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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 8:04 am Post subject:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ani/air-india-flight-evacuated-after-bomb-scare-update-116031601321_1.html

Air India flight evacuated after bomb scare

March 17, 2016

An Air India plane, AI 332, was on Wednesday parked at an isolated area at Suvarnabhumi airport after traffic controllers directed the pilots to taxi the plane due to bomb threat, Air India said.

AI 332 that took off from Delhi 2.05 P.M for Bangkok was forced landed at Suvarnabhumi at 7.10 P.M.

"While it was 1.15 hrs away from Bangkok, two threat calls were received by Delhi call centre. Accordingly the pilot was informed who informed Bangkok air traffic control for priority landing," said Air India.

"Flight was not diverted because aircraft was on the sea," it added.

The authorities activated an emergency plan and safely evacuated all 231 passengers, including a child and 10 crew members, from the aircraft and began checking for a bomb.

Police from the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit are checking all pieces of luggage including those loaded on the aircraft.

Air India uses a Boeing 787 dreamliner for the flight, according to the flightaware.com.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2016 9:04 am Post subject:

Here we go : -

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Tyre-burst-at-Mumbai-airport-Aircraft-among-oldest-in-Air-India-fleet/articleshow/51432349.cms

Tyre burst at Mumbai airport: Aircraft among oldest in Air India fleet

Mar 17, 2016

The Air India aircraft whose two tyres burst on landing at Mumbai airport on Tuesday night, is among the oldest in the airline's fleet, being over 20 years old.

The aircraft, Airbus A320-200 (registration VT-ESL), belongs to that era of A320 aircraft that have four wheels in each of the two main undercarriage assembly. The erstwhile Indian Airlines is perhaps the only airline in the world to operate A320s with double bogie wheels. Aircraft manufacturer Airbus had specially designed A320s with double bogie wheels to suit Indian Airlines' demand for aircraft that could operate on relatively poor runways and taxiways across the country.

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http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/others/Pilots-diagnose-old-age-of-aircraft-as-cause-behind-AI-tyre-ailment/articleshow/51434050.cms

Pilots diagnose old age of aircraft as cause behind AI tyre ailment

Mar 17, 2016

In a classic example of age catching up with the national carrier, pilots have blamed the 22-year-old Airbus 320 Classic for the snag that caused the burst tyre in the aircraft flying from Nagpur on Tuesday night, which led to an emergency evacuation of the aircraft and a subsequent disruption of airport functions.

The Air India aircraft that was involved in the incident was manufactured in 1994 and is one of the oldest in this class of planes, which its pilots have in official correspondence often referred to as snag-prone and problematic.

These aircraft are among the oldest A320s in the world and have been regularly giving the national carrier different problems over the years.

The Classic A320, unlike modern aircraft, has a set of bogey wheels. Bogey wheels are a set of four tyres making up one wheel. In this case, the first two of the four tyres on the left side of the aircraft completely gave way. Many of the newer A320s of Air India, just like the other carriers worldwide, have now switched to a set of two tyres in a wheel set.

In March 2015, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association had written to the DGCA against allowing the use of the A320 Classic. "The classic A320 aircraft, which are 26 years old, are 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," a letter by ICPA general secretary Praveen Keerti had said.

Aviation expert Captain Mohan Ranganathan questioned the pilot's move of carrying out an evacuation by deploying chutes. "I do not understand the need for evacuation in a tyre-burst incident. Runway sparks will always be there. But that is not a fire," he said. He pointed out that in the case of a brake-failure, all the four tyres in the wheel-set would have burst.
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2016 5:35 pm Post subject:

National carrier Air India plans to add 40 new planes to its domestic fleet by the end of 2017, of which 13 will be smaller turboprop planes for regional connections, its chairman Ashwani Lohani told Reuters on Friday.

