Air India

Air India, Air India Express, Akasa raise fuel surcharges after IndiGo move

Air India, Air India Express and Akasa Air have raised or introduced fuel surcharges from October 9 as airlines seek to offset higher aviation turbine fuel prices amid the West Asia conflict

Air India to offer physical SIM, eSIM for passengers travelling abroad

Air India will offer travel SIM cards to passengers for their overseas trips. EasyRoam, an Air India-branded travel SIM card that offers international roaming services, has been developed in partnership with Tata Communications. The ancillary product will be available for purchase as a physical SIM card as well as eSIM on a dedicated Air India-branded webpage, the airline said in a release on Thursday. With the card, passengers will be able to access voice and data services during international travel. Air India and Tata Communications are part of the Tata Group. Initially, the SIM card will be provided free of cost while roaming pack charges will apply. It will be available for 30 countries across North America, Europe (including the UK), Australia, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, the release said.

Air India, Singapore Airlines announce expansion of commercial cooperation

Air India and Singapore Airlines on Wednesday announced an expansion of their commercial cooperation to provide more flight options for travellers between India and Singapore. The expansion is part of the initiatives under the Commercial Cooperation Framework Agreement inked in January this year. From October 15, both airlines will offer travellers a wider range of itinerary and flight options through their respective booking channels. "This covers 126 weekly flights between Singapore and eight Indian cities: Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, and Mumbai," Air India said in a release on Wednesday. At present, an eligible Air India-operated codeshare flight booked through SIA must include an SIA-operated flight, and vice versa. This requirement will be removed from October 15, allowing travellers to book eligible flights between India and Singapore operated by either airline on a standalone basis through each other's booking channels. Currently, an ..

Airlines warn govt of route cuts as soaring ATF costs squeeze finances

Airlines seek changes in ATF pricing and taxes, lower state VAT and extended relief on airport charges as the West Asia conflict drives up operating costs

Federation of Indian Airlines seeks review of existing ATF pricing formula

The Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) is seeking a review of the existing jet fuel pricing formula, and said domestic ATF should be priced on the actual cost of fuel plus a reasonable margin rather than international benchmark pricing. The unprecedented increase in fuel costs, compounded by geopolitical disruptions and rupee depreciation, is placing significant pressure on airline cash flows and viability, it said. In a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry late last month, FIA also said that "if timely relief is not available, the airlines may be compelled to withdraw from several unsustainable routes." Air India, IndiGo and SpiceJet are the members of FIA. From around 30-40 per cent, airlines' operating costs have increased to around 55-60 per cent under the prevailing circumstances, out of which ATF remains the single largest variable cost, it said. The current conflict (West Asia) has pushed the Brent Crude from USD 72 / BBL to USD 118 / BBL, and the resultant ATF price (MOP

Thiruvananthapuram to get direct AI Express flights to Riyadh, Bahrain

Thiruvananthapuram International Airport will get direct Air India Express services to Riyadh and Bahrain from October 27, further expanding its connectivity with the Gulf region. Air India Express will commence direct services to Riyadh and Bahrain from October 27, 2026, with bookings now open, the airport said in a statement here on Saturday. The new Riyadh service will address the long-standing demand for direct air connectivity between Thiruvananthapuram and the Saudi Arabian capital, offering greater convenience to passengers travelling between Kerala and Saudi Arabia, it said. The Riyadh service will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, complementing the existing daily Air India Express services to Dammam. The new Bahrain service will operate twice a week on Thursdays and Saturdays, further strengthening connectivity to Bahrain, which is already served by daily Gulf Air flights from Thiruvananthapuram. Thiruvananthapuram currently has more than 25

Why India wants a Xinjiang air corridor and what could stand in its way

India is exploring a Hotan corridor through China to cut flight time and costs, but airspace rights, rugged terrain and limited diversion options pose major hurdles

Safety, reliability, profitability our priorities: Incoming Air India chief

Incoming CEO and MD Tewolde Gebremariam calls for a stronger safety-reporting culture, better disruption recovery and sharper focus on revenues and costs

Air India's CEO-designate pitches for cost discipline, sustainable profits

Air India's incoming CEO Tewolde Gebremariam on Monday emphasised the need to improve financial performance and announced plans to introduce programmes that will reward staff who come up with ideas to bring down cost. Asserting that achieving sustainable profitability remains a key objective, Gebremariam said cost discipline must become part of the airline's culture. "Cost management is not just the responsibility of leadership or the finance function. Every employee can contribute to savings, and those savings add up across an organisation of our scale," he said at a townhall. Gebremariam, who has been appointed as the CEO and MD of the loss-making Tata Group-owned airline, will take charge after receiving requisite security approvals. In his second interaction with the employees in recent weeks, Gebremariam said the airline plans to introduce programmes that reward ideas that generate measurable cost savings and operational efficiencies. According to him, a combination of extern

