Airliners-India.com

747-237 · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:42 am Post subject:

http://defenceaviationpost.com/air-india-wrap-around-bus-central-london/

Air India wrap around bus in Central London

September 21, 2016

National carrier Air India has created history by being the first ever South Asian brand in the United Kingdom to takeover an entire London bus.

This bus was inaugurated recently by the High Commissioner of India to the UK and has proved to be a hit with the Indian community in London, said an AI official.

“Normally you see big high street designer brands taking over buses, but it is a moment of pride to see an Indian brand doing something like this in central London,” said an AI official.

Led by its Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani, Air India occupies a special place in the global and Indian aviation scenario. It pioneered the aviation in India and its history is synonymous with the history of civil aviation in India.

“Air India under its CMD Ashwani Lohani has been consistently coming out with innovative and interesting marketing strategies that not only attracts passengers but also promotes the country’s tourism industry,” said aviation expert Rajji Rai.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 3:36 pm Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-indigo-indulge-in-battle-of-wits-in-mumbai-ad-hoardings/articleshow/54462646.cms

Air India, IndiGo indulge in battle of wits in Mumbai ad hoardings

Sep 22, 2016

India's biggest carrier IndiGo and its flag Air India carrier got into a little tiff of hoarding ads earlier this week, when the latter put a cheeky ad in the low cost carrier's own airport counter and was replied in kind.

This Sunday, Air India put up a hoarding at IndiGo's counter at the Mumbai airport with the message: Wish you a comfortable flight. Next time, fly with Air India and feel the difference.

Next day, IndiGo replied with its own hoarding which said "Yes Air India, there is a difference. Says the Government."

Below the line was a small chart which said on the basis of on time performance IndiGo was the "best" while Air India was "worst". The reverse was true for passenger complaints in which case IndiGo registered the lowest while Air India had the highest in its name.

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Caliguy · Posted: Thu Sep 22, 2016 6:51 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 7:08 am Post subject:

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/OrafiNYs1y1ZEFKZ86CcPI/Air-India-objects-to-IndiGos-advertising.html

Air India objects to IndiGo’s advertising

Sep 22 2016

Air India Ltd has objected to an advertising campaign by rival IndiGo airline at the Mumbai airport and has asked the airport authorities to take it down.

Air India Ltd has objected to an advertising campaign by rival IndiGo airline at the Mumbai airport and has asked the airport authorities to take it down.

Air India had recently placed billboards at Mumbai airport including where IndiGo passengers check in that said: Wish you a comfortable flight. Next time fly Air India and feel the difference. The billboard talked about more leg space, hot meals and extra baggage space that the airline provides.

Reacting to this, IndiGo put out placards at its counters this week that said: Yes. Air India, there is a difference. Says the Government.

The placard then compares IndiGo with Air India on-time performance and claims Air India had the “worst” on-time performance while IndiGo had the best. IndiGo also had the “lowest” passenger complaints, it said, Air India the “highest” for the month of August for which the aviation regulator has released the data so far.

Air India on Thursday shot off a letter to Mumbai airport, which has been reviewed by Mint. The letter said the airline has not disparaged any airline but only said how its product was better.

“To our shock we found that IndiGo airlines has kept placards on their check-in counters at Terminal 1B displaying Air India in a very negative way, which is not acceptable to us and we at Air India do not believe in such type of negative advertisement for our competitor airlines,” Mukesh Bhatia, regional director (western region) of Air India, wrote in the letter to Mumbai airport’s chief executive officer Rajiv Jain which was also marked to Air India chairman Ashwani Lohani.

The airline asked for removal of the placards. “As per your advise we are in touch with Mr. Balbir Bhatia from MIAL for removal of these placards. You are requested to kindly advise IndiGo Airlines for removal of these placards on urgent basis. We request for your assistance in the matter,” Bhatia said.

IndiGo declined to comment for the story.