Lohani said the airline, which already leases eight ATR turboprop planes and three Bombardier CRJ-700 70-seater aircraft, would launch "a major foray" in to flying to smaller cities this year.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Airlines-look-to-smaller-planes-in-regional-push/articleshow/51457895.cms
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747-237 · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 12:39 pm Post subject:

http://www.ptinews.com/news/7241224_AI-to-buy-more-wide-body-planes-to-expand-global-network.html

AI to buy more wide-body planes to expand global network

Mar 21

Air India is mulling expanding its Boeing wide-body aircraft feet to implement its plans of adding a host of new destinations in its overseas network in a couple of years.

The airline is expected to draw up a firm plan in this regard early next fiscal, highly-placed airline sources said.

As of now, the government-owned carrier has 40 wide-body or twin-aisle planes in its fleet -- 15 Boeing 777s, 21 B-787 (Dreamliners) and jumbo B-747, as against 68 Airbus single- aisle A-320 family aircraft.

"We have not added too many wide-body planes in the fleet in the last couple of years, except the induction of Dreamliners from the 2005 order. We are now considering expanding this fleet as well by adding some long range Boeing aircraft going forward," the sources said.

A final call on the issue, including the choice of aircraft B-777s or Dreamliners -- is expected to be made early next financial year, they said.

The new routes that are on India's radar include Washington DC and Houston among others in the US, Sweden and some destinations across Africa, sources said.

Air India is expected to take deliveries of another nine wide-body planes by March 2018 which include six Dreamliners and three B777-300ERs. At the same time, it will induct another around 30 A-320s, includng A-320 neos, during the same period.

"But this will not suffice as we will be adding a number of destinations in the international network and hence require a good number of aircraft to meet the purpose," they said.

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747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:32 am Post subject:

http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper/air-india-gives-wing-to-eco-friendly-khadi.html

Air India gives wing to eco-friendly khadi

21 March 2016

The national carrier Air India has decided to use the natural and eco-friendly khadi fabric for its VVIP flights that carry the Prime Minister on international tours.

While women cabin crew will wear khadi silk sarees, the male crew will sport Khadi silk jackets.

Chairman of the khadi and Village Industries Commission Vinay Kumar Saxena told The Pioneer that Air India has placed an order for supply of 150 silk sarees for women cabin crew and 25 pieces of Jodhpuri bandhgala coats, 40 pieces of trousers and 40 pieces of jackets for the male cabin crew.

“We have been pursuing with Air India for some months now. They have decided to use our products after due diligence considering all aspects including quality and price,” Saxena said.

He said that Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani has also assured us that the airliners would also consider adoption of khadi products for executive class in all its flights.

Air India has already decided to use natural and eco-friendly khadi products for its International flights and placed an order worth Rs1.21 crore to Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC) for the supply of 25,000 units of amenity kits. The products will be supplied by Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan, a flagship showroom of KVIC.

The amenity kits are given by Air India to its First class and Business class International passengers.

The kits include khadi hand sanitizer, khadi moisturizer lotion, khadi lemongrass, khadi handmade soap, khadi lip balm, khadi rose face wash, essential oils etc. KVIC will supply 25,000 kits by 31.01.2017 to Air India in which 5,000 kits are for First class passengers and 20,000 kits for Business class.

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747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:34 am Post subject:

http://www.nyoooz.com/amritsar/397636/air-india-to-launch-flight-between-amritsardelhi-from-march-27

Air India to launch flight between Amritsar-Delhi from March 27

21 Mar 2016

The number of Air India flights will swell to four per day on the route with the addition of new one. The new flight called AI 454 will arrive at 6:10 am and depart as AI 453 at 6:55 am from Amritsar airport. He said the flight would attract a large number of passengers, who do not find reservation in Amritsar-Delhi Shatabdi. Addition of one more flight will take the total number of flights being operated daily on the route to nine.
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:38 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 10:39 am Post subject:

Air India Express Adjusts Planned Ras al Khaimah Service in S16

Air India Express last month (Feb 2016) has revised planned new operation to Ras al Khaimah, as planned 4 weekly flights to/from Kozhikode will be operating as tri-angle route with Al Ain.
The airline from 28MAR16 will operate 2 weekly Kozhikode – Ras al Khaimah – Al Ain – Kozhikode and 2 weekly in opposite direction.

Boeing 737-800 aircraft operates this route.

Kozhikode – Ras al Khaimah – Al Ain – Kozhikode
IX335 CCJ1040 – 1305RKT1350 – 1435AAN 73H 36
IX336 RKT1350 – 1435AAN1520 – 2040CCJ 73H 36

Kozhikode – Al Ain – Ras al Khaimah – Kozhikode
IX331 CCJ1040 – 1305AAN1350 – 1435RKT 73H 15
IX332 AAN1350 – 1435RKT1520 – 2040CCJ 73H 15

Air India Express currently serves Al Ain once a week from Kozhikode. Overall service will increase to 4 weekly from 28MAR16.

Source: Airlineroute.net
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The_Goat · Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:13 pm Post subject:

Who is this new Swiss troll on A.net who keeps bashing AI at every available opportunity?
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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

747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 2:20 pm Post subject:

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/vivyoK9DM7vmPWVYD2BO3I/Govt-said-to-consider-Air-India-stake-sale.html

Govt said to consider Air India stake sale

Mar 23 2016

India’s government is to examine the possibility of selling up to 49% of loss-making national carrier Air India, news agency NewsRise Financial reported on Wednesday, citing an unnamed official.

The government plans to form a four-to-five member panel, made up of officials from the finance ministry, the civil aviation ministry, the cabinet secretariat and the company, to consider selling a stake in Air India to meet its revenue target from state asset sales next fiscal year, according to NewsRise.

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747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:30 pm Post subject:

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/vivyoK9DM7vmPWVYD2BO3I/Govt-said-to-consider-Air-India-stake-sale.html

Govt denies Air India stake sale report

Mar 23 2016

The government on Wednesday denied a report that it was considering selling stake in the loss-making national carrier Air India.

News agency NewsRise Financial had reported that the government is to examine the possibility of selling up to 49% in Air India, citing an unnamed official. However, civil aviation secretary R N Choubey denied any such move. “No such move at all,” the secretary said.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 8:31 am Post subject:

Air India Express has added a new 737-800 to the fleet, as VT-GHA.
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2016 5:59 pm Post subject:

iflytb20 · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 1:33 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Sat Mar 26, 2016 7:30 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 28, 2016 2:26 pm Post subject:

Air India Ltd will add 20 planes to its feet in the coming fiscal year to expand its international and regional footprint, a spokesperson said on Monday.

The 20 planes will include a Boeing 787, six Boeing 737s for Air India Express and 13 ATR aircraft to improve regional connectivity.

Air India is also set to add Vienna as its 104th destination to its network from 6 April 2016, the spokesperson added.

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/lfnf9vkViqzQemKY5YvMGI/Air-India-to-add-20-planes-to-its-fleet.html
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theflyingsikh

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/air-india-flight-emergency-landing-mumbai-airport/

Passengers of an Air India flight travelling from Hyderabad to Mumbai were on Monday evacuated under emergency conditions soon after the flight landed at the airport in Mumbai as the pilot suspected smoke coming out from the engine.
No one was injured in the incident which occurred after flight AI 620, carrying 120 passengers and six crew members, landed at the Mumbai airport at around 0720 hours.

An Air India spokesperson said as the flight was taxiing towards the bay after landing, the pilot suspected smoke emanating from the engine.
Immediately, the pilot called for emergency evacuation and chutes were deployed to move passengers and crew out of the plane, he added.
According to him, on preliminary inspection of the aircraft no problem was detected in the engine or the landing gear. Tyre burst has also been ruled out, he added.
Further inspection is on to ascertain the reason that led to the emergency evacuation.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Mar 29, 2016 7:32 am Post subject:

Incident: Air India A319 at Mumbai on Mar 28th 2016, tower reports smoke from landing gear

An Air India Airbus A319-100, registration VT-SCQ performing flight AI-620 from Hyderabad to Mumbai (India) with 120 people on board, had safely landed on Mumbai's runway 27 and was about to vacate the runway when tower alerted the crew to smoke coming from the landing gear. The crew stopped the aircraft and initiated an emergency evacuation via slides. There were no injuries reported.

