Though the airline was rated by many passenger surveys as the ``least preferred'' one in 1994, officials claim that the market share of IA has gone up slightly.The airline has carved out the post of Director, in-flight services, to exclusively look after cabin crew, passenger services and complaints and catering. Two other posts of Director (Human Resource Development) and Director (Marketing) have also been created by the airline.

Chairman and Managing Director of IA P.C. Sen recently launched Access, a programme aimed at serving passengers. `Tell us about your flight today and change the way you fly tomorrow' is the theme of this latest customer-service programme, which will be monitored by the Deputy Managing Director. Access will apparently monitor customer services on board every Indian Airlines flight and is being backed by a major publicity campaign.

According to sources, an IA board meeting scheduled for May 27 will discuss improvement in in-flight services. The airline had introduced diet meals on its flights.

IA had launched another programme, Parivaratan, earlier. It had hired the international consultancy firm, Time Manager International, to inculcate a positive outlook in its employees and develop a customer-friendly image. According to IA officials, several lucky draw contests like the New Year Bounty and Flier Fests, in which passengers were given prizes ranging from an Opel Astra to computers and mobile phones, have also been organised by the airline.

According to airline sources, the net profit of IA had touched Rs 45 crore during 1997-98, and this had boosted its plans of launching an aggressive interactive campaign with passengers. ``As a public sector airline, we have our limitations. We can't match the glamour that is often associated with private airlines, but our thrust is on flight safety rather than these fringe benefits,'' added the official.