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747-237 · Posted: Sat Aug 22, 2015 9:54 am Post subject:

Air India's next A320SL, the future VT-EXD.

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Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

What happened to AI reconfiguring its 777 fleet to add more Y seats and remove F altogether?

Just saw that AC have configured their 77Ls to a 300 pax configuration and its 77Ws to between 400-450 seats.

Maybe AI need to take a page out of their Star Alliance partner's book.

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

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

Air India new CMD previously critical of Air India leadership, 'inexcusable' losses
News
24-Aug-2015 11:07 AM
Air India's new chairman and MD Ashwani Lohani has reportedly been appointed to the position for a period of three years (Live Mint, 21-Aug-2015). As previously reported by CAPA, Air India chairman and MD Rohit Nandan will be replaced by Ashwani Lohani, Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation MD, most likely from Sep-2015, with Mr Nandan to reportedly remain in the position for a further one month. Mr Lohani, a 1980 batch Indian Railway Service of Mechanical Engineers officer, is a former India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) chairman. Mr Lohani, via his personal Twitter account, on 30-May-2014 commented on the status of Air India, tweeting: "Air India continues to lose - Inexcusable. A bureaucratic disaster on expected lines. Obliging masters at helm - what else would happen". On 19-Dec-2014, he also tweeted: "Spicejet also sinks. On the pattern of Air India and Kingfisher, the impending demise of Spicejet may also be due to leadership failure".

The_Goat · Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2015 3:16 pm Post subject:

megatop747

A Tiruchi-bound Air India Express flight was delayed for more than eight hours on Monday as the pilot went missing. The plane with 122 passengers on board was all set for takeoff at 1.30 a.m. but the pilot failed to report for duty. It took Air India officials over seven hours to find another pilot. According to the officials, 98 passengers bound for Tiruchi and 34 passengers heading to Singapore were waiting in the plane.

The schedule was changed three times during the day and officials finally managed to find a substitute pilot only by 9 a.m. and the flight took off at 9.30 a.m. The passengers were stranded at Chennai airport till then. Passengers at the terminal remarked that this is the second time an AI flight was delayed due to the absence of a pilot. Last Friday, a Chennai-Goa flight with 178 passengers was late by 6 hours, they said.

Last week, another AI flight was delayed for about six hours for the same reason, passengers said

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/as-pilot-goes-missing-ai-flight-delayed-by-8-hours/article7576805.ece?utm_source=MostPopular&utm_medium=Chennai&utm_campaign=WidgetPromo

indopaki · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 479 Location: Pakistan

Where all has AI flown the PM to since his inauguration? I recall Vancouver, Ottawa? Ulaan Bator, Beijing, What about Ufa?

luvleen · Member Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Bombay

Air India Increases Shanghai Service from late-Oct 2015

http://airlineroute.net/2015/09/03/ai-pvg-w15

Air India in winter 2015/16 season is increasing operations on Delhi – Shanghai Pu Dong route, featuring the addition of 5th weekly service on Fridays, starting 30OCT15. This flight is operated by Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft.

AI348 DEL1210 – 2020PVG 788 x13
AI349 PVG2200 – 0255+1DEL 788 x13

megatop747

Fire in Air India Flight's Undercarriage in Delhi. Passengers Safe

NEW DELHI: An Air India flight that had apparently developed a hydraulic failure, caught fire during landing at the Delhi airport today.

Sources told NDTV that the fire was seen in the undercarriage of the plane after touchdown. It is suspected that the fire started when the pilot applied brakes hard during landing.

All 153 people on board are safe and the aircraft has been towed away.

More details are awaited.

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/major-fire-breaks-out-air-india-flight-carrying-100-passengers-reports-1215150?pfrom=home-lateststories

indopaki · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 479 Location: Pakistan

megatop747

Air India A320 at Delhi on Sep 7th 2015, hydraulic failure, smoke from landing gear and evacuation

An Air India Airbus A320-200, registration VT-ESI performing flight AI-405 from Varanasi to Delhi (India) with 146 passengers and 6 crew, was on approach to Delhi when the crew reported a hydraulic failure. The aircraft continued for a landing on Delhi's runway 27. During roll out smoke was observed from the landing gear and the crew was radioed prompting the crew to initiate an emergency evacuation via slides. The passengers were bussed to the terminal.