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747-237 · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 10:29 am Post subject:

Air India intends to start Madrid w.e.f. 1st December 2016.

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/IS_MAD-509_670.html
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abhijith16 · Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2016 6:58 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Sun Sep 25, 2016 6:51 am Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/agra/Air-India-to-reinstate-service-for-Agra/articleshow/54500843.cms

Air India to reinstate service for Agra

Sep 24, 2016

Five months after stopping flight services to Agra, Air India is set to resume it. The service, which will be three days a week — on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday afternoons — will begin from October 1 till May 2017 and will involve Airbus A320s, which have a capacity of 120 passengers.

Speaking to TOI, Rajiv Singh manager of Air India in Agra, said, "Considering the tourist-friendly season, Air India is set to reinstate the flight service for Agra. The flight will take off from New Delhi and will cover nearly 800 km long journey till Varanasi, before it heads for Agra, covering 610 km distance. The flight will reach Agra at around 1355 hours and will take off for 450 km long journey to Khajuraho at 1430 hours."

The flight will again head for 311 km long journey to Varanasi before heading back to New Delhi.
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 7:04 am Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-takes-potshots-at-indigo-again-ai-union-says-indigo-ad-caused-hurt/articleshow/54515346.cms

Air India takes potshots at IndiGo again; AI union says IndiGo ad caused hurt

Sep 26, 2016

Exchange of barbs between Air India and IndiGo through hoardings at Mumbai airport escalated over the weekend, with the national carrier putting up a fresh advertisement and one of its employee unions threatening action if the low-fare carrier didn't pull down its hoarding.

On Sunday, Air India put up a fresh hoarding : "How do some of our friends react when their passengers discover that we offer more leg space, hot meals and more luggage allowance-?...With INDIGnation!" Also, one of Air India's employee unions said it would take "appropriate action" if an Indi-Go glow-sign targeting the state-owned airline wasn't taken down. "Recent unethical/slanderous advertisement campaign indulged in by 'IndiGo Airlines' at Mumbai airport has hurt sentiments and feelings of employees of the national carrier," Vivek Rao, regional secretary of Air Corporations Employees Union, wrote to Naresh Gowda, a manager at Terminal 1B, which houses low-fare carriers.

Last Sunday, Air India put up a hoarding behind IndiGo's counter at Mumbai airport with the message: "Wish you a comfortable flight. Next time, fly with Air India and feel the difference." IndiGo responded by putting up a standee that said: "Yes Air India, there is a difference. Says the government." Below was a chart showing IndiGo was ahead and Air India lagging in on-time performance, as per DGCA data.

IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said, "Their hoarding is targeting our customers." A spokesperson at Mumbai airport said advertising space allocation is outsourced and issues should be sorted out between airlines and agency.
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:11 pm Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/company/corporate-trends/air-india-toilets-will-now-bear-khadi-soaps/articleshow/54526406.cms

Air India toilets will now bear Khadi soaps

Sep 26, 2016

Air India continues to increase its sourcing from the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), with the latest order coming in for supplying soaps, according to a commission statement.

Air India has placed a big order for supplying 5.75 lakh khadi soap cakes at a cost of Rs 45 lakh with the commission, KVIC said today, adding the latest order from the airline will generate around 20,000 extra man hours for the Khadi workers.

In June, Air India had placed an order worth Rs 8 crore with KVIC to source 1.85 lakh units of amenity kits which are distributed to the First and Business class passengers on the airlines's international routes.

The kits includes Khadi hand sanitisers, moisturiser lotions, lemongrass, handmade soaps, lip balms, rose face wash, essential oils etc.

Earlier in December 2015, Air India placed a trial order worth Rs 1.21 crore from the KVIC to supply 25,000 units of amenity kits which was successfully supplied in a record time of 40 days.

The Air India One, the official carrier of the Prime Minister, has also begun using exclusively Khadi attire for its in-flight staff. Silk sarees, Jodhpuri bandh gala coats, trousers and jackets are being supplied in record time for the PM's aircraft.

