Page 45 - Air India

A-I Express cabin crew raise concerns about room sharing during layovers

Scores of cabin crew members of Air India Express have expressed concerns about the decision on room sharing during layovers, claiming that such a move poses various difficulties in getting uninterrupted rest before flight duty while the airline has said that room sharing is consistent with the market practice followed by many other carriers. Besides, cabin crew members have expressed concerns about curtailment of service contracts of some members as well as about assessment process at the airline, according to sources. Earlier, at profit-making Air India Express, which is in the process of merging loss-making AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with itself, a cabin crew was given a room at a five-star or a four-star hotel at outstations. Now, one room is shared by two cabin crew members. Currently, Air India Express and AIX Connect together have more than 5,500 employees and around 1,800 cabin crew members. The sources said that scores of cabin crew members have written to the ..

DGCA slaps Rs 10 lakh penalty on Air India for CAR non-compliance

Aviation watchdog DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for its failure to comply with norms pertaining to facilities that are required to be provided to passengers. After carrying out inspections of airlines at Delhi, Kochi and Bangalore airports, the regulator observed that Air India was not complying with the provisions of the relevant Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR). Later, a show-cause notice was issued to Air India on November 3. In a release on Wednesday, DGCA said that based on Air India's reply to the show-cause notice, it was found that the airline did not comply with the provisions of the CAR. These pertain to "not providing hotel accommodation for passengers affected by delayed flights, non-training of some of their ground personnel as per the stipulations and non-payment of compensation to international business class passengers who were made to travel on unserviceable seats", it said. For these lapses, the regulator has imposed a financial penalty of

Diaspora panel in US seeks to include Pannun and SFJ on no-fly list

A diaspora panel in the US has sought to include designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and his banned organisation Sikhs For Justice (SFJ) on the no-fly list for issuing video messages threatening people flying Air India. Participants of a panel discussion "Indians in Canada under Threat of Terror and Hate Crimes', organised by the Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS), a group of Indian-Americans and Indo-Canadians, asserted that it's time for the governments to take strong action against the separatist Sikh leader from the SFJ. The SFJ is a US-based organisation banned by the Government of India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) for its anti-India activities. In July 2020, Pannun was also declared an "individual terrorist" under the UAPA for promoting secessionism and allegedly encouraging Punjabi Sikh youth to take up arms. "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has misrepresented freedom of expression for freedom of terror and his

Would be wonderful to see India lift WC trophy on home soil: Air India CEO

India has marched its way to the finals after beating New Zealand in the semi-final episode of the Cricket World Cup, maintaining its streak of back-to-back victories in this cricket edition

Air India set to receive new aircraft every six days in next 18 months: CEO

Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy and is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said on Friday. He was speaking at the 67th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines here. We have new aircraft, we are recruiting many, many new crew and staff, improving the training regime and there is more work to do and we are making good progress, he said. Speaking at a session, Wilson said a vast majority of Air India customers want reliability and punctuality, and the challenge is to satisfy customers' requirements. Moreover, new aircraft are being put on international flights and most of the grounded planes have been restored, Wilson added. Tata-owned Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy which is growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent and it is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, he said. He also exu

Canada probes possible 'threat' against Air India passengers on Nov 19

Canada has said it takes any "threat" to aviation "extremely seriously" and is investigating online warnings, days after a banned pro-Khalistani group warned Air India passengers against travelling on November 19. Founder of the outlawed Sikhs for Justice (SFJ) Gurpatwant Singh Pannun recently released a video threatening passengers of Air India flights on November 19, the day the ICC World Cup final takes place in Ahmedabad. The Canadian government and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police have confirmed they are investigating a possible terror threat. Federal Transportation Minister Pablo Rodriguez posted on social media Thursday that the government is investigating the alleged threat with its security partners. "Our government takes any threat to aviation extremely seriously. We are investigating recent threats circulating online closely and with our security partners. We will do everything necessary to keep Canadians safe." The RCMP confirmed on Thursday that it is investigating b

Maha govt to buy the Air India building in Mumbai: All you need to know

Maharashtra govt decided to acquire the 23-storey Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore

Air India bets on genAI, to introduce more AI features to address queries

Air India plans to introduce sophisticated features to its generative artificial intelligence virtual agent that handles more than 6,000 customer queries daily. The Tata Group-owned airline is using ChatGPT to analyse even some complex questions it may not be able to immediately answer to improve customer experience in later interactions and is helping it to become more attuned to natural language. In a release on Friday, Air India said it has become the world's first airline to have successfully deployed a Generative AI virtual agent 'Maharaja', powered by Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service. The agent has successfully answered over half a million customer queries since its pilot launch in March 2023, and today manages over 6,000 queries a day in four languages, the release said. According to the airline, 'Maharaja' manages an extensive spectrum of customer queries across 1,300 areas, including those related to flight status, baggage allowances, packing restrictions, check-in, freque

Air India, WorldTicket partner to provide customers air-rail connections

Air India on Thursday said it has entered into an intermodal interline pact with WorldTicket that will offer its customers air-rail connections at 5,600 train stations in Germany with Deutsche Bahn on a single ticket. WorldTicket is the exclusive distributor for Europe's largest railway operator, Deutsche Bahn. This comes on the back of a similar intermodal partnership to provide guests easy access to an extensive network of rail and bus operators in the UK, Italy, Austria, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The collaboration will enable Air India guests to travel on a single intermodal ticket beyond Frankfurt with convenient train connections to or from other cities and towns across Germany, including those without airports, on Deutsche Bahn, the airline said. Travellers can also take Deutsche Bahn trains to and from Amsterdam, Brussels, and Zurich via Air India's Frankfurt gateway, it said. WorldTicket is an IATA travel partner with its own AOC-holding airline, FlexFlight, bearing ..

