Taj resonates with Air India’s heartbeat

BY INVITATION

Taj resonates with Air India’s heartbeat

By R K Krishna Kumar

09.10.2021

The return of Air India to its original home is a momentous event. It will take some time to fly AI again under the Tata banner. A man who will be truly happy is Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons and, at one time, chairman of AI, after nationalisation. This time, after a lot of hard work, and no doubt, deep study, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has boldly moved forward. AI is no ordinary brand. After J R D Tata founded it in 1932, he nursed the airline for several decades and made it a luminous star amidst other airlines like PanAm, TWA and Swiss Air, many of which have since disappeared. His passion for detail accompanied by his vision for India made AI what it became — a legendary leading global airline carrying the Indian flag.

I will touch upon the foundation of the relationship between the House of Tata and AI. In Tatas, one company that resonates with the heartbeat of AI is the Taj Group of Hotels. What connects them is the powerful focus on doing everything possible to make customers supremely comfortable and happy.

Long before management jargon coined phrases like ‘customer centricity’, the purpose of being an enterprise dedicated wholly to look after its guests was an overriding passion of both organisations. The secret of the Taj brand and AI’s legacy was the care and commitment that was crafted into their service philosophy, in some ways the trail leads to the founder himself, Jamsetji Tata, who founded the Taj Mahal hotel. Many will remember the supreme example of this passion when terrorists attacked Taj on November 26, 2008. Both Ratan Tata and I were witness to the horrible siege of the Taj for three days and three nights. It was extraordinary that so many employees of the Taj continued in their positions including the telephone operators and the staff of the kitchen during the attack. We unfortunately lost 12 of our employees. The world recognised this and the Taj dome under fire became a global symbol of service above self.

AI has historically shared the bonding with its customers in the same manner as the Taj. Perhaps, because AI for so many years had different leaders under government control the original philosophy of perfection including in maintenance, upkeep and profitability had become frayed and the brand lost its sheen over time.

It will be a challenging task not only to fully revive the airline but also make it profitable. It will summon the most intensive technological changes for which Chandra must have his plans ready. The Tata Group has investments in two other airline entities, viz Vistara and AirAsia, and with the acquisition of AI it will call for a major strategic restructuring reflecting market realities. We must also remember that when the shadow of the pandemic passes, international air travel, and importantly domestic air travel, will grow exponentially.

It was a bold and daring decision of the government to take forward its economic reforms agenda by privatising the fabled airline. With Ratan Tata’s guidance and Chandra’s consistent track record of delivering performance, I believe that AI will again become a flying beacon of India’s international success.

(The writer is Tata Trusts trustee)