Page 30 - Air India

AICCA terms Air India's new room-sharing policy illegal, seeks intervention

The All India Cabin Crew Association has termed Tata Group-owned Air India's room-sharing policy for a section of cabin crew members as "illegal, bad in law, and Void ab initio on multiple fronts." The association has requested intervention from the Labour Ministry, urging it to stall the move. The association is seeking these entitlements hotel accommodation and conditions of accommodation in line with the policy on accommodation for pilots, as per the previous agreements and tribunal awards. The association has also written to Air India Chief Campbell Wilson, urging him "not to violate" the existing status quo, and respect the sanctity of the Industrial Tribunal and the pending Industrial dispute over the issue. Under the new policy effective December 1, members will be required to share rooms during layovers except for cabin executives and those operating ultra-long-haul flights ahead of the merger of Vistara with it, scheduled for November 11. Cabin crew members on ...

Vistara-Air India merger: How these two distinct brands will blend

Experts say the merged entity will draw on USPs of both firms

Ahead of Vistara merger, Air India finalises revised policy for cabin crew

Ahead of the Vistara merger, Air India has finalised a revised policy for cabin crew members wherein layover allowances have been hiked and members will have to share rooms during layovers except for cabin executives, and those operating ultra-long haul flights. The revised policy has been prepared after taking into consideration the feedback of cabin crew members. Earlier, the policy had proposed room sharing for cabin crew members irrespective of whether the flight is normal, long haul or ultra long haul. The allowance for international layovers will be increased from USD 85-135 per layover night from USD 75-100, according to an internal communication of the airline. Under the new policy, cabin crew members will have to share rooms during layovers. However, cabin crew members of ultra-long haul flights will get single rooms during layovers as well as during unscheduled layovers in the event of a flight diversion, as per the internal communication. Generally, ultra-long haul flig

Vistara planes to replace Air India's on metro-to-metro routes after merger

Vistara will be merged into Air India on November 11. However, the duty rosters of cabin crew members of Air India and Vistara will continue to remain different for some time

Safety fears rise for Indian airlines as over 70 flights get bomb threats

With the latest threats, nearly 250 flights operated by Indian carriers have received bomb threats in just over 10 days

Air India, SIA expand codeshare agreement; add 40 int'l, 11 Indian cities

Air India and Singapore Airlines (SIA) have agreed to expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network. This marks the first extensive expansion of codeshare arrangements between the airlines since 2010, offering customers enhanced travel options between Singapore and India, as well as beyond. A codeshare pact allows two airlines to offer their customers services on each other's flights. From October 27 this year, Air India and SIA will codeshare on each other's flights between Singapore and the Indian cities of Bengaluru and Chennai, increasing their total weekly scheduled codeshare services between the countries to 56 from 14. SIA will codeshare on Air India's domestic flights between Delhi and Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Lucknow, and Varanasi, between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Goa, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, and Thiruvananthapuram, as well as between Kolkata and Guwahati. Air In

More than 140 systems integrated ahead of Air India-Vistara merger

More than 140 systems have been integrated and 2.7 lakh reservations made by Vistara passengers have been moved to the Air India system, ahead of the two airlines' merger next month. Air India's Chief Digital & Technology Officer Satya Ramaswamy on Tuesday said significant efforts are being made to comprehensively address Vistara customers' experience across all digital systems post-merger. At a select media briefing, he also said that 2.7 lakh reservations made by Vistara passengers have been moved to Air India, and more than 140 systems have been integrated. Among others, more than 4.5 million loyalty members of Vistara have already migrated to the Air India system. "On the technology side, the Air India systems are at a different level... that is the system the customers will use. The Vistara experience in other areas like aircraft and services will be the same... we will take the best from both airlines," Ramaswamy said. Last week, Air India said Vistara routes and schedule as

Air India aims to double direct sales earnings in 2-3 years: CDTO

Air India is already investing heavily in digital marketing to boost direct sales and is working on enhancing its website

Two men plead guilty to murder of Air India bombing suspect Ripudaman Malik

Two men accused of killing Ripudaman Singh Malik, a Sikh man acquitted in the tragic 1985 Air India Kanishka terrorist bombing case, have pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in a Canadian court, according to media reports. Tanner Fox and Jose Lopez entered the pleas in the British Columbia (BC) Supreme Court on Monday on the eve of their trial for the killing of 75-year-old Malik, who was shot several times outside his family business on the morning of July 14, 2022. Malik was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia in 2022. He and co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to the two bombings in 1985 that killed 331 people. In the court in New Westminster on Monday, both Fox and Lopez pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of second-degree murder, the Global News reported. The court heard an agreed statement of facts that revealed the two men had been hired to kill Malik, the report added. "What we know from the agreed statemen

US, Europe airlines approach Air India for developing their Gen AI chatbots

Major US and European airlines have approached Air India for developing generative AI chatbots similar to that of the Indian carrier's AI.g, which currently handles around 97 per cent of customer queries it receives without the help of contact centre agents. Besides, the Tata Group-owned Air India has filed for its first patent which is for the upcoming feature 'one click booking' of tickets on its website and mobile app. Air India's Chief Digital & Technology Officer Satya Ramaswamy on Tuesday said a lot of innovations are being done so that AI.g stands apart. "We are sharing the knowledge (about the chatbot) also but nobody has been able to come up with something like this yet," he said. At a select media briefing, Ramaswamy also said some US and European airlines have contacted Air India for help on building generative AI chatbots. "It is about thought leadership... we will help them with development," he said. Without naming the airlines that have approached it, he mentioned

