Airliners-India.com

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 09, 2015 9:23 pm Post subject:

Besides Moscow flights, Air India has also withdrawn a flight on the Delhi-Dhaka route and two flights between Delhi and Ahmedabad. These flights were not meeting their cash costs. This information was given by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma in written replies to the Lok Sabha today.

http://www.firstpost.com/business/air-india-cuts-moscow-service-axes-dhaka-flight-why-this-may-not-be-enough-2143915.html
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The_Goat · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:46 am Post subject:

Whichever bureaucrat came up with the idea of writing the 'Air India' in English alone on one side and Devnagri alone on the other side of the aircraft is completely clueless about the concept of brand visibility and marketing.

The brand must be clearly exhibited to the entire target audience on both sides of the product. Just look at the way the ME3 do it, with the name written in both English and Arabic on both sides of the fuselage.

Can't expect any better from someone who got the job thanks to his neta relative's sifarish, I suppose.
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I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

Caliguy · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:04 am Post subject:

sammyk · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 2:10 am Post subject:

The_Goat · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2015 12:29 pm Post subject:

himmat01 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 1392 Location: DEL

I am thankful that they have not written "STAR ALLIANCE" in Devnagiri,
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sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Air India new uniform to be debuted by staff in Mar-2015
News
9-Mar-2015 11:04 AM
Air India said its new uniform will be debuted by staff during Mar-2015 (mid-day.com, 07-Mar-2015). The trademark red, white and black uniforms will be replaced by mustard ensembles designed by the National Institute of Fashion Technology. The proposal for new uniforms was launched in early 2014, with a tender issued in Jul-2014, and the uniforms initially scheduled to be introduced by Oct-2014. Distribution will commence for crewmembers in Delhi and Mumbai on 05-Mar-2015 and 10-Mar-2015 for women and men respectively, with the new uniforms to be worn from 28-Mar-2015.

747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2015 6:47 pm Post subject:

Air India fails to get a single applicant as it tries to hire new captains

http://www.firstpost.com/business/corporate-business/no-takers-air-india-fails-get-single-applicant-tries-hire-new-captains-2149939.html
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 2:40 pm Post subject:

Air India Italy Mar/Apr 2015 Frequency Reductions

Air India from 23MAR15 to 28APR15 is temporary reducing service to Italy, as overall operation being reduced from 7 to 4 weekly. Planned operational schedule as follow.

Delhi – Milan Malpensa – Rome – Delhi Service reduce from 3 to 2 weekly
AI123 DEL1420 – 1930MXP2100 – 2210FCO2335 – 1015+1DEL 788 26

Delhi – Rome – Milan Malpensa – Delhi Service reduce from 4 to 2 weekly
AI123 DEL1420 – 1905FCO2040 – 2200MXP2330 – 1015+1DEL 788 57

Source: Airlineroute.net
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:50 pm Post subject:

Air India spends Rs 10 cr on new uniforms

http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/air-india-spends-rs-10-cr-on-new-uniforms/article1-1326092.aspx
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avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/education/story/job-applicants-cautious-no-one-turns-up-for-air-india-interview/1/42

No one wants to fly for AI ... how sad Rolling Eyes

747-237 · Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2015 7:27 am Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Air-Indias-26-year-old-plane-flies-back-to-Delhi-after-wheel-snag/articleshow/46569988.cms

Air India's 26-year-old plane flies back to Delhi after wheel snag

Mar 15, 2015

Air India's 26-year-old first batch of Airbus A-320s have become a technical nightmare for the crew operating these 'relics' and passengers flying them.

On Saturday evening, one of these old planes #VT-EPJ# took off for Vadodara from Delhi with 122 passengers on board as AI 819. But after getting airborne, the left side main landing gear of this 1989-made plane reportedly got stuck. The crew could not retract it and did not get the light which indicates that the left side landing gear door had closed.

Since the aircraft could not have flown to Vadodara with a wheel suspected to be stuck out, the crew immediately informed Delhi air traffic control about their technical issue and sounded an alarm. "The pilots handled the situation very deftly and the plane made an emergency or precautionary landing at Delhi. The aircraft came to a halt safely," said a source.

Crew operating these old planes has been complaining about them to the airline for a long time. "The biggest problem in them is problematic weather radar which tells the crew about weather ahead. Pilots get to know about rain or storm ahead through these radars and then accordingly switch on seat belt signs after which everyone gets seated to avoid injuries due to turbulence," said a source.

