The airline industry is full of riddling puzzles which need to be solved briskly to keep the whole clock ticking. Delays are one thing this industry despises, second only to rising fuel costs. For example, low cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo, prides itself for its on-time performance and industry-leading turnaround times. Turnaround times of 25 minutes between flights aren’t unheard of in the world of IndiGo.
IndiGo has one of shortest turnaround times in the industry
With such short periods between each flight, operational efficiency and speedy workmanship is vital. Something that Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, saw could be endangered by a niggling stumbling block. As with other airlines, meals for passengers are loaded onto the flight prior to its departure. At IndiGo, the cabin crew were tasked with keeping a count of the meal boxes opened by passengers, and tallying them up with the unopened boxes after each flight. This process not only ‘ate’ up precious time for the LCC, but also proved stressful for the crew. Despite this and the possibility of slipping timelines, the crew persisted in this chore, as any discrepancies found would be negatively related to their salaries.
Rajiv Bajaj and Ghosh met a couple of years back at an event
This is when Ghosh turned to his friend and Managing Director of Bajaj Auto, Rajiv Bajaj. The two met a couple of years back and since then, have kept in touch. In a bid to find a solution for his airline’s problems, Ghosh called his friend. As it turns out, Bajaj had just the solution for IndiGo’s problems. Rajiv Bajaj revealed that his company could have faced the same predicament, if it weren’t for a simple trick. At Bajaj Auto’s manufacturing plants, workers keep a track of shock absorbers not by counting each unit, but by weighing them on a scale. The same solution could be applied to Ghosh’s airline, as simple as that.
Aditya Ghosh, President, IndiGo (Image – Livemint)
After that phone call with Rajiv Bajaj, IndiGo’s nagging problem was over. Now, instead of tallying the spent meals with the leftover ones, all that the personnel need to do is weigh the meal carts, and compare their weights (before vs. after). That’s it! The MD of Bajaj Auto had provided a free solution that will continue to benefit IndiGo for years to come.
with inputs from ET
Seriously? Indigo does not supply food until its paid for. And having travelled by it many times I have never seen food being bought in large quantities by many passengers. And how does weighing help? Suppose before opening the weight was 2000 kilos. After opening it weighs 1900 kilos. So how much is this supposed to be indicating in terms of number of food items consumed? All packets do not carry the exact same weight due to various reasons which could be anything from the thickness of the container to a spoon of quantity less in packs. Now if you have to factor in the idea that not all packets will have the exact same weight before opening itself, how can you tell with exactitude how many packets have been opened? Even with shock absorbers I can’t see Bajaj weighing them in and then see how many they have used by weighing again, when you have a ready reckoner in terms of how many motorcycles have been fitted with shock absorbers on the assembly line. Please don’t tell me Bajaj also weighs the motorcycles with and without shock absorbers.
Wow, what an Idea sounds so simple but produces amazing results.
i doubt on this story because in many international sectors there is no food. all the foods are served by payment and for payment collection and food quantities we have that teller machine.