Sikh separatist Pannun issues new terror threat, warns Air India flyers

This latest threat from Gurpatwant Singh Pannun citing Sikh genocide anniversary comes amidst a series of bomb threat hoaxes affecting multiple airlines in India

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Bomb threats hit Indian flights hard: The real cost of these hoax calls

These false bomb threats have caused significant financial losses for airlines, estimated in crores

Vistara in-flight experience will continue post-merger: Air India

Air India on Friday said Vistara routes and schedule as well as the in-flight experience will continue and the flights operated with Vistara planes will have the code 'AI2' post-merger. The merger of the two full service carriers is scheduled to be completed on November 12, following which Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines. Post the merger, the vintage 'Maharaja' will be retained through the frequent flyer programme of the integrated entity. "The existing members of Club Vistara will be seamlessly transferred to Air India's Flying Returns program. With this merger, Flying Returns will also evolve into an all-new avatar 'Maharaja Club'," Air India said in the statement. Reiterating that the experience offered by Vistara will continue for customers post-merger, Air India said Vistara will be identified by a special four-digit Air India code beginning with the digit '2'. "For instance

Merged entity will share best practices of Vistara, Air India: Bhaskar Bhat

The merger of Vistara and Air India will create an integrated entity that will share the best practices of the two airlines and the livery of Vistara will stay for sometime, a senior official said on Wednesday. Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, is set to merge with Air India on November 11 as part of the Tatas consolidating their airline business. Air India Express completed the merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself this month. While emphasising the importance of empowering frontline staff, Vistara Chairman Bhaskar Bhat said it will be ensured that passengers keep getting better and better services from the merged entity. "The merged entity will be one integrated entity. How does it translate... through SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures). It will become a single SOP as it becomes one brand... (there will be) sharing of best practices," he said. Stressing on the idea of driving differentiation across areas, Bhat said that ...

Delhi Police registers FIR, begins probe in 7 hoax threats to flights

The Delhi Police has registered an FIR in connection with bomb threats to several domestic and international flights in the last two days and launched a probe into the matter, official sources said on Wednesday. A Bengaluru-bound Akasa Air flight with more than 180 people on board returned to the national capital on Wednesday afternoon following a bomb threat. Deputy Commissioner of Police (IGI) Usha Rangnani said, "Airport police has responded to seven incidents involving reported bomb threats this month. After thorough verifications and inspection, all threats were confirmed to be hoaxes." "Legal action has been initiated against those responsible for these false alarms to ensure strict measures against misuse and to maintain the safety and security of passengers and airport operations," she said. According to sources, an FIR has been registered at the IGI Airport Police Station as different flights received threats through a social media handle in the last two days. Police have

Plane carrying stranded AI passengers from Iqaluit airport lands in US

The Canadian Air Force aircraft is ferrying 191 stranded passengers of an Air India flight from Iqaluit airport has landed in Chicago. In a statement on Wednesday, Air India said passengers of flight AI127, which was diverted to Iqaluit in Canada on October 15, are on their way to their destination -- Chicago. "Passengers are being ferried on a Canadian Air Force aircraft that has taken off from Iqaluit at 03:54 hrs UTC and is expected to land in Chicago at around 07:48 hrs UTC," the airline said. An official said the aircraft has landed at Chicago. The flight that was diverted on Tuesday had 211 people, including 20 crew members, onboard. Passengers have gone in the Canadian Air Force aircraft with their hand baggage. Their checked-in baggage will be carried in the Air India aircraft when it leaves for Chicago, the official in the know said. Earlier, Canada's Minister of Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan said that 211 people of the flight were stranded and despite great effor

10 Indian flights receive bomb threats in 48 hours; security tightened

Singapore scrambled two Singapore Air Force F-15 jets to escort Air India Express flight IX684. The flight landed safely at Changi Airport at 10:04 pm on Tuesday

Hoax threats to flights: Mumbai cops summon minor, father from Chhattisgarh

The Mumbai police have issued a notice to a teenage boy, his father and another person from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh to join questioning in connection with bomb threats posted on social media targeting three flights, officials said. Three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats on Monday. While a New York-bound Air India flight was diverted to New Delhi and rescheduled, the other two to Muscat and Jeddah, both operated by IndiGo, were delayed by several hours as the planes were moved to isolation bays for security checks. Nothing suspicious was found on any of the planes, police officials had said. The bomb threat was received through a post on the micro-blogging platform X and the handle is being verified, an official said. "On Monday, a bomb threat was posted on X for an Air India's Mumbai-New York flight and IndiGo's Mumbai to Muscat and Mumbai to Jeddah flights," Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg said. After receiving information a

US condemns threats to commercial aviation amid air India flight incidents

The United States on Tuesday said any kind of threats against commercial aviation are inappropriate as several Air India flights, including those headed to Chicago and New York, received threat of a bomb in the planes. The New Delhi-Chicago flight made an emergency landing at Iqaluit Airport in Canada, Mumbai-New York flight landed in New Delhi while fighter jets were deployed for the plane headed towards Singapore. For the past several months, a group of American and Canadian citizens, primarily from separatist Sikh groups, have been openly calling for blowing up Air India flights. Any kind of threats against commercial aviation are inappropriate and matters that are dealt with extremely seriously by our own law enforcement agencies. I would refer to those law enforcement agencies to speak about I think it's a matter for law enforcement agencies, predominantly the Department of Justice, to speak to as, a first instance, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters at