Air India Back In The Jackpot

     Air India’s troubles never seem to end. The latest is a blast from a 31-member Parliamentary panel. Headed by a soft-spoken Communist Party of India (Marxist) Member of Parliament Sitaram Yechury, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has criticized the decision of the government to merge Air India and Indian Airlines.
     The panel said that the merger decision had been “taken in haste, without required homework and consultations. As a result, the entire process has, in fact, been unduly delayed, if not derailed.”
     The two government-run carriers had been merged in 2007 with the backing of Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
     "The manner in which the merger was implemented and the manner in which various issues connected to the merger were tackled has led to an unfortunate situation," Sitaram Yechury was reported to have commented. He went on to add that the merger “has created a situation where instead of utilizing the synergies of both Air India and Indian Airlines and taking on the contribution both domestically and internationally, we are ending up losing out in the process.”
     The panel has gone on to suggest that the merged entity, the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), should be bifurcated into two—NACIL-A to manage Air India and NACIL-I for Indian Airlines—and run as separate units. Air India would never have been able to earn profits “by shifting the burden of the crisis on to the shoulder of the employees and blaming them for the ills of the company.”
     Instead, the panel has suggested that the government write off the loss suffered by NACIL because of the (wrong) policy directions – “often irrational and misplaced policy decisions of the government,” as the panel termed it—of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
     Observing that Air India should defer its aircraft-buying plan “to reduce the debt burden”, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture also recommended a probe into the plan “to fix responsibility for taking such an ambitious decision that has become a big financial liability.”
     As if that was not enough, the panel has also taken shots at Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel. The manner in which the ministry headed by him granted bilateral air traffic rights has been questioned.
     Air India, said the panel, had made an “earnest plea” to stop the entry of foreign airlines in India but “the government looked the other way and decided to grant further bilaterals to various foreign airlines.”
     Result: NACIL became vulnerable to operational difficulties and losses.
     Lastly, questions were also raised on the fleet acquisition by Air India. The panel was of the opinion that Air India and Indian Airlines had different makes of planes—Boeing and Airbus—and needed to work out separate acquisition plans. NACIL, however, continued to lease aircraft or renew their leases even when new planes were being delivered to it. These moves had ultimately resulted in a big financial loss to the company.
     The “inherent contradictions” of human resources and aircraft type along with other factors had become a “major stumbling block in achieving the required economies of scale and increased leverage.”
     It remains to be seen whether the government will bail out Air India after the recommendations handed out by the top panel. One of the questions that is being asked is: Will the merger be reversed?
     Some time ago, senior bureaucrats in the ministry of civil aviation had put forward a suggestion that Air India and Indian be allowed to fly as separate entities even as the merger remained on paper.
     Insiders in the ministry did not disclose to ACNFT whether the suggestion had been taken up for implementation or not.
     Meanwhile, NACIL continues to bleed: it is losing around Rs 15 crore a day.
Tirthankar Ghosh

NBC founders honor James Brooks (center), the man who created the mural “Flight” in 1942 for LaGuardia Airport’s Marine Air Terminal at a gala party inside the MAT in 1980. (Left to right) is Vince Costanzo, Tony Lima, Kenny Ippolito, Danny Radovan, Mr. Brooks, Kevin Malanaphy, Tim Peirce, Geoffrey Arend and Andy Roman.

