Last week Paramount Airways took its wings from Coimbatore.
What is striking is its focus on secondary cities, move away from low cost, and offer “business-class only” seats at affordable fares.
It is likely to be a big hit according to me.
The quality of life in many of the secondary cities like Mysore, Coimbatore, Indore, Ranchi or Pune is much better than metros; but senior executives and scions of business families cling to metros for better air connectivity. With telecom improving dramatically, education institutions moving to hinterland, and availability of good quality hospitals in secondary cities, it is only time that the growth will move to secondary cities. With people with larger disposable income moving to secondary cities, entertainment and retail will move too; that would start the real growth in non-metros in India.
Hopefully, the municipal functions will improve; so are law and order, infrastructure like power; if that indeed happens India will be a better place to live.
I am also happy that the airlines chose Embraer Aircraft from Brazil; aircraft that suit travel between “secondary cities to metros” (too short for Airbus and Boeing, too long for ATR), far more comfortable and economic. If only the Government had not stifled the public sector with their archaic processes and the never-ending CVC, CAG and Parliamentary Committees (that are used by successive governments to settle the score among them, with the public servants being used as ping pong balls), HAL & NAL would have built such aircraft in 90’s that would have added another growth engine (in addition to IT and BT) to the Indian economy in this decade. Embraer also shows that niche companies from “not so advanced” countries can compete with the gorillas (Boeing & Airbus) too!
The knowledge industry (IT, Biotech, R & D, Design and Pharma) should be the first to grow into such secondary towns.
I hope people will also remember the fact that the CEO of Paramount Thiagarajan is an innovative thinker; under his able guidance “Bank of Madura” had pioneered many innovations; way back in 1995 the bank had “outsourced” IT to HCL / HP. They were the first to introduce “any where banking”. They re-engineered the Bank premises to be customer-centric than bank employee centric. I wrote a case study on “IT in Bank of Madura” way back in 1995. Ultimately Bank of Madura merged with ICICI Bank.
I am sure the same person will introduce many more innovations in airlines too.
What this country needs is such innovations in every walk of life – Arvind in eye care, Devi Shetty in Cardiac suregery, Mashelkar in CSIR… That alone will do justice to India’s Talent
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PARAMOUNT AIRWAYS PREFERS HINDI SPEAKERS ONLY
When Paramount Airways was introduced, every one might have been exited that for the first time airline based out of Tamil Nadu was started. There was also expectation that the aviation sector in Tamil Nadu would improve. For a long time Bangalore was the only headquarters for all airline. TamilNadu was a desert of aviation enterprise ever since Air Asiatic wound up.
There was also reports of Tamil newspapers inflight abort Paramount, which would have attracted exitement in the emotional TN market.
To tell the truth Paramount Airways is no different from they claim to be. They are just part of the Hindi-speaking herd which are based in Tamil Nadu only in name.
THeir vacancies within Tamil Nadu DO NOT care for knowledge of Tamil but require Hindi. Speaking Tamil is considered shameful in India's aviation industry. Speaking Hindi is actual considered good etiquette. Paramount Airways has also shown this preference.
They barely link 3 of the busiest airports in Tamil Nadu, which others like Air Deccan have already been doing.
The only thing Paramount Airways is unique is that they are the most expensive.
To sum it up, being an expensive airline which at the end of the day you get the usual English and Hindi only treatment, you would rather pick others for less.
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