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Problems have always plagued Alliance Air

Neena Haridas in New Delhi

It may be the first plane crash for Alliance Air, a fledgeling airline that came into existence in 1996, but it sure is not so for Indian Airlines, which owns Alliance Air.

Worse still, it is not the first crash for the Boeing 737 in India.

The aircraft in question, a VT-EGD, had a brush with disaster in 1986 while it was flying under the Indian Airlines banner, according to the Aviation Safety Network. On January 15, 1986, the pilot attempted to land at Tiruchirapalli 'below weather minima'. During a go-around, the wing contacted the runway due to excessive bank angle, and was substantially damaged, but there were no injuries to the six crew members and 122 passengers.

After a touch-up and some repairs, the aircraft was inducted into the IA fleet again. Only to crash in Patna on Monday, where it was destroyed in the fire caused by the crash.

This has led to eyebrows being raised over the fleet safety of Alliance Air. For one, the Alliance Air fleet comprises 12 Boeing 737s which are over 20 years old. These aircraft were leased to Alliance Air by Indian Airlines after the former was hived off in a bid to optimise the utilisation of the domestic carrrier's Boeing fleet which was 12 strong.

Under a lease agreement, Alliance Air flies routes that the parent company does not operate on. The Boeing 737s are being provided to Alliance Air on a wet lease of around Rs 10.7 million per month. This includes the major maintenance, spares and ground handling services being provided to the subsidiary by Indian Airlines.

With the hiving off of Alliance Air, Indian Airlines has managed to increase the per-aircraft utilisation of its Boeing 737 fleet to over 2,800 hours per annum. Alliance also enabled the domestic carrier to smoothen the career progression of its pilots who are now able to move to the position of commander more easily. One additional commander contributes Rs 70 million as revenue to Indian Airlines.

Since the beginning of Alliance Air's operations Air, 24 pilots have been promoted in Indian Airlines as commanders on A-320 and A-300 aircraft. The utilisation of A-320s and A-300s is now nearing 2,700 hours per aircraft per annum.

Company sources said the fleet of 12 Boeing 737s has a revenue earning potential of Rs 5 billion, the amount Paid by it per annum towards the lease of the Boeing aircraft and other services.

However, the fact that IA flights are leased to Alliance Air itself becomes a problem for the latter because the aircraft are too old, consume more fuel and need serious upgradation and maintenance which is again expensive.

Says Robey Lal, member, operations, Airports Authority of India, "When an aircraft is 20 years old there are some upgrading that needs to be done. I am not sure that Alliance Air has done the routine checks and upgradation that is required. An old aircraft such as this has been through long hours of flying and must have some wear and tear as every landing is a bump and it also starts guzzling more fuel. It depends on the airline to make sure that the aircraft is in proper condition."

The older versions of Boeing 737s are known to have problems, and aviation experts in the US and Europe have been critical of Boeing 737s.

Says Wing Commander (retd) Praful Bakshi, a former pilot and an expert on civil aviation security, "The old version of Boeing 737, which is the ones that Alliance Air flies, is not among the safest aircraft. It is prone to very uncomfortable disturbances."

However, Alliance Air is unable to upgrade its current fleet or buy new aircraft because of financial crunch. Vinoo Kashyap, former managing director of Alliance Air, says the airline needs new aircraft quick enough as the current ones are too old to maintain. He said Alliance was likely to peter out like many others if it did not acquire aircraft quickly, adding that a committee headed by J R D Rao of Indian Airlines is exploring the possibilities of buying 100-seater jets for the airline.

Moreover, Kashyap said, "If international prices of aviation turbine fuel escalate, Alliance Air was likely to be hit more than its competitors in the industry as the airline spends much more on fuel per mile due to its outdated technology." A new aircraft would mean greater fuel economy, he said. "The younger fleet of rival airlines, operating on similar sectors, could pose stiff competition by offering passengers greater facilities."

Another problem facing Alliance is shortage of pilots, which was why it decided to hire pilots on contract to optimise flying hours, which has also raised doubts about the flying experience of the pilots.

In fact, Alliance Air has been having problems with its pilots who have been demanding pay parity with their counterparts from IAs.

See full coverage of the Alliance Air crash

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