     I’m sitting at a bar in the basement of the Central Terminal Building (CTB) at LaGuardia Airport, in a space that used to be home to Manufacturers Hanover Trust Bank, reminiscing on a time that I had thought would never go away.
    George “Tim” Peirce was once manager of the airport, Ronnie Rapaciullo was bank manager, and Danny Radovan was upstairs at a restaurant called “The Terrace”.
    Over at United, Kevin Malanaphy and at Delta, Andy Roman lit up the universe with style and class.
    But now Tim is gone.
    He died ten years ago on January 30, 2000.
    Ronnie is retired.
    So is Danny.
    Both of these guys, I imagine, are living somewhere in Florida.
    Last time I saw Andy after Delta took over Pan Am I thought he was a German with his Euro-cut suit and light brown shoes, before I discovered he was a big shot in DL's European plans.
    Kevin and dear Pat Malanaphy are living somewhere near San Francisco.
    Every time I hear from them, even if my wife takes the call, I feel good for a month.
    My friends mean everything to me.
    So I am sitting in this airport place called “Figs” watching while prosciutto pizzas are churned out of a hot, brick oven.
    The dancing fire adds comfort to the high ceiling room and seems to mock the window-wall view of swirling, late January, Bowery Bay weather, where a queue of aircraft seem to hug hard against LaGuardia’s main runway.
    The feeling from the fire is like the warmth of the sun, and it is with me tonight. I think of Brian Wilson’s apropos lyrics, and also recall the Yule Log burning endlessly on Christmas Eve T.V. here in New York.
    It’s always like this for me during this time of year in Queens, New York.
    The ritual is always the same since Tim died.
    I belly up to this bar in the CTB at LaGuardia.
    The drink is Dewar’s White Label, Tim’s favorite, and it costs seven bucks a shot.
    The order is two rocks glasses with double shots neat, no ice.
    The bartender never need ask whom the drink is for. By the time he collects his 28 bucks plus tax I’m already in earnest conversation with Tim.
    It’s funny. These days you can talk out loud in public to no one in particular and most people won’t think you’re nuts.
    I think the advent of cell phones has caused people to think that anyone talking to no one in particular is really just wearing an earpiece, talking to a friend. Maybe all the homeless in New York are just on an earpiece with God. Something to think about.
    Tim asks me about a big corkscrew-looking thing hanging from the atrium ceiling inside the CTB. It is festooned with miniature representations of the Beck Eagle that was once atop the entranceway of the CTB. I tell him those little Eagles and Dolphins are part of the execution of interpretive art.
    “The only thing that gripes me,” I tell Tim, “is the stone bust of Mayor LaGuardia that was in the CTB is now squat in the center of the MAT.”
    “We cannot get drunk enough to roll it into Bowery Bay,” I say. “I remember the day they unveiled it. Mrs. Marie LaGuardia (Fiorello’s widow) was in attendance, and she just gasped:
    ‘That doesn’t look anything like Fiorello.’”
    Now, the corkscrew resides in the CTB and the brooding, offensive Fiorello rests inside the MAT.
    “Someday,” I tell Tim, “I’ll take care of that.”
  “Better not let anybody hear you talking,” Tim cautions. “Besides Jim told me just the other day that Mayor LaGuardia loved the MAT and pulled “surprise” inspections on the place when Jim was painting the mural, even checking out the lavs to make sure they were clean.” Jim is James Brooks, the artist who painted the enormous “Flight” mural in 1940-42 that encircles the upper walls of the MAT Lobby.
    “So perhaps,” Tim suggests, “the bust is meant for the MAT.” Tim always knew what to say, and was more than careful while working for a little agency called the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.
    He was absolutely masterful at getting things done and knowing what to do when the chips were down.
    Tim had this great boss by the name of Robert J. Aaronson. Bob both knew and understood Tim in a way that most can only hope to be witness to one day.
    I tell Tim that Bob retired as Director General of Airports Council International in Geneva.
    I mention that I saw him recently at The Wings Club in New York and he still looked great although the moustache was gone.
    “Great guy,” Tim says. “A visionary aviation director who changed everything, even hired a cargo marketing manager, a first for the country, but always respected everybody around him.”
    “One of a kind,” Tim says.
    An airplane taxies outside and I tell Tim that most of the LaGuardia legacy airlines are still struggling, but might realign themselves and could return to profit if the effects of the current recession ease a bit.
    “Is Ronnie still clearing your checks?” Tim wonders.
    I tell him that I think Ronnie retired to Vegas or some place, and we both laugh at that one.
    Looking around at the fresh, energetic faces of airline people today, we can both agree what a great place this LaGuardia was, and still is.
    The motto is “The little airport that works,” and “The Passenger’s favorite”.
    Once upon a time at a little airport called LaGuardia you could park your car upstairs on the drive deck and get a haircut from Ricky the barber at the CTB, or go upstairs to Danny Radovan’s Terrace Restaurant to watch the runway from above.
    Danny was the perfect host at the Terrace, but beyond that, he was also the greatest airport restaurateur anywhere in the world.
    Style, class and impeccable service matched good food, a great view and over-stuffed banquettes for discreet afternoon libations.
    “The financial condition of the airlines has prompted an end to food service aboard the airplanes,” I tell Tim.
    Tim smiles. He whispers that airline chow was never that hot in the first place, so maybe terminal food will benefit from this change.
    “How’s Helen Marshall?” Tim asks.
    I tell him that Helen was reelected for a third term as Queens, New York Borough President, and she is always in the news, pictured a lot with Hillary Clinton who ran for U.S. President in 2008 and is now USA Secretary of State in the new administration of Barack Obama, a 47-year old Illinois Senator who was elected President November 2008. I also tell Tim that President Obama is black.
    He is not surprised.
    “America is the only country where a black man or woman from humble circumstances could be elected to the highest office.
     What a great affirmation of the American dream as well as an exciting prospect for the future and the world.
     Helen who once was almost all by herself as a high profile African/American woman in politics was, gender and race aside, the sharpest politician in the room with an understanding for the people and the good of the Borough. There might not be a LaGuardia Airport today without her.
    “Back when she represented the neighborhood surrounding LaGuardia on the New York City Council, she always took an even, balanced approach so that both community and airport could get along.
    “She’s a great human being and in the end that's what really matters, don't you think?
    “And Don Marshall? How is he?” Tim asks.
     I tell him that Morty Arkin's World War II T2 training planes are still out there in formation above New York.
    "Mort, the Sky Typer, forever spelling out messages, while granting smoke dreams across the heavens on summer days,"Tim says.
    "Nowadays he asks me to go along on those flights and sometimes we both just sit on the wings and laugh and tell stories, listening to those old engines roar and watching the world go by."
    I tell him that Rich De Castro is still working hard for LaGuardia Kiwanis, and that after we spoke last year I heard from Joan DeCorta who is now happily married and prospering in a life away from the airport
    I remind him that the reputation of the Kiwanis Club Annual Charity Ball Award as a kiss of death to careers remains intact. The 2004 winner was ATA and, true to form, about six months after the party at the LaGuardia Marriot, the airline went into bankruptcy.
    Tim makes me promise to stop telling that story.
    “Remember the clambakes that Tony Lima put up on Martha’s Vineyard Island when he was manager of Air New England?"
    “You’ll never guess what happened to Vince Costanzo,” I say.
    “Last time I talked to him he was selling bibles or something.”
    “What’s so funny about that?” Tim wonders
    “We get a lot of that around here all the time.
    “Pete Gebhard and I always find a reason to be someplace else.
    “I miss Bill Felt.” Tim says.
    “We used to sit and talk about things all the time.
    “Often as the hour got late at our gatherings, sometimes after the annual Kiwanis Kids Day, Pat Felt would sing to all of us in her beautiful, sweet voice that I always thought was heaven on earth.”
    “Tony Statuto is working hard for the airport too. Ralph and Connie Sabatelli are still together and a big part of the airport family here and a big part of the airport family here, and dear Mary Sabatelli still brings back the old feelings for many of us at her open houses Long Island.
    “Mary made us all look good,” Tim says.
    “Tell her I love her, and think of the good times we had with much affection.”
    I tell Tim that Kenny Ippolitto is still on a bulldozer all day and dressed to the nines at night, and Tim nods.
    Tim recalls:
    “You could always call up Kenny any time, for anything, and he would come through.
    “I guess I was kind of tough sometimes, setting up events like Man of the Year, but Kenny and all the others were simply great.
    “People like Kenny and Pam, Dik Wesson, Dick Allen, Kevin and Pat Malanaphy, John and Joan Zito, Andy Roman, Doc Herrlin, Jessie Cromer and others made the ‘80s and ‘90s a very special time for the airport.
    “We were an extended family.
    “I wish we were still together,” Tim says.
    “Most of these folks are in no rush to join you now,” I laugh.
    “There’s a terrific young manager named Warren Kroeppel,” I report.
    “I remember Warren,” Tim says.
    “He was a bright, rising star.”
    “He still is,” I tell him.
    “Best of all, he read the airport manager play book that was developed in 1948 by all the Port Authority managers.
    “Today, Warren seems to always be right on the money when it counts, whether it’s on the spot, taking care of business in a snow storm, or out in the community making friends.
    “The North Beach Club (NBC) that you started is still going strong, with monthly meetings happening in the MAT,” I tell Tim.
     There are a couple of people at NBC who work hard to keep the spirit of that special group going, organizing the Annual Golf Outing that does so much to support North Beach Club charities.
    We recall the creation of NBC twenty years ago that went on to doing nothing more than raise money to give to LaGuardia Airport employees who needed a helping hand.
    “The idea of airport people helping each other is a notion that should spread elsewhere,” Tim states.
    I’m thinking as we recall the old times how much we both had in common during our twenty years together, and how strong our love for the airport and the airline business was and is.
    Once we served as polar opposites: Tim the public agency man; Geoff the writer from the private sector.
    I think we eventually discovered we were from the same place.