The other problem is very high instance of non-functional auxiliary power units which are used to keep aircraft airconditioning on on ground. In the searing Indian summer, there have been several instances of passengers protesting the oven-like aircraft interiors at many airports. "Last year passengers of a flight staged a dharna at Jammu due to this problem," said a source. The other recurring problem with these old planes is hydraulic failure.

The first batch of these A 320s had started joining erstwhile Indian Airlines in 1989. Then after one of these planes crashed in Bengaluru in February 1990, this fleet was grounded following doubts over its "fly by wire" technology. These planes were finally cleared to fly again in IA in December 1990.

AI was supposed to phase out these old aircraft and replace them with brand new leased A320s. But with this aircraft not so easy to get in the international market, the old ones still are being used by AI.
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:16 pm Post subject:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-will-add-domestic-flights-plans-more-boeing-787-flights-to-gulf-115031600752_1.html

Air India will add domestic flights, plans more Boeing 787 flights to Gulf

A320 aircraft will now be flown only on domestic routes and few South Asian routes

March 16, 2015

Air India is cutting down frequencies on loss making foreign routes and is ramping up its domestic network in its summer schedule. Air India deploys its Airbus A320 fleet both on domestic and Gulf routes. The airline operates about 15 flights daily to Gulf sectors using the A320 type planes.

Over the next few months Air India will be replacing all its A320-operated Gulf routes with Boeing 787 planes. "Currently the Airbus A320 fleet utilisation is about 10-11 hours. The A320 aircraft will now be flown only on domestic routes and few South Asian routes. This will enable us to add more flights and routes within India. We plan to increase our domestic capacity in the summer schedule," the spokesperson added.

The carrier has about 60 Airbus A320 type planes but is utilising only about 52-53 of them as the others are under maintenance and overhaul checks. It is also taking five A320 planes on lease.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 8:33 am Post subject:

Air India Adds Nonstop Kochi – Jeddah Service from May 2015

Air India starting May 2015 will be introducing nonstop Kochi – Jeddah operation, on board Boeing 747-400 aircraft 5 times a week.
This nonstop service will begin on 01MAY15, which replaces existing Kochi – Kozhikode – Jeddah route. Kozhikode – Jeddah sector will be terminated.

AI963 COK1830 – 2115JED 744 x25
AI964 JED2315 – 0705+1COK 744 x14

Source: Airlineroute.net
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Jeh · Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2015 9:29 am Post subject:

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Air India pilots issues show-cause notices for reporting late
News
19-Mar-2015 10:43 AM
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently issued show-cause notices to over 30 Air India pilots for reporting late (Business Standard, 19-Mar-2015). The DGCA said they did not follow regulations and the airline’s operation manual on reporting time, adding that was tantamount to a violating safety. The pilots however have contended that this may be outside DGCA’s remit. The notices were sent following surprise checks at Mumbai and Delhi airports earlier this month. A similar check was conducted at Jet Airways in Feb-2015.

747-237 · Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2015 8:28 am Post subject:

New NIFT-designed uniform shabby- AI crew

http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-new-nift-designed-uniform-shabby-ai-crew-2070874
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747-237 · Posted: Sat Mar 28, 2015 3:56 pm Post subject:

https://in.newshub.org/rattled-air-india-assures-fliers-its-a320s-safe-14351457.html

Rattled Air India assures fliers its A320s are safe

27 March, 2015

A day after an A320 aircraft operated by Germanwings crashed in the French Alps with 150 people on board, national carrier Air India, which also has a large number of A320s, tried to reassure fliers through tweets that its fleet is safe and maintained as per regulatory norms. Air India has at least 20 A320 aircraft in its fleet of 112.

"#Committed #Safety We would like to reassure our valued patrons that Air India is fully committed to safety. All its aircraft, including A320 fleet, are maintained in strict accordance with regulatory authority's norms and are fully airworthy," tweeted the airline. A senior commander with the carrier said, "Its a safe aircraft."

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avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Acccording to the GDS, Air India will be launching 2 weekly HYD KWI serivce on an A32S from 15th April. This schedule is a permanent one and will continue even when Goa becomes fully operational.

Thus Kuwaits operation will be as follows:

* 3 weekly MAA - GOI - KWI
* 2 weekly MAA - AMD - KWI
* 2 weekly MAA - HYD - KWI

Thus MAA - KWI will be a daily 1 stop operations with intermediate stops varying as per days of operation.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:54 am Post subject:

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1150330/jsp/nation/story_11602.jsp#.VRizMUnD-M8

Ground snag-prone A320 fleet: Pilots

March 29

An Air India pilots' union has voiced concern over the national carrier's 26-year-old fleet of Airbus A320s and has written to civil aviation regulator DGCA to ground the "lethal snag-prone" planes for the sake of passenger safety.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said the airline continues to fly these A320s even after snags have been reported regularly.

