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Aparna Kalra
New Delhi, Aug 9: Indian Airlines (IA) chairman Anil Baijal calls on Reliance Industries managing director Anil Ambani, gives him a run-down on what his airline has to offer for the corporate business traveller and winds up the meeting with a 5 per cent discount to the country's largest private company on its multi-crore domestic travel budget.
In all probability, such meetings would become a reality in the next few days with Baijal taking upon himself the task of marketing Indian Airlines to top corporate travellers.
IA has identified 50 major business houses including Reliance, Tata Industries, Bajaj Auto, ITC, Larsen & Tobro, Williamson Magor, Spic, Shipping Corporation of India, Salgaocar and Steel Authority of India (Sail) which offer major businesses to IA.
IA plans to offer disounts of between 1 and 5 per cent on their travel budgets depending on the amount of business that they offer to the state-owned airline.
To add a personal touch, chairman Anil Baijal will himself market the newinitiative to corporate honchos. Baijal has already called upon Sail chairman Arvind Pande and plans personal calls on chiefs of other business houses.
Baijal's house calls-will be followed-up by IA directors, each of whom has been assigned the responsibility of visiting the corporate houses.
``This is the first time that IA is tapping the corporate sector. We have had good buisness frmo corporate houses. We are now rewarding them for being good customers,'' said an official spokesperson of IA.
IA will ultimately target 200 corporate houses all over India as part of its latest marketing startegy. IA has set-up dedicated sales teams to service these accounts.
The sales teams will report directly to the directors of IA.
Meanwhile, IA has commissioned a shuttle lounge at Mumbai airport for the exclusive use of `Executive Class' passengers as part of its ongoing product upgradation programme.
IA will oppen a similar lounge in Delhi shortly. The lounge will have facilities for a showerer and counterfor snacka and refreshments.
The Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways announced that its passengers will enjoy disounts ranging from 20 to 50 per cent on room rates in many of the leading hotels at 30 locations where Jet flies.
A new offer is from 29 properties of the Taj Group of Hotels located all over India. They will offer a 20 per cent discount to all passengers travelling on Jet Airways.
A 20 per cent disount is also available at ITC Welcomgroup hotels in angalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Goa, Jaipur, Khajuraho, Manali, Ootaccamund, Pune and Surat.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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