IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh has told a Parliamentary panel that young people in India did not have the talent required to work in a consumer-facing industry and people hired from “mohalla/village schools” could not be trained to speak fluent English in four or five weeks.
He made this assertion before the Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture headed by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’ Brien, which is deliberating on “Issues related to improving consumers’ satisfaction of airlines.”
The Committee in its report “totally disagreed” with Mr. Ghosh. It said government schools and colleges produced the best students of the country. “If a particular airlines has grown exponentially, they should deploy a proportionate amount to the training of their staff, instead of misbehaving and manhandling passengers or blaming youngsters from Tier II and III cities and government schools,” the report notes.
IndiGo had hit the headlines in November when its staffer Montu Kalra posted a video of a passenger Rajiv Katyal, who had alighted from a Delhi-Chennai flight, being dragged and beaten up on the tarmac following an argument with the ground staff of the airline. The incident occurred on October 15.
Investment in training
Speaking on the training aspect, Mr. Ghosh had told the committee that they were facing a challenge in getting talented people in the consumer facing industry. “IndiGo is hiring people from Tier II and Tier III cities and creating jobs there... Indigo is investing more and more on training,” he said.
The committee also felt that merely taking strict action against erring employees did not absolve the airline of its guilt.
Exorbitant fares
The committee came down heavily on the exorbitant airfares charged during festival and holiday seasons. The report notes that around festivals, some airlines charge more than ten times the advance booking fare which is “arbitrary.” It has recommended that the Ministry of Civil Aviation consider fixing an upper limit for air tickets in every sector.
Interestingly, the committee also noted that airlines were providing inadequate leg space, especially for tall passengers. “The committee desires that the Ministry of Civil Aviation may prepare a guideline laying down a minimum space standard in respect of seats and legroom.”