All the above orders are secured through competitive tendering and quality checks, thus upholding the value for price nature of Khadi and village industries products, the commission said.

The commission has working on a brand makeover as an extension of its marketing strategy under the guidance of the internationally acclaimed fashion designer Ritu Beri.
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Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

747-237 · Posted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:00 pm Post subject:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/air-india-pilots-told-to-leave-aircraft-only-after-passengers-get-off/story-MlZTPFHAZSQjjeVawjVmJJ.html

Air India pilots told to leave aircraft only after passengers get off

Sep 27, 2016

Air India pilots are facing the heat for being in a hurry to get off an aircraft soon after touchdown. A circular sent out by the airline management last week stated that some pilots were found leaving the plane even before passengers. The note issued by captain Arvind Kathpalia, executive director, operations, warned such pilots to stay put until passengers had left.

“It had been noticed time and again that after landing even before passengers get off the plane, the pilot immediately disembark. All pilots are hereby informed that they must not leave the cockpit till passengers deplane. The same is for strict compliance,” read the circular.

While the practice is not new, the warning has come now after Europe’s aviation safety regulator rapped the airline, said sources.

The issue came to light in the wake of random inspections by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Most proactive regulators across the globe conduct these checks known as Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) on airlines belonging to other countries. Flight crew is supposed to leave the aircraft after passengers as a preventive safety measure, said officials.

This time when EASA inspectors turned up on board some AI flights plying to European cities, they were shocked to find no pilots on board. These inspectors come with a checklist of queries which the pilots are supposed to answer.

“Such checks are common. We have even had FAA (US aviation regulator) inspectors travel as inquisitive passengers who keeping asking cabin crew about how certain safety devices work,” said a retired AI cabin crew personnel requesting anonymity.

DGCA chief BS Bhullar and the AI chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani was not available for a comment.

This was not a stray case of callous behavior by AI pilots. In June, the AI management banned rostering of pilots with spouses, siblings and children but lifted it under pressure from unions. The airline had also warned pilots for refusing flights where they were not paired with favourite colleagues.

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747-237 · Posted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:18 pm Post subject:

http://traveltrendstoday.in/news1/aviation/item/4435-air-india-signs-codeshare-with-air-austral

Air India signs codeshare with Air Austral

28 September 2016

Air India and Air Austral have signed a free flow code share agreement. This agreement will enable Air India to code share on Air Austral operated flights on the Chennai-Reunion-Chennai sector as well as beyond Reunion to/from Johannesburg, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar. Reciprocally, Air Austral will put its marketing code on Air India operated flights beyond Chennai to/from Mumbai, Delhi and Kochi.

Air India, member of the Star Alliance, will offer its passengers flights departing from India to Saint-Denis de La Réunion via Chennai with the Chennai/Saint-Denis flight operated by Air Austral. The passengers of Air India will be able to connect in Saint-Denis on flights beyond to/from Johannesburg, Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar operated by Air Austral.

Seema Srivastava, Executive Director - Strategy and Planning, Air India said, “As a National Carrier and Star Alliance member carrier, Air India feels honoured to enter into this code-share agreement with Air Austral. This agreement will enable Air India to reach out to destinations in the Indian Ocean and Africa. We look forward to expand our relationship with Air Austral in future. Air India already has code share partnerships with 14 other prestigious airlines across the globe and Air Austral will be the 15th code share partner of Air India.”

