Page 11 - Air India Express

Tata group's Air India Express operates India's first all-women Haj flight

Tata Group's international budget arm Air India Express (AIXL) on Thursday operated India's first all-women Haj flight, the airline said in a statement. This special flight, carrying 145 women pilgrims, was entirely managed by an all-women crew in all critical flight operations roles, supporting the Haj Committee of India's groundbreaking initiative to have only women passengers on board, it said. The first all-women Haj flight, IX 3025, departed from Kozhikode to Jeddah at 18:45 IST on Thursday, arriving in Jeddah at 22:45 local time, according to the airline. Pilot Kanika Mehra and First Officer Garima Passi were accompanied by cabin crew members Bijitha M B, Sreelakshmi, Sushma Sharma, and Subhangi Biswas, Air India Express said. Besides, the ground operations as well as aircraft maintenance jobs for the flight were also performed by the women personnel, the airline said. The Haj Committee's empowering initiative for women aligns perfectly with Air India Express' core values of

Air India Express, AirAsia India recruit over 800 cabin crew in one year

Tata Group-owned Air India Express and AirAsia India together have recruited more than 800 trainee cabin crew members in the last one year. Besides, Air India Express, which is the international budget arm of Air India, has added over 280 pilots during the one year from June 2022. The induction process, which started in June last year attracted a diverse pool of candidates, through joint walk-in recruitment drives conducted across various metro cities and small towns, Air India Express said in a release on Thursday. Last year, Tata Group acquired Air India along with Air India Express and a 50 per cent stake in ground handling firm Air India SATS Airport Services Pvt Ltd (AISATS). The Group currently fully owns three airlines -- Air India, Air India Express and AirAsia India while it holds 51 per cent ownership in its joint venture airline with Singapore Airline, Vistara, which is also being merged with Air India. The large-scale recruitment is a significant milestone in the ongo

AI, AI Express hired more than 3,900 people this year: Campbell Wilson

Air India, under the stewardship of Tata Group, is revamping the airline group and hiring more people as it expands the fleet as well as operations

Air India Express hires 280 pilots, 250 crew in recent recruitment drive

Low-cost international carrier Air India Express on Tuesday said it has hired over 280 pilots and 250 cabin crew during a recent recruitment drive conducted across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. Approximately 300 pilots actively participated in the selection process conducted during the drive, the airline said. Formerly under the Indian Government, Air India Express is now owned by Tata Group, which acquired the airline along with the full-service carrier Air India in late January last year. Besides Air India and Air India Express, Tata Group also owns domestic budget carrier AirAsia India as well as a 51 per cent stake in its joint venture airline with Singapore Airlines, Vistara. While Vistara is in the process of merging with Air India, AirAsia India is being integrated with Air India Express. Air India Express said it has been actively focusing on strengthening its workforce since October last year, targeting vacancies for pilots and cabin crew members. In addition to the major

Air India increases number of daily flights to Dubai from Delhi, Mumbai

Air India on Wednesday said it has increased the number of daily flights to Dubai from the national capital and Mumbai as part of the network alignment process between the airline and Air India Express. In the current summer schedule, Air India has ramped up frequency to operate up to 10x daily flights between Delhi and Dubai in both directions, including a new flight that will start from April 29. Between Mumbai and Dubai, the airline now operates up to 6x daily flights in both directions. For most of the week, this means eight flights a day each way to Dubai from the cities, it said in a release. "This optimisation of Air India's flight schedule for Dubai is part of the ongoing network alignment between Air India and Air India Express, achieving synergy by densifying presence on the routes that are more commercially viable and reducing frequencies on overlapping routes," it added. Twin aisle Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners and Airbus A320/321 aircraft are deployed for operating flights

Taxi to Take Off: Air India says Phase 1 of its transformation complete

First phase focused on addressing legacy issues, strengthening fleet, upgrading systems and hiring

Air India Express, AirAsia India focus on common check-in systems

The launch of the new website was enabled by the migration to a common reservations and check-in system, which now unifies the entire commercial ecosystem of the two airlines

Air India's low-cost subsidiaries move to single unified reservation system

The two carriers, Air India Express and AirAsia India, have also adopted a common social media and customer support channel; air operating permits and regulatory posts to be merged later

Air India Express commences four weekly direct flights on Goa-Dubai route

Air India Express, India's first international budget airline, on Monday said it has commenced operations from Goa International Airport, with four weekly direct flights on the Goa-Dubai route. The first flight IX 840 took off at 1:00 am on Monday with 148 passengers on board from Dabolim Airport. To mark the occasion, Aloke Singh, Managing Director, Air India Express and AirAsia India, said: "We are thrilled to start our maiden international services from Goa under the Air India Express banner, which is amongst India's most popular tourist destinations". Singh said that the airline takes pride in being the only airline that offers direct connectivity to Dubai from Goa. AirAsia India, which is set to merge with Air India Express, already operates 13 daily direct flights to/from Goa, connecting five domestic cities. "We hope to be a part of the tourism success story of the state and remain committed to offering the best of services to our customers," he added. Earlier in the evenin

AI Express-AirAsia India merger will present big opportunities: CEO Singh

The integration of Air India Express and AirAsia India is expected to be complete by the end of next financial year and the merged entity will have "enormous growth opportunities" in the coming years, according to a top executive. Air India, Air India Express, Vistara and AirAsia India, now rebranded as AIX Connect are part of the Tata Group. The merger process of Air India Express and AirAsia India as well as that of Vistara with Air India is underway. Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh on Monday said the businesses of the airline and AIX Connect are complementary. The merged entity of Air India Express and AirAsia India will look at large growth opportunities and also unlock the synergies between the two carriers, Singh said. Speaking at the CAPA aviation summit here, he also said the merger of the two carriers is expected to be complete by the end of next fiscal. Singh is now in charge of both Air India Express and AirAsia India. Meanwhile, during another session, Vistara CE

