Page 39 - Air India

IndiGo exploring purchase of widebody aircraft to counter Air India

IndiGo has repeatedly toyed with the idea of introducing long-haul services to tap the growing pool of affluent Indians flying further afield to places such as the UK and Europe

Domestic carriers set to operate 6% additional flights in summer

The largest domestic airline, IndiGo, is slated to operate 13,050 flights every week, a 13.8 per cent (Y-o-Y) rise from 11,465 flights in the previous year

Weakness of Air India supported survival of airlines around India: CEO

Carrier now has the chance to seize market share and turn country into a traveller hub, says CEO Campbell Wilson

India's aviation boom could support more hubs, says Air India CEO Wilson

There aren't many other markets like India in the world. Northern India has a good east to west flow, while southern India can offer an Asia to Africa or Australia-Europe flow"

Air India Express to operate non-stop flights to Kochi, Imphal from Kolkata

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, is all set to begin non-stop flights to Imphal and Kochi from Kolkata this April, an airline official said. "The flights to Imphal will operate daily, while those to Kochi will fly six days a week," he said. The flight from Kolkata to Imphal will depart at 7 am and will reach in Manipur capital at 8.05 am. The return flight will depart at 8.35 am and arrive in Kolkata at 10.20 am, he said. The Kolkata-Kochi flight will take off at 11.25am and reach the destination at 2.35pm, while the return flight will leave at 3.05pm and land here at 6.10pm. The airline through route integration will be operating more flights on various domestic routes, sources said. Meanwhile, the airline has recently announced introduction of four fare products - Xpress Lite (cabin baggage only fares), Xpress Value (15 kg check-in bag fares), Xpress Flex (unlimited changes with no change fees), and Xpress Biz (business class seating with complimentary Gourmair meal

Air India lays off over 180 non-flying staff as part of fitment process

Air India has laid off more than 180 non-flying staff in recent weeks, sources said while the airline maintained that the affected people were not able to utilise the voluntary retirement schemes and reskilling opportunities. The loss-making Air India was taken over by the Tata Group in January 2022 and since then, efforts are being made to streamline the business model. An Air India spokesperson on Friday said that as part of the fitment process, employees in non-flying functions have been assigned roles based on organisational needs and individual merit. "A comprehensive process has been followed to assess the suitability of all employees over the past 18 months. During this phase, there have also been multiple Voluntary Retirement Schemes and reskilling opportunities offered to employees. "However, for less than 1 per cent of our employee base who have not been able to utilise VRS or reskilling opportunities, we have to part ways. We are honouring all contractual obligations dur

Gulf airlines have cheap oil but Air India has software talent: CDTO

Ramaswamy said the airline will be launching a unified employee portal 'myAI' to perform all employee service activities in one place

Maha govt new owner of iconic Air India building, pays Rs 1,601 cr

The Maharashtra government has become the owner of iconic Air India building with the Union government approving transfer of the asset on Thursday. The Maharashtra government bought the Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. "GoI has approved transfer of Air India building, Mumbai of AI Assets Holding Company Ltd (AIAHL) to Government of Maharashtra (GoM) at consideration of Rs.1601 cr. GoM has agreed to waive dues of Rs. 298.42 cr, which would have been otherwise payable by AIAHL to GoM for this transaction," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said in a post on X. AIAHL, a Government of India company under administrative control of Ministry of Civil Aviation, was set up in 2019 for holding non-core assets and debt of Air India. The non-core assets of Air India, including land and building, valued at Rs 14,718 crore was transferred to AIAHL after it was set up by the government as a precursor to the sale of Air India for holding the debt and non-core ass

GE Aerospace inks flight operations software contract with Air India

Air India group to use GE Aerospace solutions to optimize flight operations

Team of 80 people harmonising ops of 4 Tata airlines: Air India CEO

The Tata Group is consolidating its aviation business and merging four airlines into two

Air India deboards Religare Enterprises Chairperson Saluja from UK flight

The incident happened on flight AI 161 before the scheduled pushback for take off and Saluja was deboarded following advice from the captain of the flight