Air Austral will offer its customers flights from Reunion to Chennai and beyond to/from Mumbai, New Delhi and Kochi on flights operated by Air India. Air Austral has been operating on the route Reunion Island-Chennai-Bangkok since February 19, 2013. From the beginning of November 2016, Bangkok will be discontinued, leaving all the capacity available to the Reunion Island – Chennai service. The code share will initially be implemented on the Reunion-Chennai-Reunion sector from September 16, 2016. Code share on the other sectors is likely to be implemented subsequently.
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abhijith16 · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 7:17 pm Post subject:

Air India commences New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram-Male effective W16

AI263 DEL0515 - 0835TRV0920 - 1005MLE 319 D

AI264 MLE1635 - 1825TRV1915 - 2235DEL 319 D

The aircraft does DEL-TRV-MLE-BLR-MLE-TRV-DEL

Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram-Male will be cancelled from the same date (Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram goes to 1 daily)
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abhijith16 · Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 9:30 pm Post subject:

Air India commences Chennai-Coimbatore eff W16 (this flight is an extension of Delhi-Chennai)

AI429 DEL0945 - 1240MAA1325 - 1420CJB 321 D

AI539 CJB1505 - 1615MAA1700 - 1950DEL 321 D

From the same date - AI will downgauge Mumbai-Coimbatore to an A319.
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justbala · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1898 Location: Bangalore

nadarji · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 305

747-237 · Posted: Fri Sep 30, 2016 7:29 am Post subject:

One of the two ATR 42s is going to be out of service for a while, in the coming month.

Tender for NDT inspection during 36000 Check on ATR 42-320 aircraft VT-ABB
Airline Allied Services Ltd. hereinafter called “AASL”, a 100% subsidiary of Air India Ltd. operates a fleet of 3 CRJ-700, 2 ATR 42-320 and 8 ATR 72-600 aircraft inducted on lease. One of the ATR42-320 Aircraft MSN 392(VT-ABB) fitted with PW 121 Engine is being grounded in Kolkata (India) for carrying out 36,000 cycle inspection. The tentative commencement date is 15th Oct 2016. The planned layover period is 30 days. Offers are invited for carrying out NDT inspection on this Aircraft during the 36000 cycle check

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/NDT-INSP_ATR-42_4513.html
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747-237 · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 10:49 am Post subject:

http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/indigo-takes-ad-war-air-india-s-home-turf-527

Indigo takes ad war to Air India’s home turf

Oct 01, 2016

The advertisement duel between Air India and Indigo reached a personal level, with the private airline posting its advertisement blatantly naming the national carrier at the Mumbai International airport.

The Aviation Ministry said it had taken note of the ad barbs being exchanged, while Air India has termed Indigo’s act to be “unprofessional attitude”.

On September 17, Air India put up a general hoarding on the wall panel behind the Indigo check-in counter stating, “Next time fly with Air India and feel the difference.”

Taking the ad personally, Indigo retorted to the poster on September 22 with a placard of its own stating the on-time performance of Air India was worst while the customer complaints’ were highest for the national carrier.

Two more such ad hoardings were exchanged between the two on September 25 and September 30.

After the ad duel reached the Ministry of Civil Aviation an official said, “The national carrier was asked to first take down its hoarding. They were informed that Indigo would follow suit.”

Air India, which had replied to Indigo on September 25, then removed its hoarding on September 27.

However, two days after Air India took down its posters down (they were removed from the terminal 1B- domestic) Indigo came up with a direct hard hitting poster again, but this time at the international terminal (T2) from where Air India operates on Friday, September 30.

“The national carrier had put up the first advertisement in the arrivals section of the domestic terminal though it operates only from the international terminal. This probably could be the response to the national carrier,” said an official on the condition of anonymity.

Sources confirmed that the ministry had assured Air India that the country's leading budget airline would stop the ad-war once it took off its advertisements from the domestic terminal in Mumbai. The situation on the contrary aggravated with Indigo refusing to let up and came up with another poster on T2. “Air India officials are upset with Indigo as they had removed their posters, yet Indigo went ahead and came up with a poster that stated “stay tuned for more,” said the official.

Both Air India and Indigo spokesperson did not comment on the issue.