Mumbai's runway 09/27 was closed for about 30 minutes as result of the occurrence.

The airline reported that a post incident inspection found nothing wrong with the aircraft, no evidence of any smoke from the landing gear. It is being suspected, that due to ongoing work in progress on Mumbai's runways and taxiways dust from those works may have created the impression of smoke from the landing gear. The aircraft was returned to service.

The occurrence aircraft however is still on the ground in Mumbai 19 hours after landing.

Source: Avherald.com
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:05 am Post subject:

Incident: Air India B788 near Kolkata on Mar 29th 2016, engine problem

An Air India Boeing 787-800, registration VT-ANR performing flight AI-315 from Hong Kong (China) to Delhi (India) with 154 passengers, was enroute at FL380 over Myanmar about 500nm east of Kolkata (India) when the crew reported an engine (GEnx) problem, drifted down to FL260 and diverted to Kolkata for a safe landing about 100 minutes after leaving FL380.

Source: Avherald.com
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 10:28 am Post subject:

http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-dgca-blurry-on-rest-time-for-crew-on-ultra-long-haul-flights-2195597

DGCA blurry on rest time for crew on ultra-long haul flights

30 Mar 2016

In a damaging indication as to how casually decisions are made at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the Indian aviation regulator has admitted that before starting direct New Delhi-San Francisco flights, it did not take into consideration any scientific studies done by other regulators or the time difference between New York and San Francisco.

National carrier Air India (AI) had, last December, started direct New Delhi-San Francisco flights to connect the US' West Coast to India and to reduce the travel time by about six hours. In a reply to a Right To Information (RTI) application, the DGCA also accepted that it did not take into consideration the mandatory rest time given by other airlines on similar ultra-long haul flights.

The RTI plea had been filed by the AI crew members concerned, who claimed that neither the airline nor DGCA had made any arrangements for extra rest, though the number of flying hours was considerably higher. They stated that it took around 19 hours to reach San Francisco, while it took less than 15 hours to reach New York.

Through the RTI application, the crew members sought details about whether DGCA took into consideration the extra time taken by a flight to San Francisco, in comparison to a flight to New York. They also sought to know if any rules had been formulated regarding the extra pre-flight, flight and post-flight rest for the crew members, and if DGCA took into consideration any scientific studies regarding the matter.

"To our surprise, DGCA said no to all the questions. It clearly shows the unprofessional manner in which the country's aviation regulator operates," said a cabin crew member, on the condition of anonymity.

DGCA officials could not be contacted at the time of going to the press.
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 7:12 am Post subject:

http://www.newsx.com/national/24295-air-india-to-introduce-new-flights-on-three-sectors-from-april-1

Air India to introduce new flights on three sectors from April 1

March 30, 2016

Air India on Wednesday said that it will introduce new flights on three sectors under its 'Connect India' programme from April 1.

According to the airline, its wholly-owned subsidiary Alliance Air will introduce the new flights on the Delhi-Jammu, Bengaluru-Vijayawada and Kolkata-Agartala sectors to push regional connectivity.

The flights on the Bengaluru-Vijayawada and Kolkata-Agartala sectors will operate five days a week, starting from April 1.

“The flights on the Bengaluru-Vijayawada-Bengaluru and Kolkata-Agartala-Kolkata routes will operate with ATR 42-320 aircraft,” the company said in a statement.

Besides, the national carrier will operate an additional frequency on its existing route of Delhi-Jammu-Delhi three days a week, starting from April 7.

The service on the Delhi-Jammu route will be operated on a bombardier jet aircraft.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 3:48 pm Post subject:

Air India Express Expands Kozhikode Flights from June 2016

Air India Express starting June 2016 is expanding operations at Kozhikode, with expanded operations to the Middle East. From 01JUN16, planned changes as follow.

