Aviation Sector in India the Rise and the Downfall from Air India's view

By



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance for thanking my research facilitator, friends & family for support they provided & their belief in me as well as guidance they provided without which I would have never been able to do this research.

DECLARATION

I, Yasser Babiker Ahmed, would like to declare that all contents included in this thesis/dissertation stand for my individual work without any aid, & this thesis/dissertation has not been submitted for any examination at academic as well as professional level previously. It is also representing my very own views & not essentially which are associated with university.

Signature:

Date: August 28, 2012

ABSTRACT

India is home to over one billion people, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the world's population. Air India International Corporation was used for international routes and Indian National Airlines Corporation was used for domestic routes. These airlines were eventually known as Air India and Indian Airlines. As the country started moving towards globalisation, greater freedom was given for private players to enter the government-dominated air space.

Indian air space is considered to be one of the fastest growing air space in the whole of Asia. One of the few problems faced by this sector was the lack of skilled pilots and the problem of retaining them is still a problem faced by many private players. Many airlines top-bosses thought that labour costs were out of their direct responsibilities. This research will focus on the causes of rise and downfall of Air India. Air India enjoyed monopoly for a decade or so. But then due to low entry barriers, it suffered losses. This research will study how the Air India lost its market share. While all the literature reviewed has shown consistent patterns of disintermediation in the airline industry, the case may not exactly be so. The case in India is radically different as the airlines are incurring losses, some to such an extent that they are not even able to meet operating costs.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Problem Statement3

Aim of the Study4

Objectives of the Study4

Research question5

Significance of the Study5

Organization of the Study7

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW8

Air travel industry9

The Indian Situation11

The Impact of Operations Strategy on Profitability12

SWOT analysis Aviation Industry13

Indian Aviation - What the future holds15

Theories and Concepts of Job Satisfaction17

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY22

Research Design22

Research Approach23

Data collection methods25

Research Instrument26

Sample Size and Data Analysis27

Reliability/Dependability27

Validity28

Ethical Consideration28

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DICUSSION30

History of Air India30

Aircraft of Air India31

Corporate Vision31

Vision31

Mission31

SWOT analysis of Air India31

Interview analysis33

Questionnaire analysis37

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION47

Recommendations48

REFERENCES51

APPENDICES54

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Background

India is home to over one billion people, accounting for nearly one-sixth of the world's population. The country had a GDP growth rate of less than 1% in 1991 to about 8.5% in 2003 (O'Connell and Williams, 2006) and about 9.2% in 2006 (Worldbank.org, 9/28/07). Over the next 25 years India and China are set to have the largest base of consumers in the world, whose capacity would be 5 times the current capacity of the United States (O'Connell and Williams, ...