Air India suspends pilot involved in alcohol incident at Zurich airport

The pilot was removed from operating the Zurich-Delhi flight after ground staff detected the smell of alcohol and will remain suspended pending an investigation

Air India clears ₹17.74 crore payout for outgoing CEO Campbell Wilson

The payout comprises ₹15.24 crore in replacement shares due under the former CEO's long-term incentive plan for FY23-FY25, along with a ₹2.5 crore one-time reward approved for FY25

Air India to launch IFE platform in 2027, eyes higher ancillary revenues

As it prepares to enhance the digital experience for the passengers, the new In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) platform will also help in boosting the airline's ancillary revenues

Air India CEO weighs folding budget unit into group to cut costs

Tewolde Gebremariam is considering merging Air India Express with Air India to cut costs and streamline operations as the carrier battles heavy losses

Air India's incoming CEO Gebremariam meets Civil Aviation Minister K Naidu

Air India's incoming CEO Tewolde Gebremariam on Friday met Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu. Naidu shared pictures of the meeting on X and said that with massive demand for better connectivity and enhanced passenger convenience, the airline has a challenging and important responsibility. On August 5, Air India announced the appointment of Gebremariam, a former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief, as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. He is expected to take charge after receiving security approvals later this month. "Pleased to meet @airindia's new CEO & MD, Shri Tewolde Gebremariam and extend my best wishes for his new role," Naidu said in a post on X and added that Air India has been an integral part of India's aviation legacy. Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and senior Air India officials were present at the meeting. Gebremariam, who will be the second foreign CEO at Air India, will be taking over the reins at a time when the airline is working on .

Air India board meets to discuss new CEO's salary structure, other matters

Air India's board of directors are meeting in the city on Tuesday as the airline is set to see the CEO transition, with former Ethiopian Airlines Group chief Tewolde Gebremariam expected to formally take charge later this month. At the board meeting chaired by N Chandrasekaran, who is the Chairman of Tata Sons, various matters, including the salary structure of the incoming CEO, are expected to be discussed, according to sources. Campbell Wilson, the MD and CEO of Air India, will be stepping down from his role this month. Apart from Chandrasekaran and Wilson, there are five other board members -- Sanjiv Mehta, Alice G Vaidyan and P R Ramesh are the independent directors, while P B Balaji and Goh Choon Phong are the non-executive non-independent directors. The sources said the board members would also be thanking Wilson for his contributions to the airline. He has been at the helm of the airline and piloting an ambitious transformation plan since July 2022. Chandrasekaran, Wilson a

Air India expands Salesforce's AI use to streamline customer services

Air India is expanding use of Salesforce's Agentforce artificial intelligence platform to streamline customer service processes, including automated email resolution, name change processing and an AI-powered knowledge assistant for customer service teams, Salesforce has said. Air India has built a cloud-based digital ecosystem covering more than 140 enterprise systems and has more than 30 agentic AI initiatives underway, Salesforce said on Monday. The name change automation system handles eligibility checks, validations and ticketing actions, including initiating ticket reissuance and sending the updated ticket to the customer, it added. Under the automated email resolution system, Agentforce can identify multiple requests in a single customer email, gather and validate information across systems, take the required actions and generate a consolidated response using Air India-approved templates. For eligible cases, responses are generated only when the system's confidence level exce

3 Italians leave Delhi without immigration: What are the rules for flyers?

Three Italian nationals flew from Delhi to Munich without mandatory immigration clearance, prompting a show-cause notice to Air India. Here's what happened and what the rules say

MoCA issues notice to Air India after 3 foreigners bypass immigration

Three Italian nationals travelled from Amritsar to Delhi before flying to Munich without obtaining mandatory departure immigration clearance, according to MoCA

IndiGo, Air India battle for Mumbai-Delhi route as Akasa doubles flights

IndiGo held 42.8 per cent of seat capacity during April-September, narrowly ahead of Air India Group's 41.9 per cent, while Akasa Air's share climbed to 10.7 per cent

Air India seeks $1.5bn: How much risk does Singapore Airlines carry?

Air India's losses have weighed on SIA's accounts, but the Singapore government said the carrier is not obliged to fund the latest capital request