Kozhikode – Bahrain 1 daily, replacing Kozhikode – Bahrain – Doha – Kozhikode routing
IX473 CCJ1135 – 1325BAH 73H D
IX474 BAH1445 – 2135CCJ 73H D

Kozhikode – Doha 1 daily, replacing Kozhikode – Bahrain – Doha – Kozhikode routing
IX373 CCJ1145 – 1325DOH 73H D
IX374 DOH1420 – 2110CCJ 73H D

Kozhikode – Dubai Increase from 1 to 2 daily, new flight operates during daytime
IX345 CCJ0910 – 1135DXB 73H D
IX343 CCJ2300 – 0125+1DXB 73H D

IX344 DXB0225 – 0755CCJ 73H D
IX346 DXB1700 – 2230CCJ 73H D

Kozhikode – Kuwait City Increase from 3 to 5 weekly
IX393 CCJ1150 – 1410KWI 73H 247
IX395 CCJ2330 – 0150+1KWI 73H 13

IX396 KWI0250 – 0950CCJ 73H 24
IX394 KWI1510 – 2210CCJ 73H 247

Source: Airlineroute.net
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The_Goat · Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:00 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:37 am Post subject:

http://www.traveldailymedia.com/234598/air-india-offers-self-service-baggage-tags/

Air India offers self-service baggage tags

1st April, 2016

Air India has started offering passengers the ability to print their own baggage tags as part of its self-services check-in kiosks.

Effective 1 April, two kiosks in Terminal 2 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport will offer the baggage tag service, but initially only for domestic flights to Delhi and Bengaluru.

“This will greatly assist our esteemed passengers in avoiding long queues and avail of alternate channels thus helping Air India process passengers much faster,” said the airline in a statement.

Once passengers have printed their baggage tags, they will need to report at a baggage drop counter to leave their luggage.

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747-237 · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 1:47 pm Post subject:

About 30 Airbus A-320s will be inducted and the 14 old A-320s will be phased out. About 10 turboprops are being inducted. We will have more wide-body planes as number of destinations like Washington, Madrid, Copenhagen and some places in Africa like Kenya and South Africa are on our radar. All these planes will be leased by end of FY 2017-18.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Unhappy-AI-IA-merger-legacy-biggest-hurdle-in-turnaround/articleshow/51640899.cms
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aeroblogger · Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2016 11:05 am Post subject:

Wow, I never thought I'd see the day when self-tagging came to India.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 4:06 pm Post subject:

http://zeenews.india.com/business/news/companies/many-parties-jealous-about-air-indias-success-aviation-secretary_1872496.html

Many parties jealous about Air India's success: Aviation Secretary

April 4, 2016

Air India's performance has improved in recent times and "many parties are jealous about its success", Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey today said and asserted that there is no stake sale plan for the carrier.

His assertion comes amid reports suggesting that the government might be looking to offload stake in Air India, which is in the red.

"There is not any divestment plan for Air India. False rumours are being spread by those who are jealous. Many parties are jealous about Air India's success," Choubey said.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 7:50 pm Post subject:

http://www.ptinews.com/news/7300439_AI-plans-to-spread-its-wings-in-Africa--Scandinavia.html

AI plans to spread its wings in Africa, Scandinavia

Apr 5

Air India aims to provide point-to-point connectivity to African and Scandinavian regions, where it currently does not operate, besides enhancing services on existing routes, as part of its aggressive network expansion plan.

In the immediate future, the government-run airline will launch services to Washington, DC from the national capital, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwanai Lohani said, adding, the national carrier is also looking at taking its services to African and Scandinavian countries.

"In the next couple of years, we will be expanding our international network in a big way. Very soon we are looking at connecting the fifth US destination with Delhi with a non-stop service to Washington, DC. (Then) We have Madrid, Barcelona, Copenhagen and Stockholm, which we are looking at as well," Air India Director (Commercial), Pankaj Srivastava said.