In a letter to the regulator, the ICPA, which represents pilots of the erstwhile Indian Airlines in the now combined entity, Air India, said the "classic A320 aircraft" were 26 years old - one of the oldest in the world - and were being operated with "repetitive snags endangering flight safety".

"(The) DGCA should not permit AI to operate these lethal snag-prone classic aircraft in lieu of passenger safety," the union said in a letter to the regulator last Thursday.

The letter came days after a 24-year-old Airbus A320, operated by Lufthansa's budget arm Germanwings, crashed into a mountainside in the French Alps, killing all 150 people on board, although engine malfunction is not being blamed for the March 24 tragedy.

French prosecutors believe the co-pilot, said to be suffering from an illness that should have grounded him, deliberately steered the aircraft into the mountainside.

In its letter, the union also raised other issues, including show-cause notices the regulator had recently served on a number of pilots for reporting late for duty. One pilot had been asked to explain why he arrived a minute late.

The union also "questioned" how the DGCA could ignore the "plight" of Air India employees when they had not received their "full salary and allowances" for "almost 32 months".

"We wonder, how have you ignored the stressful working conditions and (the) plight of our pilots, cabin crew, engineers and all other employees due to non-payment of full salary and allowances for (the) last almost 32 months...," the letter said.

"We request you to kindly... look into the working conditions of pilots and cabin crew in respect of Air India."

The ICPA urged the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to ensure availability of pilots after calculating all leave entitlements.

"We request you to ensure that availability of flight crew is calculated after taking into account entitled leaves, weekly offs, mandatory training days etc and not just by considering them to be available 365 days a year," it said.

The union has also asked the DGCA to clarify when a pilot has to report for duty latest before a scheduled departure.

"Our concern is that the above mentioned notice threatens about action to be taken in case of unsatisfactory or no reason given in reply to the show-cause notices.... We request you to kindly let us know where and what is documented in the rules as to getting late for a flight (inadvertently) is an offence and what is the penalty for it," the letter said.

"There is an impression that (the) DGCA is operator-friendly and is willing to look the other way when (a) shortcoming of the operator is pointed out but unforgiving when employees are found even slightly wanting."
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iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2566

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Air India not permitted to land in Yemen to conduct airlift service
News
31-Mar-2015 10:35 AM
Air India said it was not permitted to land at Sana'a Airport as it sought to conduct a service to airlift stranding Indians in Yemen (DHNS, 31-Mar-2015). The carrier returned to Muscat. On 29-Mar-2015, India's Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, via her official Twitter account, stated India would airlift nationals from Yemen after receiving authority to operate from Sana'a for three hours per day. She tweeted: “Today we got permission to fly from Sana’a for three hours a day. We will use the slot for evacuating our citizens every day". She also noted: “We are doing everything to evacuate our people from Yemen at the earliest by all routes — land, sea and air".

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

Air India says Dubai Airport T1 is becoming too congested
News
30-Mar-2015 11:21 AM
Air India regional manager for the Gulf, Middle East and Africa Melwin D’Silva said Dubai International Airport’s Terminal 1 is becoming too congested, which he said will begin to favour Emirates, which is the sole operator at Terminal 3 (arabianbusiness.com/7Days, 29-Mar-2015). Mr D'Silva said the airport should introduce “better crowd management”, adding: “With Dubai growing at the rate it is, they need to have more counters and staff to regulate the flow of passengers". He said the congestion is so bad that he believes travellers “may start picking Emirates over Air India because passengers have begun caring more and more about their [airport] experience.” He said the airline had no congestion issues with Terminal 2, where Air India Express operates. Mr D'Silva added: “We have already seen a rise in preference for our Air India Express flights, which land at Terminal 2 and they are able to get out [of the terminal] much faster. So the overall experience does matter... Once people land, they would love to get out of the airport as fast as possible. Here [in Terminal 1 compared to Terminal 3], there’s more walking, longer wait to clear immigration and access baggage… it all adds up as part of the passenger experience".

justbala · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1898 Location: Bangalore

Al regional to start BLR - PNY 5x weekly

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/alliance-air-to-fly-from-puducherry/article7053037.ece&sa=U&ei=Do0bVcfPCsG2uATn_oEw&ved=0CAoQqQIoADAA&usg=AFQjCNGf0sVIpitnVo2YEAkfLmyi4lQkMw

747-237 · Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2015 2:32 pm Post subject:

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/companies/air-india-seeks-slb-offers-on-6-dreamliners-for-720-m/59636/

Air India seeks SLB offers on 6 Dreamliners for $720 m

April 2, 2015

National carrier Air India on Wednesday said it was seeking offers for financing of six Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft under a sale and lease back (SLB) arrangement for $720 million (Rs 5,000 crore).