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jbalonso777 · Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2016 11:26 pm Post subject:

^^ This is why we can never have nice things. Rolling Eyes

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747-237 · Posted: Mon Oct 03, 2016 3:48 pm Post subject:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-hopes-more-planes-will-get-it-more-market-share-116100300403_1.html

Air India hopes more planes will get it more market share

October 3, 2016

Air India expects the 40 odd new airplanes that it plans to induct over the next two years would help regain lost market share in the domestic market against private players such as IndiGo and Spicejet.

It plans fresh orders of 10 Airbus 320 aircraft to increase capacity, in addition to the 30 aircraft from the European plane maker it has placed orders with.

Ashwin Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India, said: "On the domestic side we have not been able to add capacity till now. In the next one year there is going to be huge induction in domestic capacity by us. Today we have 55 aircraft and connect 68 domestic destination, where as our nearest competition has 100 aircraft connecting just 38 destinations. With fleet expansion will have much more coverage and capacity. We will regain our market share."

Air India has already ordered 29-A320 and will likely to order another 10 more aircrafts. In total, the airline will increase it's fleet size by 30 to 40 in the next two to three years.

Domestic travel has been increasing by 20% in the country, Lohani said that the same trend is likely to continue and the airline has to be prepared.

Along with the domestic sector the airline is also increasing routes in the international sector.

In the last one year, the airline has introduced four new international routes and the coming year it will increase it to six more international routes.

"The focus is on the US, Europe, Singapore, Australia and Bangkok. With direct non stop flights," said Lohani.

The airline had initially ordered 27 dreamliners of which only 21 have joined the fleet. There are six more dreamliners that will join the fleet in the next one year. Besides, this the airline have also three 777 that we have already ordered. So, totally there will be 9 new aircrafts joining the fleet in the next one year and few for the international sector.
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:21 am Post subject:

http://www.asianage.com/mumbai/air-india-s-free-air-tickets-take-600-facebook-users-ride-568

Air India’s ‘Free air tickets’ take 600 Facebook users for a ride

Oct 04, 2016

Nearly 600 profiles on a social networking site fell prey to a spam message that claimed to offer two free air tickets on Air India as the airline was celebrating its 30th birthday on Monday.

Falling for the lure of free tickets, the message went viral on Facebook — having been posted by as many as 600 profiles between 3 pm and 7 pm on Monday.

The airline finally sprung out of its stupor following the mass sharing and took to twitter to deny the existence of such an offer.

“Please note this is misleading information, no such promotion is being offered by AI at this time,” its official twitter handle posted. However, despite the clarification from the national carrier, sharing of the post continued throughout the day.

The message that was posted on Monday and circulated on Facebook read, “Air India is giving away 2 Free Tickets to Celebrate 30th Birthday! Tickets are limited Hurry up.” Also the post carried a comment of the person who had posted it that said, “Thanks for my ticket.”

Pankaj Mishra, a student, whose was one of the profiles to share the link, said as soon as he clicked on the link, a web page opened where he was asked to mention all his details and once that was done, the page got redirected to his own Facebook profile. “I guess Air India is making a fool of us and they are collecting data from phone and FB,” Mr Mishra said.

A top official of the airline told The Asian Age that the website carrying the post did not belong to the airline. “Air India came into existence in 1983, so the celebration of its 30th anniversary is over; hence there’s no question about such an offer,” he said.

Aabha Padgaonkar, a television industry professional, also saw the same link. “When I opened the link it asked me to type my name and number, after which the web page asked me to share the post to get free tickets. After sharing, the page asked me to like it too, and the moment I liked it, the web page showed a message saying ‘if you want to get the ticket, share the post with 15 people’. By this time, I realised it is a fake link, and left the process,” she said.