A senior Air India official had last month said that the airline was planning to expand its Boeing wide-body feet in view of the proposed international route expansion.

"The choice of these four destinations is predominantly because there is till now no direct connectivity between Spain and India. Also, there are no direct connections at present to Scandinavian countries. So, this gives us opportunity to tap these bright spots," Srivastava said.

He said Air India teams are doing the necessary viability study in this regard, adding, "hopefully we should be able to mount flights to these European destinations going forward.
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Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Caliguy · Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2016 6:47 pm Post subject:

Glad AI is doing better couple of things I don't get:
1) what doesn't AI offers super generous FF program. Then people would be more willing to tolerate their bad ground service. They lose money anyway so why not. I think many cost conscious people would absolutely not care if earning and redeeming was like US airlines 5 years ago (read before the big profits). Its have the US airlines fought and beat most foreign airlines (that had better service). Why doesn't this strategy work for India?

2) Improve their J class meal service look. I mean why does AI have to have everything in J look so bad. Food is good,just better presentation and ensure there are plastic sealed thick bedding and big pillow). That's like 90% of what people want.

3) Add 20 more new english movies and bring total of english movies to 50.

4) I think Delhi-IAD is long overdue and a great call. AI needs to rotate its 77W & 77L fleets into refurbishing - rip out first, put in direct aisle J class and add another seat in Y per row. Also should lower legroom for Y but create an economy comfort zone to match UA and LH. Although I really think if F goes on the 777, AI should install two rows of Prem Econ. I think that is totally in the sweet spot of US based VFR. Perfect to send your parents back to india is you do well but are not $$$$.

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2566

AI is still on the hook to pay down the debt it has incurred. And since it is govt organization, it can never declare bankruptcy - I think there is a version of bankruptcy law proposed in India.

If there was an US style Chapter 11 bankruptcy law, then debt laden Indian carriers could have regrouped and become competitive. Instead Kingfisher is gone with the banks still pursuing the airline and VJM.

Many US carriers went into bankruptcy twice (US airways and Continental) and all the major (except Southwest) have gone through it once.

AI has the best FF program among all Indian carriers, better than Jet, far better than Vistara or Spicejet. They are also about as good as most European carriers.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

747-237 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 5:21 am Post subject:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/dgca-orders-probe-into-upkeep-of-ai-s-ageing-airbus-fleet/story-Cw3eJcWVNRzmQRfz8vN8xN.html

DGCA orders probe into upkeep of AI’s ageing airbus fleet

Apr 07, 2016

Nearly three weeks after an Air India (AI) flight’s tyre burst on touchdown at Mumbai airport, forcing the emergency evacuation of 160 passengers, the the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has asked the airline to send a report on the upkeep of its Classic Airbus fleet – the oldest in the airline. After the incident on March 15, Hindustan Times had reported that VT-ESL, the aircraft involved in the safety scare, belonged to the fleet which is more than two decades old.

Sources from the aviation safety regulator said the brake fan - a crucial aircraft component that protects the plane’s brakes from overheating - was not fully functional in last month’s incident. “We have ordered a fast-track inquiry on the serviceability of brake fan. The reports are awaited,” said a senior DGCA official requesting anonymity.

More than two dozen passengers on board this AI flight had to see the airport doctor with complaints of stiff back and a few others had been bruised while sliding off the inflated escape chutes.

Mumbai airport staffers had reported a thick cloud of oil fumes and sparks coming off the landing gear of the aircraft that had joined the AI fleet in 1994.

While the AI spokesperson did not respond to HT’s calls, Ashwani Lohani, the airline’s chairman and managing director, said it was incorrect to link the incident to the airline’s engineering upkeep. “The final analysis is still awaited,” said Lohani.