Air India deboards female passenger at IGI after argument with crew members

A female business class passenger on an Air India flight to London was deboarded at the Delhi airport following an argument with cabin crew members this week. The incident happened on flight AI 161 on March 5 and the passenger involved was a senior corporate executive, according to sources in the know. In a statement, an Air India spokesperson said a passenger travelling in business class was off boarded on the advice of the captain following some argument with members of the crew before the scheduled pushback. "Following the off boarding, flight AI 161 departed after a delay of about an hour. The passenger who was off boarded was travelling for some compelling reasons and was accommodated on a subsequent flight following a written assurance," the spokesperson said. Further details about the incident could not be immediately ascertained. As many as 894 passengers were denied boarding by Air India in January and around Rs 98 lakh was spent by the airline on facilitation/ compensati

Air India records OTP at 60% in Feb; lowest among all major airlines: Data

The OTPs (On-Time Performances) of other major airlines such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Akasa Air, AIX Connect, and Vistara were also low in February

Air India restarts flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv after five months

Air India has restarted flights from the national capital to Tel Aviv after suspending the services for nearly five months due to tensions in the wake of the Israeli city coming under attack by Hamas militants. The Tata group-owned carrier recommenced the flight on March 3, an airline spokesperson said on Tuesday. For now, the flights from Delhi to Tel Aviv will be operated by a Boeing 787 aircraft three times a week -- Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, the spokesperson said. Air India had suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv starting from October 7, 2023, in the wake of the Hamas attack on the Israeli city. Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Israel issued an advisory on Tuesday, urging its nationals to move to safer areas in the country. The advisory comes a day after a missile fired from Lebanon killed one Indian and injured two others. "In view of the prevailing security situation and local safety advisories, all Indian nationals in Israel, especially those working in or visiting

Air India, Vistara merger receives Singapore's conditional approval

Singapore's flagship carrier announced its plan to merge Vistara and Air India in November 2022, in a bid to create a dominant full-service airline in the domestic and international markets

DGCA fines Air India Rs 30 lakh over failure to provide wheelchair

The 80-year-old passenger died of heart attack after he walked from plane to the terminal in Mumbai airport

Air India fined Rs 30 lakh over man's death after wheelchair unavailability

The man, in his 80s, died on February 12 after collapsing when he decided to walk after being told by Air India that the waiting time for the wheelchair was long due to heavy demand

Air India detects cabin lighting issue in B777 planes' economy class

Air India has found a technical issue in its leased Boeing 777-200 planes that has resulted in economy class cabin lighting remaining in the bright mode and the airline has decided to provide eye masks for the passengers of the aircraft. The Tata Group-owned Air India has leased five B777-200 LR planes from American carrier Delta Airlines. "A technical issue has been identified with the cabin lighting system on the B777-200 LR (leased aircraft) in the economy (EY) cabin. This has led to the EY cabin lighting to remain on bright mode throughout the flight," the airline said in a circular on Wednesday. To overcome the issue of the crew being unable to switch the lights to dim/off and to avoid guest inconvenience, eye masks will be provided to the passengers, it added. The airline operates B777 aircraft on ultra-long haul routes connecting Indian cities with San Francisco in the US and Vancouver in Canada.

Carriers between a rock and a hard place amid govt notification: Air India

In 2008, India signed the Cape Town Convention, an international treaty providing time-bound remedies for lessors to repossess planes, mitigating their risks

Air India unveils safety video with mudras from eight diverse dance forms

Air India on Friday unveiled a new inflight safety video that integrates safety instructions with mudras or dance expressions in eight diverse dance forms. The video has been developed in collaboration with McCann Worldgroup Asia Pacific Chairman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, musician Shankar Mahadevan and film director Bharatbala. "Air India's new inflight safety video integrates safety instructions with mudras or dance expressions in eight diverse dance forms -- Bharatnatyam, Bihu, Kathak, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Odissi, Ghoomar, andGiddha -- from around the country. "Each featured dance form presents a specific safety instruction, providing vital information in an engaging and culturally immersive manner," the airline said in a release. Initially, the safety video will be accessible on Air India's A350 aircraft.