Maharashtra govt to acquire Air India's Mumbai building for Rs 1,601 crore

Maharashtra government on Wednesday decided to acquire the iconic Air India building at Nariman Point in Mumbai for Rs 1,601 crore. The decision was taken at a meeting of the state cabinet in Mumbai. The meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, also decided to waive off around Rs 250 crore unrealised income and interest on the property, an official said. The building was constructed in 1974 on land owned by the state government, which will now use it for its office space. After the 2012 fire at Mantralaya, the state secretariat building in south Mumbai, four major departments -- public health, medical education, water supply and sanitation, and rural development -- have been operating from GT Hospital. These departments, along with others, may be shifted to the Air India building, an official said. The 23-storey building is owned by Air India Assets Holding Limited, a company created by the union ministry of civil aviation in 2018 to manage all Air India-owned properties.

Air India faces flak for leaving passengers stranded at Delhi airport

The Air India flight AI 762 was scheduled to take off from Delhi for Kolkata at 9 pm IST but was delayed until 11:55 pm. This led to a chaotic situation at midnight.

Air India to reinstate 100% of its long-grounded fleet since Tata takeover

The airline is planning to reinstate 100% of its "long-grounded" fleet since the takeover by the Tata Group two years ago

Air India engineer falls to death while repairing plane at Delhi airport

A 56-year-old engineer of Air India died after he slipped and fell off the radome of an aircraft while repairing it, police said on Monday. The incident occurred Monday midnight, they said. Ram Prakash Singh, senior superintendent service engineer, was on duty on the intervening night of November 6 and 7. "While servicing a plane at T-3 of the airport, he slipped and fell on the ground and sustained head injuries," an officer said. "The Air India staff took him to Medanta hospital and thereafter to Manipal Hospital where he was declared dead," a police official said, further investigation was underway.

DGCA sends show cause notice to Air India for flouting civil aviation norms

Notably, this is not the first time the airline has been called out for non-compliance of CAR rules

DGCA issues show cause notice to Air India for flight delay compensation

This is not the first instance of Air India coming under the regulator's scrutiny for violating its rules pertaining to passenger compensation. In June of last year

Air India-Vistara merger remains on course, says Singapore Airlines

Singapore Airlines on Tuesday said the proposed merger of Air India and Vistara "remains on course" and is subject to approvals from regulators as well as competition authorities in several jurisdictions. Once the merger is complete, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Currently, Singapore Airlines owns a 49 per cent shareholding in Vistara and the remaining 51 per cent stake is with the Tata Group. "The proposed merger of Air India and Vistara remains on course, with the Competition Commission of India approving the transaction in September 2023. "It remains subject to foreign direct investment approval, as well as approvals from other regulators and competition authorities in several jurisdictions including those from India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Civil Aviation, and National Company Law Tribunal, and the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore," SIA Group said in a release on Tuesday. While announcing the .

Additional checks in place for A-I passengers at Delhi airport till Nov 30

Passengers travelling on Air India flights from airports in the national capital and Punjab will be subject to additional checks, and issuance of visitor entry tickets has been stopped at the Delhi airport till November 30 amid increased threat perception, according to sources. Apart from issuance of temporary airport entry passes, entry of visitors to the terminal building of Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) have been banned till November 30, they added. The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) issued a circular in this regard on Monday. There will be Secondary Ladder Point Check for Air India flights at the IGIA and airports in Punjab, the sources said. Generally, it refers to checking passengers and their hand baggage just before boarding a flight. This is in addition to the primary security checks. There was no comment from Air India. With respect to temporary airport entry passes at the Delhi airport, there will be relaxation for operational purposes for governm

Air India suspends Tel Aviv flights till Nov 30 amid Israel-Hamas war

Air India has suspended its scheduled flights to Tel Aviv till November 30 amid the tensions between Israel and militant group Hamas. The airline has not operated a scheduled flight to and from Tel Aviv since October 7. An airline spokesperson on Sunday said flights to Tel Aviv have been suspended till November 30. Normally, the full-service carrier operates five weekly flights to Tel Aviv from the national capital. The service is on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Last month, the airline operated a few chartered flights to Tel Aviv from the national capital under the government's Operation Ajay to bring back Indians who wished to come back from Israel against the backdrop of the escalating conflict.

Sikh separatist Gurpatwant Pannun threatens to blow up AI flight on Nov 19

Pannun claimed that Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport would remain shut on November 19 and that its name would be changed

Air India enters into interline pact with Alaska Airlines to operate in US

Air India has entered into an interline partnership with Alaska Airlines. The partnership will allow Air India customers to "avail seamless connections from New York JFK, Newark-New Jersey, Washington DC, Chicago, San Francisco, and Vancouver gateways to and from 32 destinations in the USA, Mexico, and Canada on Alaska Airline's network", according to a release. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline. When selling an interline ticket, the operating airlines' own flight numbers are used. The release said the scope of the partnership includes bilateral interlining which allows both the airlines to sell tickets on each other's network. "The two airlines have also entered a Special Prorate Agreement, which allows Air India to file 'through fares' on routes covering Alaska Airlines' network," it added. This arrangement means that a passenger can have a single fare for a single ticket covering all ...