This is the second time in less than a year that AI’s airbus fleet had come under the DGCA scanner. Last September, the DGCA had ordered an engineering audit of the fleet following two back-to-back cases of minor fire in AI planes. The first incident involved a flight from Varanasi that made an emergency landing in Delhi owing to hydraulic failure followed by minor fire caused by the overheating of its nose-wheel rim. The subsequent incident was a tail-pipe fire reported at the Mumbai airport ostensibly owing to excess fuel in the aircraft.

The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA), an 800-odd member pilots’ union in AI had also complained about the poor condition of the airbus fleet following the Germanwings tragedy wherein an Airbus 320 aircraft had crashed into the French Alps killing all the 150 passengers on board.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:20 pm Post subject:

The airline at present is carrying out a feasibility study on two new routes -- Barcelona and Madrid -- which it may commence next year, provided that they are found economically viable, Air India Commercial Director Pankaj Srivastava said.

"Air India is looking at some other markets in Europe shortly. We are evaluating the market in Barcelona and Madrid and if the results of viability study are positive, then the operations (to these two destinations) could start from beginning of next year," Srivastava said.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-air-india-looking-to-add-new-international-routes-2199275
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:22 pm Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ahmedabad/Air-India-to-begin-Bhavnagar-Mumbai-flight-from-mid-April/articleshow/51728083.cms

Air India to begin Bhavnagar-Mumbai flight from mid-April

Apr 7, 2016

Bhavnagar is set to be back on the aviation map of India. A week after Jet Airways stopped the operations of only flight from Bhavnagar airport, Air India has decided to start flight on Bhavnagar-Mumbai route from mid-April.

"The flight will operate four days a week on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. The national carrier will deploy ATR-72 aircraft on the route which has maximum capacity of 70 passengers," said an Air India official.

The flight will take-off from Mumbai at 5.30pm and land at Bhavnagar at 6.45pm. In return, the flight will depart from Bhavnagar at 7.15pm and arrive at Mumbai at 8.30pm.

The date for beginning the operations will be finalized soon.

Sudha Murali, airport director, Bhavnagar said, "The officials of Air India visited the airport on Tuesday and carried out a feasibility survey."

"According to our study, there is a sustainable demand and we believe that this route will generate traffic and revenue," added Air India official.
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lavence7 · Posted: Thu Apr 07, 2016 7:40 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 10:04 am Post subject:

A poorly worded article - as is so very common in India, the word "flight" is been wrongly used. Nonetheless, some interesting pictures......and sadly, the end of a double-bogied A320.

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/current-affairs/100416/crane-carrying-air-india-passenger-plane-crashes-near-begumpet-aiport.html

Crane carrying Air India passenger plane crashes near Begumpet airport

Apr 10, 2016

A crane carrying Air India passenger plane lost its balance and crashed near Begumpet airport in Telangana on Sunday morning, no casualties reported have been reported to far.

According to a top police official, the flight was empty and was being brought to the airport for training purposes. The incident took place at 7 am in the morning when the crane lost its balance and crashed on the compound wall of Hitech club near Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam school at the old airport road in Bowenpally.

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747-237 · Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:32 pm Post subject:

Some more pics :

Video of the "crash" :

https://amp.twimg.com/v/ab312ab7-4a5c-4085-a332-927174f7c079
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 7:41 am Post subject:

http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/hyderabad/Officials-to-Dismantle-Damaged-Aircraft-After-it-Turned-a-Showpiece/2016/04/12/article3375911.ece

Officials to Dismantle Damaged Aircraft After it Turned a Showpiece

12th April 2016

A day after a hydraulic axle crane dropped a disused Air India aircraft hull on a compound wall after hoisting it 60 feet above the ground, authorities have now undertaken the task of dismantling the aircraft and transport the parts in a truck to the Air India training centre at Ferozguda.

While the rear part of the aircraft will be of no use, the front part would be used for training pilots as the cockpit and emergency doors are still intact.

“We are planning to dismantle the aircraft hull and transport it in a truck to the training centre. The government has asked us to remove the aircraft by midnight, but it will take more time to dismantle it,” an Air India official said.

