message, it must be unique enough in its own right to make a statement. Indian Airlines advertisement mix should have benefits offered by the airline and also something, which tells about the company, so as to create a better image.

FREQUENT FLIER PROGRAMME While doing the survey, travellers indicated that frequent flier programme were not very popular in India, but felt if the right rewards/ benefits are attached, it can turn into a lucrative option for the company as well as for the traveller. The frequent flier programme of Jet was the most popular, therfore Indian Airlines must focus more on this scheme, this option can create more demand and happier customers for it. Since it is the largest domestic airline and carries maximum no. of passengers it can encourage repeat usage. The recent frequent flier programme must be reviewed and more benefits added.

GAINING COMPETITIVE KNOWLEDGE Since competiton has arrived the market share of Indian Airlines has declined, as it ended its monopoly, so it must formulate more effective strategies and knowledge about competitors activities must be known. For improving the service of Indian Airlines Limited, Indian Airlines should know what their competitors are doing. But to out think them, you have to know them thoroughly. Through travel agents, travellers and other company sources, Indian Airlines should track what competitors are doing and what the company can

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do to create differentiated service. It will help the company to address preferences, service requirements of the travellers better.

MORE FOCUS ON CORPORATE CLIENTELE. Indian Airlines has all kinds of clientele, from tourists passengers to students, to corporate clients. But after the arrival to private airlines, the number of corporate clientele travellers has come down. Indian Airlines must not forget that these are, and are going to be the maximum users of the airlines, in order to counter the loss, it should start re-focussing on corporate clients as well. This can done by promoting its executive and business class more as well as increasing its standards of service, as well as refurnish the interiors of the planes in which they commute, offer better comfort and in-flight service as well as frequent flier benefits. If Indian Airlines follows this strategy of differentiated working, it will be able to re-gain its market share with corporate clients.

Indian Airlines should invest in other mediums, for promoting and creating

awareness of its airline also. For e.g. It should encourage and promote for extensive use of internet website by travellers.

According to the data collected, Indian Airlines should also target at those

people who fall in the category of very likely to buy and probably will buy. The people who fall in very likely to buy is about 28%. They just need a little push in the form of an added incentive to fly with Indian Airlines and the people who cannot decide whether to fly Indian Airlines ticket i.e probably will buy, are potential customers/passengers and therefore they can be made permanent by offering more benefits in services and through greater awareness about the airline.

One of the major competitive advantage Indian Airlines enjoys is the best flight

schedules which it offers. Now this competitive advantage should be further strengthened by Indian Airlines with an ever expanding air network, and more
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destinations opening, Indian Airlines must continuously upgrade its fleet size and exploit those destinations first before the competitors do. It should focus also on providing trunk routes, this can be done through more efficient and increased utilization of aircrafts. Indian Airlines with its financial strength and Government backing should make most, by buying new planes and increasing its network.

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Research Plan: . Type of Research Market Segment Geographical Area Data Sources Market Survey Passengers / travellers New Mumbai/Thane. Secondary - Print Media - Internet -Company documentation Primary Research Instrument Sampling Plan - Survey research questionnaire Sampling Unit- Airline passengers - Travel agents Sample Size- 150 passengers 50 travel agents Sampling Procedure-NonContact Method probability judgmental. Personal Interviews.

CONCLUSION

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From the findings and comparative analysis of the data two of the hypothesis have been proved correct. The two which are proved correct are that, Indian Airlines is still the largest domestic airline in the country in terms of sales of tickets and number of destinations. The other hypothesis, which has been proved correct, is that passengers are giving importance to the service levels offered by the airlines. The one which was proven wrong was Indian Airlines is still the most preferred airline, by passengers, amongst the many competitors. Thus this wrong should be converted into right by Indian Airlines, and for that suggestions and recommendations have been given in the earlier chapter. Although the margin of preference is not much, but in todays competitive scenario, one needs to be the best in all aspects. It was found during the period of data collection that travel agents also agreed that Indian Airlines is still the largest domestic carrier. Although, majority of them believed Jet Airways to be preferred than Indian Airlines. They also felt that passengers are giving importance to the service levels offered by the airlines. Travel agents felt that suggestive and proactive approach was required by Indian Airlines to be the most preferred airline, and felt that it had begun to take the right approach. They also felt that they lacked innovativeness and were only concentrating on providing air travel but did not aim for excellence in service levels. The biggest problem a travel service marketer faces is determining what to sell and to whom, thus there is a need to be both circumspect and selective. Over promising and under delivery of a service can lead to a loss of money and loss of client and in a trade which is as insular as the travel trade, the ripple effect is disastrous. While purchasing an airline ticket, about 54% of the travel agents say that most of the customers generally look for good in flight services of the airline. Around 45% of the travel agents felt that most of the customers look for cheap fares and discounts offered by the airline and 40% of the travel agents feel that most of the customers look for punctuality, timing and least cancellation of flight. Therefore it
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can be said that In-flight service, schedules, punctuality and fare/tariff are the most important considerations that a customer keeps in mind before deciding in purchasing an airline ticket. Indian Airlines is a financially strong company and should work on a turnaround strategy which consists of a focussed attention in improving in-flight services, increased utilisation of aircrafts, Human Resource Development initiatives, increased international operations, creations of profit centres and better commercial initiatives.

REFERENCES

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1. `Marketing Management Philip Kotler 2. `Marketing Research Ronald S Rubin & David J Luck 3. `Marketing Management Rajan Saxena 4. `Marketing Management in Indian Context V S Ramaswamy & S. Namakumari 5. `Marketing Carol Mayall & Sally Palmer 6. `Research for Marketing Decisions Green, Tull & Abraham 7. `Marketing of Services Bijender Kumar and Bidhi Chand 8. `Customer Driven Services Management S Balachandran 9. `Services Marketing Ravi Shanker 10. `Incharge of Customer Satisfaction Roger Cartwright & George Green 11. `Marketing of Service Harsh V Verma 12. `Services Marketing Woodruffe 13. `Valuing Your Customers Angus Jenkison 14. `Effective Management of Market Angela Heatton & Mike Warson . 15. `Business Standard Special issue on Aviation 16. `Business World April 1997 17. `Business Today October 1996 18. `Indian Airlines Annual Report, 1997-98 19. `Indian Airlines Annual Report, 2009-2010
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20. Services Marketing K.V.Patankar.

INDEX Sr. No TOPIC Page No.

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1. 2. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PURPOSE OF STUDY AVIATION INDUSTRY ACHIVMENTS COMPANY PROFILE ANALYSIS OF PASSENGER SURVEY COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS PASSENGER PERCEPTION ANALYSIS OF TRAVEL AGENT SWOT ANALYSIS FINDINGS SUGGESTIONS RESEARCH PLANS CONCLUSION REFRENCES

1 2 8 16 23 38 41 44 51 53 57 64 65 67

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