     I ask Tim if he has seen Pope John Paul?
    Then we remember the day in 1980 when his Holiness visited LaGuardia. He walked on a red carpet rolled out from his TWA B727 onto the airport.
    “Later, Herb Borrelli cut up that rug into six inch squares and gave out pieces to airport employees to commemorate the visit,” Tim recalls.
    “I know,” I say, “I still have two pieces in the office filing cabinet.
    “But the best was when you called me up to tell me to watch the television coverage of the Pope's arrival.
    “There you were on the hardstand on national television, handing the Pope a copy of a book I wrote about LaGuardia Airport.
     I could read my name on the spine of the book that the Pontiff was looking at and holding.
    “Tim, after I saw that picture, I told everybody I knew that there were two books his Holiness had read for sure, and my book on LaGuardia is one of them,”
    “Remember when we did the same thing on the day the Dalai Lama landed over at the Eastern Airlines Shuttle?
    “His Holiness was both a good sport and appreciative."
    “Somewhere I still have the personal, handwritten letter of thanks: ‘To Geoff and Tim Pears’.”
    “How’s your Mom?” Tim wonders.
    “Maybe you can tell me,” I reply.
    The fire from the brick oven dances on the window in a flighty, orange light, teasing the cold birds lying in wait on the runway.
    “Let’s do this again,” he says.
    “Same time next year.”
Geoffrey

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