Indian Aviation News
Pilots object to fresh rebranding of AI Express
by Bipin Shah Self Employed
Bipin Shah 
Self Employed
The Indian Commercial Pilots Association has taken strong exception to the management?s plan to rebrand Air India Express and Alliance Air as ?India Hopper?.
Calling the move a ?wasteful and meaningless exercise?, ICPA said it was yet another ploy to squander the company?s profits.
During the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India, ?we went about renaming Indian Airlines as ?Indian? spending crores of rupees. Everything from business cards to the paint on aircrafts was changed, wasting the taxpayers? money. We also lost a lot of passengers due to this rebranding,? the union said.
?After the merger, the exercise was repeated. Somewhere al­ong the way the previous entities were again renamed NACIL(I) and NACIL(A). Now, again we hear that holding company NACIL is being renamed Air India. We wonder why our company, which has registered huge losses and is even struggling to pay salaries on time, is indulging in such thoughtless and wasteful exercises,? the union questioned.
Pilots say AI Express has become a popular choice of travel for expats from the middle-east and the neighbouring countries. ?There is a brand recall value to the name and it takes years to achieve that. Additionally, another consultant will be appointed for this job, creating a financial burden,? a senior pilot said.
Nov 2nd 2010 05:31
Self EmployedThe Indian Commercial Pilots Association has taken strong exception to the management?s plan to rebrand Air India Express and Alliance Air as ?India Hopper?.
Calling the move a ?wasteful and meaningless exercise?, ICPA said it was yet another ploy to squander the company?s profits.
During the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India, ?we went about renaming Indian Airlines as ?Indian? spending crores of rupees. Everything from business cards to the paint on aircrafts was changed, wasting the taxpayers? money. We also lost a lot of passengers due to this rebranding,? the union said.
?After the merger, the exercise was repeated. Somewhere al­ong the way the previous entities were again renamed NACIL(I) and NACIL(A). Now, again we hear that holding company NACIL is being renamed Air India. We wonder why our company, which has registered huge losses and is even struggling to pay salaries on time, is indulging in such thoughtless and wasteful exercises,? the union questioned.
Pilots say AI Express has become a popular choice of travel for expats from the middle-east and the neighbouring countries. ?There is a brand recall value to the name and it takes years to achieve that. Additionally, another consultant will be appointed for this job, creating a financial burden,? a senior pilot said.
Nov 2nd 2010 05:31
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