Air India Express cabin crew held for gold smuggling in Kochi airport

An Air India Express flight cabin crew has been arrested by the Customs for allegedly smuggling over 1.4 kg gold through Cochin International Airport near here, official sources said on Thursday. The crew of Bahrain-Kozhikode-Kochi Air India Express flight was apprehended by the Customs sleuths, who recovered the gold that was wrapped around his hands on Wednesday. Air India Express said the arrested crew has been placed on suspension with immediate effect. The airline said it has zero tolerance for such behaviour and will be taking stern action against the individual including termination of service following receipt of the report from the investigative authorities.

Air India Express safety woes linger as jet makes emergency landing

Flight to Saudi Arabia from Kozhikode lands at Thiruvananthapuram after two hours

Air India Express Kozhikode flight diverted due to 'suspected' tail strike

A Dammam-bound Air India Express flight from Kozhikode, was on Friday diverted to the international airport here, following a 'suspected' tail strike during take off. The Air India Express flight IX 385, carrying 168 passengers, landed safely at Thiruvananthapuram International Airport at 12.15 PM, following which airport authorities withdrew the full emergency which was declared earlier. Air India said the flight on Kozhikode-Dammam route was diverted to Thiruvananthapuram due to suspected tail strike while taking off from Calicut airport. The airlines made arrangements to send the passengers to Dammam by an alternate flight which is scheduled to take off from Thiruvananthapuram this evening itself. "The airline staff are attending to all the requirements of the passengers at Thiruvananthapuram," Air India said in a release. Meanwhile, Aviation regulator DGCA said it will probe the incident. The Adani Group, which manages the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport, said they h

Saudi Arabia-bound Air India Express flight makes emergency landing at TVM

After it developed a snag in its hydraulic systems, the flight en route to Dammam, was given permission to land at the international airport here around 12.15 pm

AI Express Mumbai-Dubai flight gets delayed by 13 hrs due to technical snag

As many as 170 passengers of an Air India Express flight to Dubai had a tough time at the airport here as the flight was delayed by 13 hours due to a technical snag. The flight, which was scheduled to take off for Dubai at 3 pm on Thursday, finally left at 4 am on Friday. In a statement, Tata Group-owned Air India Express said it provided assistance to some 50 passengers, who had special requirements, including the lounge facility. However, the remaining 120 passengers were kept at the airport terminal building, an airline source said. A total of 170 passengers were booked for the flight. Significantly, Tata Group operates at least four luxury hotels in the city with one in the domestic airport terminal premises itself. "Air India Express flight IX 247 on Mumbai-Dubai route on February 9, 2023 had a progressive delay due to a technical snag, which was beyond the control of the airline," the airline said. "We made all possible efforts to minimise the difficulties of our guests, di

Chaos at Cochin airport over suspected hydraulic failure in flight

An Air India Express flight from Sharjah made an emergency landing at Cochin International Airport here on Sunday following a suspected hydraulic failure, a CIAL spokesperson said. A full emergency was declared at the international airport at 8.04 PM and the aircraft landed safely at 8.26 PM, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) spokesperson said. No runways were blocked and no flights were diverted, he said. The emergency was withdrawn at 8.36 PM and air operations were declared normal, he added. The CIAL also said that all 193 passengers and six crew members onboard IX 412 from Sharjah were safe.

Air India likely to post consolidated profit in current fiscal: Report

Air India had been ailing for a long time, before the Tata Group took it over on January 27 last year

AI Express, AirAsia India exploring synergies in terms of customer base

Air India Express and AirAsia India, which has changed its name to AIX Connect, are exploring synergies in terms of having unified customer touch points ahead of their proposed merger, according to an official. Both the low-cost airlines and full-service carriers -- Air India and Vistara -- are owned by Tata group. On November 2, Air India said an operational review process is underway to integrate budget carrier AirAsia India with Air India Express, and the merger is likely to be completed by the end of 2023. Post-merger, the entity will be branded as Air India Express. AirAsia India has changed its name to AIX Connect Pvt Ltd, according to data available with the corporate affairs ministry. The official said the name of the budget airline has been changed as part of the ongoing merger process. Both airlines are looking at synergies with respect to customer touch points, such as having a common website, social media handles and call centre. Other aspects, including common boardin

Snake found in AI Express plane's cargo hold; DGCA to probe incident

A snake was found in the cargo hold of an Air India Express plane after it landed at the Dubai airport on Saturday and aviation regulator DGCA is probing the incident, according to a senior official. The B737-800 aircraft came from Calicut, Kerala and the passengers were safely deplaned. The senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said a snake was found in the cargo hold of the plane on arrival at the Dubai airport and the airport fire services were also informed. It is a ground handling lapse. The incident shall be probed and suitable enforcement action shall be taken, the official told PTI. An Air India Express spokesperson could not be reached for comments. Details about the number of passengers could not be immediately ascertained.

US transport dept fines Air India $1.4 mn for delaying refunds of $121 mn

Refunds were on account of flights cancelled during Covid-19 pandemic; AI among six airlines that collectively forked out $600 mn in refunds and $7.25 mn in penalties