Twitter
Advertisement

Ad war: Air India gets government blessings to launch counter-strikes on IndiGo

Air India has now asked its four agencies to prepare strong and suitable advertisements which can be used to take on IndiGo in the coming days.

Latest News
article-main
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

The ad war between Air India and IndiGo is expected to get more intense in the coming days with the civil aviation ministry reportedly giving a free hand to the national carrier for taking the fire to the competitor's camp.

Air India has now asked its four agencies to prepare strong and suitable advertisements which can be used to take on IndiGo in the coming days.

The development comes days after the ministry asked both the airlines to follow restraint and not name each other in the advertisement war. However, later on, IndiGo put up a fresh hoarding at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) and unsettled the 'ceasefire', prompting Air India to re-approach the ministry with a complaint.

When dna had approached Aditya Ghosh, president at InterGlobe Aviation that runs IndiGo for their version on Friday, he refused to comment.

"After the trigger, the ministry has given us the free hand which was otherwise constrained as being a national carrier we could not have gone against the ministry diktat," said an Air India source.

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Kumar, senior manager, corporate communication, Air India said that Air India being the national carrier always behaves with grace and responsibility.

"The advertisements of a low-cost carrier are devoid of grace and display unethical conduct," said Dhananjay. He added that though the options are open, the airline is not contemplating any legal action at present.

The tussle between the two started about a fortnight ago with AI putting up an ad display at CSIA that said: "Wish you a comfortable flight. Next time, fly with Air India and feel the difference" near the IndiGo domestic arrival counter.

IndiGo responded by putting a display that said, "Yes Air India, there is a difference. Says the government." The display further had details about IndiGo's on-time performance and a lesser number of complaints while the reverse was said of AI, based on the data available from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Days later, AI fought back with a new display that read, "How do some of our friends react when their passengers discover that we offer more leg space, hot meals and more luggage allowance?...With INDIGnation!"

It did not end there. Aditya Ghosh last Wednesday tweeted that his airline was the first to start an international flight from Chandigarh. Air India officials were quick to correct that Air India Express flight to Sharjah that started on September 15 was the first international flight from the city.

With the pot-shots on each other being reported in media almost daily, it reached the ears of civil aviation ministry with the office of civil aviation secretary intervening and asking both the airlines to keep restraint. Two days later, IndiGo came up again saying, "Air India's billboard behind IndiGo's counters at T1 suggests that their product is better than Indigo's. Sorry, Air India, the government data says… (comparing the on-time performance and customer complaints of both the airlines. On both the parameters, IndiGo was shown having the best while it was reverse for Air India), while mentioning "Stay tuned for more".

Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement