OTP system review: Apply same rule for all players, Spicejet to DGCA

With the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reviewing airlines' on-time performance (OTP) mechanism at four airports, budget carrier SpiceJet on Monday called for applying same rules for all players and making the system more efficient.

"If data is challenged, do it in a better way ... As long as rules are same for everybody, then there is no problem," SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh said on Monday.

His comments came against the backdrop of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) setting up a committee late last year to look into the OTP monitoring system of domestic carriers at four airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru after another budget carrier IndiGo complained that the current system was flawed.

OTP is one of the several measures to determine an airline's operational efficiency. It indicates whether an airline is operating its flights on time or not.

"If the system can be made more efficient, please do (review it)," Singh said.

In an apparent dig at IndiGo, which used the same data for almost a decade to sell its flights to customers, Singh said, "I think it is little awkward for somebody to be challenging the same data based on which they said they were No 1."

Singh also said that the debate is a great thing for the consumers.

Significantly, IndiGo has seen a sharp decline in its OTP in the last few months.