AI-IA closer to Star Alliance

NEW DELHI: After a long delay in integrating the AI and IA codes that has prevented the national carrier from joining Star Alliance, the airline now has entered into a $190 million deal with an IT service provider to overcome this hurdle. The merged AI-IA entity , National Aviation Company of India (Nacil), on Thursday announced that SITA — an aviation IT specialist — will provide its hosted passenger services system (PSS) on a turnkey basis following a global competitive tendering process in a deal valued at $190m over 10 years.

Nacil CMD Arvind Jadhav said, "Implementation of the horizon PSS will complete the merger of AI with the former domestic carrier IA and enable us to align processes and systems to meet Star Alliance standards. AI will then be able to leverage the strengths and synergies of the single new carrier to the maximum." SITA's horizon platform provides hosted PSS services to 140 airlines boarding 120 million passengers and hopefully will allow the seamless integration of erstwhile IA with AI for the first time since they merged in August 2007.

Nacil's entry into the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance has been delayed by almost two years now. It had hoped of being the first Indian carrier to join the alliance as that would have automatically led to improved passenger loads. Passengers booking tickets to fly to India from anywhere in the world on the alliance partner airline would have then booked AI for travelling. But given the endless delay of AI, another major Indian carrier tried unsuccessfully to upstage it to become the first airline from India to join the alliance.

While Lufthansa said India is big enough market to have more than one airline in Star Alliance, the German carrier maintained that AI was its first priority.