The airline confirmed the aircraft suffered a hydraulic leak and reported all passengers evacuated safely after sparks were seen from the landing gear, however, there had been no fire.

Airport sources had claimed there had been a fire at the landing gear in the nose gear area, during evacuation 4 or 5 passengers received injuries.

News media in India reported a major gear fire.

http://avherald.com/h?article=48bfe1ea&opt=0

747-237 · Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2015 10:16 pm Post subject:

Air India is speeding up its plans to replace its ageing fleet of Airbus A 320 planes.

The airline has a fleet of 64 A 320 planes and 14 of them are close to 20 years old that need urgent replacement.

In the next six months, said a senior aviation ministry official, five new Airbus planes will join the airline's fleet.

The airline has also asked European plane manufacturer - Airbus - to refurbish three existing planes and enhance their lifespan by one and half years. Sources in the ministry say that the airline cannot replace all its old aircraft in one go as "planes are not readily available in the international market."

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/air-india-soon-to-phase-out-its-ageing-a-320s-sources-1215923
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747-237 · Posted: Sat Sep 12, 2015 7:14 am Post subject:

http://www.financialexpress.com/article/companies/airbus-gets-dgca-approval-to-extend-life-of-air-india-planes/134496/

Airbus gets DGCA approval to extend life of Air India planes

September 12, 2015

French plane maker Airbus, which was in talks with state-owned airline Air India to extend the life cycle of its aircraft, has got approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to extend the life of at least three planes nearing 20 years of age.

Officials at the ministry of civil aviation confirmed that Airbus has been granted approval to extend the life of three A-320 aircraft, which are nearing its dying age. “The approval has been given to extend the life by one-and-half years. These aircraft need to be in air till Air India replaces the old fleet by new leased aircraft,” said officials.

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The_Goat · Posted: Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:57 am Post subject:

Dreamliner snags, pilot shortage send AI schedules haywire
A crippling shortage of Dreamliner pilots -- caused by a spate of resignations in recent months -- along with snags in this aircraft is now playing havoc with Air India flight schedules.
...

While Boeing is trying to address the issue of Dreamliner snags, resignation of pilots trained to fly these planes in AI is now acquiring serious dimensions. On June 19, 2015, a large number of Dreamliner pilots from erstwhile Indian Airlines had sought no objection certificate from the airline to quit over the management's continued failure to have pay parity between them and their counterparts of erstwhile and Air India even eight years after the two airlines were merged. Sources say there are about 70 pilots from IA side on the Dreamliner and most of them are in the same state of mind.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Dreamliner-snags-pilot-shortage-send-AI-schedules-haywire/articleshow/48938616.cms
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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).
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luvleen · Member Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Bombay

Air India may launch premium economy class

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-India-may-launch-premium-economy-class/articleshow/48942889.cms

Oh dear Lord noooooo....... They should first try and make their economy and executive classes work

747-237 · Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:18 pm Post subject:

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/dDXQ6g3Ir0GhpFHa4jLWjN/Air-India-signs-MoU-with-BCCI-to-fly-Team-India.html

Air India signs MoU with BCCI to fly Team India

Sep 14 2015

The Indian cricket team will now take Air India Ltd flights for official travel, according to a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India’s oldest airline and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), the national governing body for cricket.

As per the MoU, Air India will now be the ‘preferred airline’ for the Indian cricket team for a period of one year, effective 1 September.

Air India will also fly Indian cricketers of both national and other state cricket teams on domestic and international networks across the globe, said the MoU signed on Sunday.

Under the agreement, Air India will offer ‘special fares’ and ‘free baggage allowance’ to the Indian cricket team travelling with their kits.

The MoU also encapsulates the travel of umpires, match referee and national selectors on official duty, TV crew, BCCI officials for various committee meetings, annual general meetings, besides other official travel.

Air India’s membership in Star Alliance, the global group of airlines with the highest number of member airlines operating to 1,330 destinations in 192 countries, and its code share with major carriers across the globe makes it best suited to cater to the requirement of the Indian cricket team.

It also caters to the needs of BCCI members who require seamless connectivity to major cities across the globe, quick transfers, convenient check-in procedures, wide-body comforts and global best practices in terms of processes, systems and procedures, Air India said in a statement.

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Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

ranjanmehta · Member Joined: 29 Jun 2007 Posts: 108 Location: Dilli

Air India shifting all their operations to the new terminal in Mumbai - T2 (Sahar) from 1st Oct 2015.

