Smile on Face Will be a Good thing: AI Chief Tells Staff

New Delhi: With rising instances of Air India facing flak for indiscipline and indifference, the airline's chief Ashwani Lohani has asked the staff to be "courteous and polite" to passengers and said wearing a smile would be a "good thing".

In case there are delays in flights, both cockpit and cabin crew should keep passengers in the loop by providing them information about the reasons for the delay at "timely intervals", Lohani said.

The Air India Chairman and Managing Director said the check-in agents should be periodically counselled to interact with passengers politely.

"Their attitude should be positive with a problem solving approach. In fact, all the staff of Air India or its ground handling agencies should be regularly counselled to be courteous and polite," he said.

In a lengthy message, Lohani has sought to sensitise the employees to ensure that passengers have a "good experience" with Air India, especially at a time when the carrier is looking to bring about a turnaround in its fortunes.

This comes against the backdrop of multiple incidents in recent times, ranging from controversies involving people with disabilities to bad quality of food, to quarrels among staff, resulting in flight delays.

"The cabin crew should greet the passengers while emplaning and deplaning with a 'namaskaar' as was the tradition. A smile on the face and conversing sweetly and politely without an iota of irritation would be a good thing," Lohani said.

During Aircraft on Ground (AOG) or progressive delay exceeding 30 minutes, Lohani said, the airport manager and the station manager should immediately reach the site and attend to the passengers.

"There should be adequate communication to the passengers and their boarding/lodging needs should be taken care of without delay," he said, adding that station manager and airport manager have to be proactive and positive with a problem solving approach.

Further, he said the "quality of food has to be good" and that special checks need to be done on supplies by chef air.

According to him, the captain of a flight should often connect with passengers during the journey and, at the end of first address, using the words 'Jai Hind' would make a tremendous impact.