Is it a tailspin?

ABOUT 30 years ago a school of painting actively encouraged portraits in contraperspective; objects in the horizon appeared exaggerated and larger than objects in the foreground.

This apparent reversal of the human eye vision, in a manner of speaking, is somewhat the mirror-image reflection on the state of India's aviation industry. The world is already in the 21st century but this industry continues to struggle. The reasons are many and well known.

India's aviation planners had visualised 'state-of-the-art' projects, acquisition of contemporary airplanes, creation of air taxi operations to and from gateways, inter-switching of traffic at airport hubs, with building of rapid road and rail connections, the multiplier-effect of infrastructure for millions of overseas visitors, 'new' terminals, automation, hotels and tourism friendly additives, a vision in marked contrast to what prevails today.

Why do visionaries, who successfully paint 'contemporary' pictures, fail to recognise the lemming-like propensity of the Government's hydra-headed agencies, to settle for the second best if not total failure, particularly when it comes to performance and delivering the goods?

Without going into the substantive details of the aviation policy, its planning and implementation, or delving in too many 'aberrations' and litany of political about-turns and deviations, (grounding of A-320 aircraft, now-on-now-off Bangalore airport project, the inexplicable coyness to Tata's domestic airline proposals, the pendulum-like shifting of intentions when it comes to clearing the acquisition of contemporary airplanes and related technology, boards of management inducted with good intentions but completely hamstrung by a plethora of prevailing compulsions), could one reason and rationalise the shortfalls in content and quality of the finished product? For, example, the already obsolete air terminals in New Delhi and Mumbai, the country's main international gateways, the absence of navigational aids such as CAT 111 particularly desirable for landing and taking off at the Delhi Airport during any winter's fog bound dawn and other state-of-the-art navigational aids, ITDC's derelict and run down hotels, restaurants, the mock 'hospitality' towards foreign tourists and so on; it would suffice to recall here the words of an insider, that our leaders while in office are "long on promises, short on performance."

The intention of this author is not to itemise errors of omission and astonishingly of commission too, but seek a 'ministerial' impetus to re-formulate a serious action plan, for reviving an ailing industry and put in place a contemporary civil aviation policy.

The year 2003 may well revolutionise the concept of 'bilateral agreements' in aviation. The more enlightened planners are already gearing up for ensuring economic gains, when the world of 'bilateral agreements' as known in India and elsewhere will no longer be the guiding principle governing free market aviators.

In the words of a former CEO, "It is almost as though we are now crossing another time-zone in the sky; the globalisation of the Indian economy presents new opportunities for value-addition in sectors in which India had a comparative advantage.''

The aviation scene in India needs to be redefined, and not limited to airline operations, in order to capture the mood of the new millennium.

It is essential to create a new climate and exploit the opportunities of participating in the fast growing market; as a matter of fact, it is an industry closely linked to the nomadic nature of the global economy.

If history is not faulted, the western world's economy during the better part of the Twentieth century was primarily driven by two major compulsions - the world wars and themigrants to the North American continent - generating the need for transporting human and material resources to the point where they were required.

The railways in the U.S., and some time later elsewhere, had for long been the engine for the opening of new lands, pushing back old frontiers and establishing settlements which later became nodal points for both agricultural and industrial development. When entrepreneurial forces redefined the 'railways' as 'the transportation industry', the scope of opportunities for business investment had enlarged multifold.

Rightfully, the aviation industry, which evolved as a spin-off from politico-military-industrial equations, is no longer limited just to airline operations or a few airplane manufacturers, or even to airports; as a matter of fact, it is almost on the threshold of space travel.

There is a healthy multiplier effect in this space-age industry, activities embracing the entire gamut of space sciences, aviation medicine and rocket technology spawning new end uses of space-age materials for commonly used products in daily life, international tourism and trans-global transportation of men and materials, where trade and commerce are not defined or limited by cartographic contours but determined by the needs of a growing population and business opportunities.

What is the ground reality in India? After over half a century of state domination, large segments of the economy including the airline industry are now straining to free themselves and become prepared for the less-pampered world of free enterprise.

The two national airline operators, after decades of stagnant state ownership and bureaucratic interference, are throttled by a financial famine, at a time when they must be thrust towards total freedom and greater self reliance and undertake fleet renewal and expansion with contemporary airplanes.

Like most other carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines are now moving to the starting point of a re-equipment cycle. And that re-equipment cycle comes both from the need to replace aircraft, which were acquired at the beginning of the wide-bodied era and which have already come or are now coming to the end of their operating lives, and the need to cater to growth in the market.

The airlines quickly need to improve their financial health and must be allowed to evaluate and induct more airplanes, according to their market needs, in addition to the B-747 - 400 airplanes, medium capacity long range (MCLR) aircraft such as the MD - 11, the Airbus A 340-500, Boeing's B 767 or even B 777 and other small capacity long range (SCLR) aircraft such as the Airbus A 330-200 and Boeing B 717, and other contemporary 100 seater airplanes, not excluding small capacity short range (SCSR) ones such as the turbo-prop ATRs, suitable for various types of operations over domestic routes.

To the lay person, or the traveller, or the tourist, or the fast moving business executive, aviation is a necessity.

Indeed, it is not merely the flying of airplanes, airports and hotels, but all of these and more; the civil aviation industry is a platform for tapping business opportunities in the global marketplace.

The appalling conditions at airports, the quagmire of management and financial mess facing the two flag operators, inadequate tourism infrastructure, are but a dismal reality of Indian aviation today; the inadequacy, poor quality and evident limitations in development of related technology, in stark contrast with what our early planners visualised, the enviable dynamics of an entire gamut of the aviation industry, visible in the success of British Airways, infrastructure at Frankfurt airport, its hotels, especially shopping malls, restaurants, transportation links by road and rail, and even the newest at Hong Kong.

Vishwanath Mani

(To be concluded)

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