Nimish · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2015 2:31 pm Post subject:

indopaki · Member Joined: 23 Jul 2007 Posts: 479 Location: Pakistan

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2566

luvleen · Member Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Bombay

Air India plans world's longest non-stop commercial flight

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Air-India-plans-worlds-longest-non-stop-commercial-flight/articleshow/49038356.cms

(Probably we'll need a separate thread for this as I expect there will be some fierce discussions prompted by this Smile

)

Nimish · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 10:28 am Post subject:

^^ If this is tied to Modi's Silicon valley visit, then it might happen. However I don't know if AI has the "capacity" to take on a flight of this UUUUULH nature!
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The_Goat · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:19 am Post subject:

Caliguy · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 6:57 pm Post subject:

Good for Modi & AI (if true). I've said it before - IF AI is going to lose money, might as well lose on routes that are strategic in nature and almost impossible for a commercial airliner to operate. SFO-BLR is exactly that. I think they should operate 3X nonstop to BLR and 4X via DEL. So daily to BLR, officially have a nonstop BLR-SFO and also get DEL traffic as well. Now all AI needs to do is redo their LRs (hopefully with J class that's direct aisle access). In economy I think its essential they have a E+ like UA (so that UA FF get the expected extra legroom benefit).

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Also, the standard of written English, know how, editing and review at the TOI is in the toilet. I cringed reading that nonsense.

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

lavence7 · Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2015 11:02 pm Post subject:

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

yashkhullar · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2014 Posts: 44

In case AI opts for DEL-SFO (most likely choice over BLR), why dont they use 77W instead of 77L. 77W already does BOM-EWR which is a longer route and I am sure using the bigger boeing would translate into better operating economics for the airline.

Also if the demand on DEL-JFK is low, why doesnt AI down-grade it to a 787 or a 77L?

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

lavence7 · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 5:41 pm Post subject:

Wonder why its such a necessity to have such direct long haul’s when they don’t yield well. Even SQ would know this and don’t operate direct to US from their base, which being a major financial hub.
They could route it as an extension to their JFK, LHR, Tokyo, Beijing, or some new city pair like MAN.

Caliguy · Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2015 6:27 pm Post subject:

I think AI should do a daily same plane SFO-DEL-BLR. Plane should land the same time JFK and ORD do. So at a min they would meet international connectors to BOM and HYD. I think if AI also starts IAD-DEL, they would be in good shape for US coverage. IAH would be the only real hole (read Texas). But I think that flight would be really long and I can't think of who would fill the front.

On the JFK question, I think AI should keep the split JFK / EWR focus. Ai just needs to reconfigure their 77W asap (i.e. add the extra seat per row in coach like EK). Change J class to direct aisle and have say three rows of extra legroom seats in coach for purchase or for *gold+. I actually think a premium economy will do really well on AI's 77W as the nonstop is so long and spending $500 more is within the reach of enough VFR to fill 2 or 3 rows (like AF's small PE cabin).

I also think AI should bring back their "Nonstop" brand and use it to signify better service (like AA used to do with Flagship). At a min I think all US non stops plus all LHR flights should be under this brand and AI should deliver proper J service and a tiny bit enhanced coach service. Only put your best crew on these flights.

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

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

mayankarora1411 · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2013 Posts: 35

My suggested schedule for AI's BLR-DEL-SFO vv:

BLR 2045 DEL 2330
DEL 0130 SFO 0500
SFO 1015 DEL 1445
DEL 1645 BLR 1930

A/c: B77L

This is according to 16:00 BH on DEL-SFOvv but any change can be adjusted for in the ground time at SFO.

Caliguy · Posted: Wed Sep 23, 2015 10:00 pm Post subject:

Love your timing suggestions. I would just cut the transit time down a bit. The flights from the US will arrive early and since its an international connector there is no customs. Assuming they change the plane, there is no cleaning. So DEL-BLR can leave 1 hour and 15 min after arrival. Also on the reverse you would need a shorter transit in DEL. The arrival and departures are all at safe times for single women (which is a concern for many tech workers flying alone). Think it could work (may not make money but hey its AI)

ryder1650 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554

747-237 · Posted: Thu Sep 24, 2015 6:49 am Post subject:

Starting up Part 30, but perhaps this topic (BLR-SFO) can be continued to be discussed here, till the 40th post is reached.
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