Page 36 - Air India

SIAEC to develop Air India's base maintenance facilities in Bengaluru

Air India on Saturday announced it has appointed SIA Engineering Company Limited as its strategic partner for the development of its base maintenance facilities here. As part of the partnership, Air India will work closely with SIA Engineering Company Limited (SIAEC) on the planning, construction, development and operationalisation of its base maintenance facilities here, they said. In a statement, Air India said, "Projected to be ready in 2026, the facilities will comprise both wide-body and narrow-body hangars, including associated repair shops, to support the growing Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) needs of the aircraft fleet in Air India Group." "The collaboration with SIA Engineering Company will not only help Air India become more self-reliant for the maintenance of its own fleet but it also reiterates our commitment to strengthen India's aviation infrastructure by boosting the growth of the country's MRO industry," Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer and Managing

AI Express operations improving; expects normalcy in 2 days, says official

The operations of Air India Express slowly started improving on Friday as more cabin crew members are joining back for duty, after significant flight disruptions caused by cabin crew strike that has been called off. The strike by a section of the cabin crew since Tuesday night that resulted in the cancellation of more than 170 flights was called off on Thursday evening and the airline also withdrew termination letters issued to 25 striking cabin crew. The Tata Group airline, which operates around 380 flights daily, has curtailed operations in the wake of the strike and the official on Friday said, normalcy is expected in the next two days. Cabin crew who were on strike are joining back and the airline is extending support to them in getting the fitness certificate, which is required to resume duty, the official added. The official also said that most international flights are in the evening time and the operations on that front are expected to be better from Friday onwards with the

Air India, Vistara CEOs to address staff about proposed merger on May 13

The chiefs of Air India and Vistara will address staff on May 13 on the proposed merger of the two airlines, according to officials. The merger of Vistara with Air India under a deal, wherein Singapore Airlines will acquire a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, was announced in November 2022. Vistara is a joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group. The townhall meeting will be held in the phygital mode and employees from Air India and Vistara will be present. The meeting will be addressed by Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson and Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan, one of the officials said on Friday. Kannan is also the Chief Integration Officer for the proposed merger. One of the officials said the meeting is expected to focus on the broad aspects and help provide an overall picture about the merger to the staff. Air India has around 17,000 people and Vistara has about 6,500 employees. "We expect to complete merger in a smooth manner," Kannan told PTI on April 5. The merger

AI Express cabin crew calls off strike; airline assures to look into issues

A section of Air India Express cabin crew has decided to withdraw strike and join back for duty after the airline assured to look into all the issues raised by the cabin crew, sources said on Thursday. Besides, the airline has agreed to withdraw the termination letters issued to 25 cabin crew and the management will review the cases as per service regulations, they added. The Tata Group-owned airline has cancelled more than 170 flights since Tuesday night after the cabin crew started reporting sick to protest against the alleged mismanagement at the airline. The decisions on withdrawing the strike and the termination letters were agreed upon during the conciliation meeting between the cabin crew representatives and the airline representatives at the Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in the national capital on Thursday.

Return to work or face termination: Air India Express gives crew ultimatum

Air India Express fired 25 cabin crew members and demanded others to either return to work by 4 pm on Thursday or face termination

Over 100 Air India Express flights cancelled as cabin crew calls in sick

Air India Express has opted to reduce its flight operations until May 13, with a usual schedule of around 360 flights per day, covering both domestic and international routes

Air India Express fires cabin crew members over 'premeditated' sick leave

According to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh, more than 100 cabin crew members had reported sick just before their rostered flight duty since Tuesday night

Air India Express cancels 91 flights as cabin crew goes on sick leave

After Vistara cancellations, it's the turn of another Tata airline to face crisis

Air India Express cancels several flights due to cabin crew shortage

Air India Express has cancelled "scores of flights" due to a shortage of cabin crew members as a section of them are reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, according to sources. Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. The sources on Wednesday said several cabin crew members started reporting sick since Monday evening and as there are not enough cabin crew members, "scores of flights" have been cancelled at various airports, including Kochi, Calicut and Bangalore. Late last month, a union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew alleged that the airline is being mismanaged and there is a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff. Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew membe

Intervene urgently, resolve AI Express strike: Venugopal writes to Scindia

After Air India Express cancelled several domestic and international flights in the wake of its crew strike, Congress leader K C Venugopal on Wednesday sought immediate intervention of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and called for urgent measures to ensure the passengers are not affected. In a letter to Scindia, Venugopal said the flight cancellations are causing agony to fellow citizens, especially those going to the Middle East. He said Air India Express is a low cost airline that is essential to connect our hardworking middle class workers across the world to their homeland. "When 80+ flights are cancelled due to employees' strikes, it causes huge agony to our fellow citizens, especially those in the Middle East. Wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene urgently and resolve the strike and restore regular Air India Express flights at the earliest," Venugopal said in a post on X while sharing his letter. "I am writing to bring to your kind attention the .