When asked why they didn’t follow the standard procedure to transport the hull, an official on condition of anonymity, said that they had obtained all permissions for transporting the aircraft.

“It’s not that we have decided to transport the aircraft by road overnight, proper trials were done and all permissions were obtained. It’s just unfortunate that the plan did not work out. Had it been successful, the whole nation would have been proud of us,” he added.

On Sunday, when the defunct aircraft (Air India Airbus A-320) was being transported by road from Begumpet airport to Central Training Establishment at Ferozguda in Balanagar, the crane unfotunately collapsed and the aircraft fell on a compound wall. The police had to rush in to prevent locals from crowding the area. Fortunately, no one was injured in the mishap.

According to officials, the aircraft was bought for Rs 30 crores some 20 years ago and was kept unused for the past three years.

Asked whether it would have been more appropriate to dismantle the wings of the aircraft before moving it, an official said, “Well, we have considered the option, but it would disfigure the aircraft completely. There is no way that we can reattach the wings once we detach them. Even if we do so it would no more look like a normal aircraft.”

The officials claimed that they had taken all prior permissions to transport the craft and that emergency services were available with them when the mishap took place.

“There were police, electric department people, ambulances and other emergency services with us while moving the craft. We had even insured the aircraft for transportation purpose,” said an official.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/crane-operator-booked-for-crash-landing-of-a320/article8463848.ece

Crane operator booked for ‘crash landing’ of A320

April 12, 2016

A case of negligence under Section 336 of IPC against Air India and the crane operator has been registered by Bowenpally police in the aftermath of the incident in which an A320 being transported on the road fell on the wall disrupting traffic in Balanagar and Bowenpally area.

The day after it fell to ground, the hull of the Airbus A320 aircraft stayed put even as Air India worked through Monday to clear it.

The hull crashed on Old Airport road when it was being towed from the Begumpet Airport to Central Training Establishment in Balangar. The crane hired to move the aircraft crumbled under the weight of the hull in the early hours of Sunday, causing the deregistered aircraft to fall on a wall. According to AI officials, a third-party crane services provider was hired for the job. Trials were conducted during the week before but Sunday’s incident was unexpected, a spokesperson for Air India said.

“The crane was expected to take around 200 tonnes. The plane weighs just about 20 tonnes and was not expected to cause the crane to buckle. The fall was unexpected,” the official said. On Monday, senior AI officials instructed their staff in Hyderabad to remove the plane by the end of the day. Those supervising the operations decided to cut the hull with a welding torch and transport it to CTE. The hull can be salvaged for teaching, the purpose for moving it from the airport to the training establishment.

The crane was expected to take around 200 tonnes while the plane just weighs about 20 tonnes. The fall was unexpected
- AI spokesperson

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 8:30 pm Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-to-expand-fleet-in-kochi/articleshow/51797931.cms

Air India to expand fleet in Kochi

12 Apr, 2016

Air India would deploy flights to Kochi from the 14 new Airbus A 320 aircraft that will join its fleet. This will be in addition to the six new Boeing 737-800 aircraft joining the Air India Express fleet which will be put in the India-Gulf routes according to Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani.

Lohani said this during the interaction with Air India and Air India Express team at Air India Express headquarters in Kochi. He called for exploring the feasibility of operating bigger aircraft in the Kochi-Bangalore sector adding that Alliance Air will increase its feeder operations with 72 seater ATR aircraft, which are now used in Kochi-Agatti and Kochi-Bangalore sectors.

He promised to examine the travel agents' request for a third Kochi-Delhi service and change of timings for the Kochi-Chennai service.

Lohani gave administrative sanction for revamping the corporate headquarters of Air India Express to transform it into modern office with ticketing and reservation centre in the ground floor. The new building will also house the board room of Air India Express.

"This facility upgrade will help Air India Express to meet the need for additional space requirement of a growing workforce in the Airline which is on expansion mode," said K Shyam Sundar, CEO, Air India Express.
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