Under the arrangement, Air India would sell the six planes to the lessor and immediately lease them back under an operating lease for 12 years with an option to extend, the carrier said in a tender statement. “Air India has fixed a reserve purchase price of $120 million (Rs 750 crore) for each aircraft,” the tender said.

“The SLB transaction will be supported with a government of India (GoI) guarantee which will cover the lease rental obligations during the lease period. In addition it may also include certain breakage costs, re-delivery conditions, and other potential losses under the operating lease agreement due to early termination of lease and capped to a maximum limit of $5 million per aircraft,” it added.

The six Dreamliners that have been offered to lessors have all been delivered between March and December 2014. The carrier has also sent a proposal to the government for outright purchase of the six Boeing aircraft. This is currently under consideration.

“Meanwhile, Air India wished to receive offers under both options, SLB and outright purchase. Air India reserves the right to accept offers either from SLB or outright purchase depending on the approval from the government for the purchase option,” the tender document added.

Air India, which took the delivery of its twentieth Boeing 787 on Wednesday, has already concluded SLB of 11 Dreamliners. The airline is currently in the final stage of concluding SLB for its twelfth Dreamliner.

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The_Goat · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 12:42 pm Post subject:

http://m.timesofindia.com/india/Air-India-co-pilot-beats-up-captain-inside-cockpit/articleshow/46818054.cms

Shocked

More bufoonery. FO beating up the Captain???

NEW DELHI: Amid rising aviation safety concerns over pilots' mental health, an Air India aircraft's cockpit witnessed some tense scenes between the captain and his deputy at Jaipur on Sunday evening just before the Airbus A-320 was to take off for Delhi. While numerous airline sources said that the co-pilot abused and beat up the commander, an AI spokesman said that "there was an argument between the two and nothing more."

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I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

Nimish · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 6:20 pm Post subject:

^^ It's really time for AI to get their HR act in order. There are companies the world over with cash flow issues, but they manage the situation far better than what I see here.
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iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2566

More bad publicity for AI and even Indians in general. After the suicidal copilot of Germanwings, all pilots are under scrutiny. This story has gone in front page news on yahoo.com USA website, which has more viewers than all newspapers combined in US.

I cannot believe that a copilot would beat up a pilot and then they decide to fly anyway to Delhi. I think they probably had an argument as the airline says.

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

Nimish · Posted: Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:47 pm Post subject:

sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

747-237 · Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 8:42 am Post subject:

Incident: Air India B773 near Newark on Apr 4th 2015, engine vibrations

An Air India Boeing 777-300, registration VT-ALT performing flight AI-144 from Newark,NJ (USA) to Mumbai (India) with 166 people on board, was enroute at FL290 about 40nm north of Boston,MA (USA) when the crew decided to return to Newark due to engine vibrations. The crew reduced the engine to idle and landed safely on Newark's runway 04R about 2 hours after departure and taxied to the apron.

The flight was cancelled.

The airline reported the engine suffered vibrations due to a blade stress fracture. The engine was reduced to idle.

The crew reported 166 people on board, Newark Airport reported 313 people on board of the aircraft.

The occurrence aircraft is still on the ground in Newark 3 days after the occurrence.

avherald.com
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star*gold · Member Joined: 29 Jan 2009 Posts: 187

Air India now flies to Puducherry from Bengaluru, 6 times a week.

http://airindia.com/puducherry-on-ai.htm

sabya99 · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 10:58 pm Post subject:

The_Goat · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2015 11:28 pm Post subject:

Aseem · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ

my first shot of AI Jumbo.. PM Modi landing at Rnwy 05 of YYZ. PM Harper was on-board too

"Air India One" VT-ESO "Khajuraho" landing PM Modi and Harper at YYZ by Lord of the Wings©, on Flickr

VT-ASJ
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ryder1650 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554

sri_bom · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 2365 Location: Singapore

India Government owes USD96m to Air India for VVIP travel
News
17-Apr-2015 10:45 AM
Air India is reportedly owed around INR6 billion (USD96.3 million) by government agencies for the deployment of aircraft for meeting the needs of VVIPS (PTI/The Hindu, 16-Apr-2015). Whenever the President, Vice-President and the Prime Minister travel abroad, an aircraft is requisitioned from Air India. During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent three-nation visit, Air India had to send a second aircraft to Berlin to transport the VVIP delegation to Canada as the aircraft deployed earlier developed a snag.