Air India Express to curtail flights amid cabin crew shortage: CEO Singh

Air India Express will curtail flights for the next few days to cope with non-availability of crew members, its CEO Aloke Singh said on Wednesday as the airline has been forced to cancel more than 90 flights due to cabin crew members reporting sick. In a message to the airline's staff, Singh said since last evening, more than 100 cabin crew members have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, "at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations". More than 90 flights have been disrupted due to the situation, he added. "The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules," Singh said. Tata Group-owned Air India Express operates around 360 flights daily in the ongoing summer schedule that started in late March.

Air India Express staff express 'growing discontent' in letter to chairman

The letter from the Air India Express employees union follows a mass sick leave by Air India cabin crew earlier today which left at least 86 flights cancelled

Air India Express says no recognition of workers' union amid crew protest

The statement comes hours after the airline cancelled some 26 flights and delayed 81 due to last-minute sick calls by some cabin crew members

Air India, Lufthansa deepen ties, expand codeshare on India-Australia route

Passengers flying with Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Munich can now seamlessly connect to Sydney and Melbourne via Delhi and Mumbai airports using Air India flights

Highlights of the day: Paytm President and COO Bhavesh Gupta tenders resignation

From Uddhav Thackrey's attacks on BJP, to Air India's decision to resume its flights between Delhi and Tel Aviv, catch all the latest news here

Air India reduces cabin baggage allowance to 15 kg for lowest fare segment

Loss-making Air India has reduced the free cabin baggage allowance to 15 kilogram from 20 kilogram for the lowest economy fare segment on domestic flights. The changes have been made in the menu-based pricing model fare families that were introduced by the Tata Group-owned Air India last August, with the airline saying that a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer ideal. There are three fare families -- Comfort, Comfort Plus and Flex -- that offer different levels of benefits and fare restrictions at various price points, an airline spokesperson said on Saturday. With effect from May 2, the free cabin baggage allowance for the 'Comfort' and 'Comfort Plus' categories has been reduced to 15 kg from 20 kg and 25 kg, respectively. Prior to the introduction of the fare families concept, passengers on Air India's domestic flights were allowed to carry 25 kilograms of cabin baggage free of any additional charge. "On domestic routes in Economy Class, both 'Comfort' and 'Comfort Plus' far

Air India to resume flight services between Delhi-Tel Aviv on May 16

Air India on Friday said it will resume flight services between Delhi and Tel Aviv on May 16. The airline has temporarily suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv amid tensions in the Middle East. In a post on X, Air India said it will resume "services between Delhi and Tel Aviv with five weekly flights from 16 May, 2024". On April 19, the airline said Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended till April 30. The suspension was later extended till May 15. After nearly five months, the Tata group-owned carrier had recommenced services to the Israeli city on March 3. Tensions remain high in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Air India deploys A350 on international route with Delhi-Dubai flight

Air India has commenced services with its A350 aircraft on the international route by operating the first Delhi-Dubai flight on Wednesday and plans to fly the wide-body plane on more overseas routes in the coming months. The Tata Group-owned carrier is now operating a daily service between Delhi and Dubai, with the plane featuring a three-class cabin configuration with 316 seats. In a release on Thursday, Air India said it commenced flights on the Delhi-Dubai route using its A350-900 aircraft on Wednesday and currently, it is the only airline to deploy the plane between India and Dubai. A source in the know said the airline is likely to start deploying the A350 plane for operations on the London route by November. The airline will also be operating the plane on more international routes. Air India started inducting the A350 planes this year and are being used for domestic flights as well. The airline has placed an order for 40 A350 planes and at least four of them are in its ...

Air India extends suspension of flights to Tel Aviv in Israel till May 15

Air India on Tuesday said it has extended the suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv till May 15 amid tensions in the Middle East. On April 19, the airline said Tel Aviv flights will remain suspended till April 30. It operates four weekly flights between the national capital and the Israeli city. In view of the ongoing situation in parts of the Middle East, Air India said it has extended the temporary suspension of flights to and from Tel Aviv to May 15. "We are continuously monitoring the situation and are extending support to our passengers who have confirmed bookings for travel to and from Tel Aviv during this period, with a one-time waiver on rescheduling and cancellation charges," the airline said in a statement. Tensions remain high in the Middle East due to the conflict between Israel and the Hamas group. After nearly five months, the Tata group-owned carrier had recommenced the services to the Israeli city on March 3. Air India had suspended flights to and from Tel Av

Air India-Vistara merger: Tata Sons moves up deadline to year-end

Air India and Vistara have reached out to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and initiated the process of merging their operational manuals