Gaurav's Blog

 

Market Research: A neglected function in the Indian Airline Industry?

 

 

The CCO's phone starts to ring abruptly. Ordinarily, this would be a non-event except that it is 3 am in the morning and the much harassed CCO had only just completed half the 40 winks that he manages to get every night. Of course, it is the MD-owner of the Airline on the other side of the phone. And, of course he is in a daylight zone, somewhere in Europe-excited and talking hurriedly. The minister has been so kind to approve the plan to import 20 aircraft worth hundreds of crores. Not just this, in an extraordinarily generous gesture, the Minister has even agreed for allocating parking bays so the aircraft could be imported. There is just one small condition to this-They must launch a flight to his constituency somewhere in an obscure corner of India. That is not even the major issue. Now that the aircraft are finally arriving, the CCO must figure out where to use them. And quickly too, because the aircraft will start arriving in exactly 2 weeks time lest the Minister is shuffled out and his successor has a change of heart. The MD has spoken for about 2 hours about his wit and negotiation skills. It is 5 am now. There is no time to waste. Soon the CCO may find himself addressing a press conference in this regard.

The CCO scribbles down the names of a few cities on a scrap of toilet paper, while sitting in the potty and then decides to call his crack team: consisting of a failed property dealer, 2 fresher Hotel Management graduates (from Sri-Devi College of Hotel Management, Chickpet, Bangalore) and a retired Indian airline man.  The team would be sent for a 'recce' trip to the 8 cities in question where they will do the following drill: They will meet some touts, local bullies and union leaders around the airport area, or the local MLA's cousin who could be possible candidates for PSA's. Then they will go and meet a handful of city Travel Agents, who are industry experts with years of experience in organizing Tirupati-Tirumala tours. You may see them salivating at the first mention of the possible flight to the city. Some may drop names of local MP's/ MLA's to get the coveted GSA contract. The evening is reserved for getting drunk and some merry-making. As for the prospects of the flight, you will get as much relevant information from them, as you can get in a film magazine. Armed with this anecdotal information and some figments of imagination, a 'report' would be drafted next morning and handed over to the CCO with an 'All iz well' conclusion. Oh and the fresher's, they haven't yet taken to the game, so they feel a bit guilty. They do some extra research on the internet about companies operating in the city and add those names in the report, as their contribution.

Welcome to the Indian Airline industry-You see it is almost philosophical- Life is about trial and error and so my friend, is the route planning process. So what if the Airlines are dabbling in assets worth millions of dollars, not one of them can produce a coherent 5 year, 3 year, even 1 year route plan driven by market research. That is because of the belief, that the universe will unfold as it has to, whether one plans or not.  And when the day of reckoning comes, it must be won by way of Jugaad, the all Indian concept- the cure for all ills, for all human suffering. Ladies and gentlemen, hold your breath, for this certified management best practice will launch India into realms of a super power nation.       

Could airlines learn something for an FMCG and the process of launching a new product? The process, in an FMCG could start almost 2 years in advance with a good budget assigned for market research. Just how much work and thought and detail goes into developing even a soap brand could be mind-boggling. Ask some of the advertising people and they will tell you how much they dread being on a soap company account because all that could be said about soap has already been said. I won't be surprised if we soon come across a brand that claims that it can negate or cure the harmful effects of nuclear radiation.  

Some may say, this is the function of margins available in the business- an Airline's 2% net margin vs. an FMCG's 15%. However, I believe the process can adapted to reflect the realities of the airline industry. The truth is that Market research as a function does not even exist in most airlines.   

Disclaimer: This article is not a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any events or persons, employed in the airline industry is purely intentional and deliberate.