Indian Aviation News
Air India Express to get a new name, shift base to Kerala
by Bipin Shah Self Employed
Bipin Shah 
Self Employed
Air India COO says shift to Thiruvananthapuram will help streamline ops; rebranding consultant to be appointed.
Air India plans to rebrand its international low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and move the latter?s headquarters from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram.
The move is part of the national flag carrier?s efforts to restructure operational and marketing strategies after accumulating Rs.14,000 crore in losses over the past four fiscals. The airline is also weighed down by debt of Rs.18,000 crore.
It has already announced plans to rename its holding company, National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), to Air India Ltd. Its regional airline service, tentatively named India Hopper, will also be renamed. ?Air India is considering a new name for Air India Express as a part of branding,? chief operating officer Gustav Baldauf said. ?We will also appoint a consultant (for the rebranding).?
Air India Express mostly flies to West Asian destinations, and a large number of its passengers are from Kerala. Moving its headquarters to Kerala?s capital city will, Baldauf said, lead to ?better operational synergies?.
The new chief operating officer of Air India Express would shuttle between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram for coordination.
Experts said Air India will benefit from the rebranding, but it should be accompanied by substantive changes in the way the state-owned company functions. ?In the case of Air India, a rebranding would certainly help to signal a new beginning. And this is an opportune moment. But for this to become meaningful, there must be a substantial and distinctive new reality on offer, particularly if you seek to attract new customers or even generate greater loyalty among your existing base,? said Ramesh Jude Thomas, president and chief knowledge officer at brand value management firm Equitor Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Baldauf said the airline will be changing more than just its name. For instance, it has appointed Stephan Sukumar, a former chief flight training instructor at German airlines Deutsche Lufthansa AG, as its new chief training officer. Sukumar will set common standards for all divisions of Nacil.
Rebranding airlines isn?t new in India. Before Indian Airlines and Air India merged into Nacil in 2006, Indian Airlines had rebranded itself as Indian. The country?s second largest low-cost carrier, SpiceJet Ltd, was initially called MG Express, then became ModiLuft and then Royal Airways. After media baron Kalanithi Maran picking up a majority stake in the carrier in June, there were reports that the airline may change its name again to Sun Airways. But company executives have denied this. ?The changing of an identity is a serious issue,? Thomas added. ?It must reflect some new truth or reality that the organization would like to stand for.?
Thomas said Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India?s largest airline by passengers carried, rebranded low-cost carrier Air Sahara as JetLite to reflect the new ownership. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Thomas said, renamed Air Deccan to Kingfisher Red after acquiring it for two reasons: to cancel the association with the earlier?s brand?s operational difficulties, and to provide the airline the benefit of Kingfisher?s image while letting it remain independent.
Kiran Khalap, co-founder and managing director, Chlorophyll Brand and Communications Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, said analysis suggests that congruence between brand name and the legal name of its owning entity is unnecessary.
?Taj is the most famous hospitality brand name from India. The legal entity that owns that brand name is Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. Ditto Oberoi, the most premium, and its owner, East India Hotels,? Khalap said. ?Unless there is a legal necessity emerging from re-structuring of ownership, changing Nacil to Air India Ltd is likely to have one salient effect: make printers of stationery and makers of signage very rich overnight.?
Oct 25th 2010 06:48
Self EmployedAir India COO says shift to Thiruvananthapuram will help streamline ops; rebranding consultant to be appointed.
Air India plans to rebrand its international low-cost subsidiary Air India Express and move the latter?s headquarters from Mumbai to Thiruvananthapuram.
The move is part of the national flag carrier?s efforts to restructure operational and marketing strategies after accumulating Rs.14,000 crore in losses over the past four fiscals. The airline is also weighed down by debt of Rs.18,000 crore.
It has already announced plans to rename its holding company, National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), to Air India Ltd. Its regional airline service, tentatively named India Hopper, will also be renamed. ?Air India is considering a new name for Air India Express as a part of branding,? chief operating officer Gustav Baldauf said. ?We will also appoint a consultant (for the rebranding).?
Air India Express mostly flies to West Asian destinations, and a large number of its passengers are from Kerala. Moving its headquarters to Kerala?s capital city will, Baldauf said, lead to ?better operational synergies?.
The new chief operating officer of Air India Express would shuttle between Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram for coordination.
Experts said Air India will benefit from the rebranding, but it should be accompanied by substantive changes in the way the state-owned company functions. ?In the case of Air India, a rebranding would certainly help to signal a new beginning. And this is an opportune moment. But for this to become meaningful, there must be a substantial and distinctive new reality on offer, particularly if you seek to attract new customers or even generate greater loyalty among your existing base,? said Ramesh Jude Thomas, president and chief knowledge officer at brand value management firm Equitor Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd.
Baldauf said the airline will be changing more than just its name. For instance, it has appointed Stephan Sukumar, a former chief flight training instructor at German airlines Deutsche Lufthansa AG, as its new chief training officer. Sukumar will set common standards for all divisions of Nacil.
Rebranding airlines isn?t new in India. Before Indian Airlines and Air India merged into Nacil in 2006, Indian Airlines had rebranded itself as Indian. The country?s second largest low-cost carrier, SpiceJet Ltd, was initially called MG Express, then became ModiLuft and then Royal Airways. After media baron Kalanithi Maran picking up a majority stake in the carrier in June, there were reports that the airline may change its name again to Sun Airways. But company executives have denied this. ?The changing of an identity is a serious issue,? Thomas added. ?It must reflect some new truth or reality that the organization would like to stand for.?
Thomas said Jet Airways (India) Ltd, India?s largest airline by passengers carried, rebranded low-cost carrier Air Sahara as JetLite to reflect the new ownership. Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, Thomas said, renamed Air Deccan to Kingfisher Red after acquiring it for two reasons: to cancel the association with the earlier?s brand?s operational difficulties, and to provide the airline the benefit of Kingfisher?s image while letting it remain independent.
Kiran Khalap, co-founder and managing director, Chlorophyll Brand and Communications Consultancy Pvt. Ltd, said analysis suggests that congruence between brand name and the legal name of its owning entity is unnecessary.
?Taj is the most famous hospitality brand name from India. The legal entity that owns that brand name is Indian Hotels Co. Ltd. Ditto Oberoi, the most premium, and its owner, East India Hotels,? Khalap said. ?Unless there is a legal necessity emerging from re-structuring of ownership, changing Nacil to Air India Ltd is likely to have one salient effect: make printers of stationery and makers of signage very rich overnight.?
Oct 25th 2010 06:48
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