However, many people feared their Facebook page had been hacked as once they clicked on the link, it automatically appeared on their Facebook walls. Many expressed their fear on Twitter, following which AI responded through its official Twitter handle denying such as offer.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 7:23 am Post subject:

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-ad-war-air-india-gets-government-blessings-to-launch-counter-strikes-on-indigo-2261006

Ad war: Air India gets government blessings to launch counter-strikes on IndiGo

4 Oct 2016

The ad war between Air India and IndiGo is expected to get more intense in the coming days with the civil aviation ministry reportedly giving a free hand to the national carrier for taking the fire to the competitor's camp.

Air India has now asked its four agencies to prepare strong and suitable advertisements which can be used to take on IndiGo in the coming days.
The development comes days after the ministry asked both the airlines to follow restraint and not name each other in the advertisement war. However, later on, IndiGo put up a fresh hoarding at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) and unsettled the 'ceasefire', prompting Air India to re-approach the ministry with a complaint.

When dna had approached Aditya Ghosh, president at InterGlobe Aviation that runs IndiGo for their version on Friday, he refused to comment.

"After the trigger, the ministry has given us the free hand which was otherwise constrained as being a national carrier we could not have gone against the ministry diktat," said an Air India source.

Meanwhile, Dhananjay Kumar, senior manager, corporate communication, Air India said that Air India being the national carrier always behaves with grace and responsibility.

"The advertisements of a low-cost carrier are devoid of grace and display unethical conduct," said Dhananjay. He added that though the options are open, the airline is not contemplating any legal action at present.

The tussle between the two started about a fortnight ago with AI putting up an ad display at CSIA that said: "Wish you a comfortable flight. Next time, fly with Air India and feel the difference" near the IndiGo domestic arrival counter.

IndiGo responded by putting a display that said, "Yes Air India, there is a difference. Says the government." The display further had details about IndiGo's on-time performance and a lesser number of complaints while the reverse was said of AI, based on the data available from aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

Days later, AI fought back with a new display that read, "How do some of our friends react when their passengers discover that we offer more leg space, hot meals and more luggage allowance?...With INDIGnation!"

It did not end there. Aditya Ghosh last Wednesday tweeted that his airline was the first to start an international flight from Chandigarh. Air India officials were quick to correct that Air India Express flight to Sharjah that started on September 15 was the first international flight from the city.

With the pot-shots on each other being reported in media almost daily, it reached the ears of civil aviation ministry with the office of civil aviation secretary intervening and asking both the airlines to keep restraint. Two days later, IndiGo came up again saying, "Air India's billboard behind IndiGo's counters at T1 suggests that their product is better than Indigo's. Sorry, Air India, the government data says… (comparing the on-time performance and customer complaints of both the airlines. On both the parameters, IndiGo was shown having the best while it was reverse for Air India), while mentioning "Stay tuned for more".

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 04, 2016 4:17 pm Post subject:

http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/alliance-air-to-acquire-10-new-planes-to-increase-regional-connectivity-1469969

Alliance Air To Acquire 10 New Planes To Increase Regional Connectivity

October 04, 2016

Alliance Air -- the regional arm of Air India -- is likely to soon sign a pact for leasing 10 new planes as the airline plans to fly to smaller towns under the government's proposed Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).

The state-owned regional airline is at the "final" stages of negotiations with lessors to lease these planes, a source close to the development said.

With major private carriers not evincing much interest so far in the ambitious RCS of the government, it is up to the national carrier to make sure that the scheme is a success.

"The negotiations with the lessors for leasing of 72-seater 10 ATR planes are at final stages and we expect to sign a deal soon," the source said.

It currently has 10 aircrafts in its fleet. Two of them are 42-seater ATRs.

"We aim to have 14 ATRs in our fleet by March next year. As part of this, we will be inducting six new 72-seater ATRs between December this year and March 2017. Some of the 42- seater ATRs are expected to be phased out during this period," the source added.

In January this year, the airline floated bids for leasing of the twin turbo-prop planes for 12 years. This was part of plans to further penetrate into 'unserved' and 'under-served' routes as well as to switch to a single-model fleet.
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:08 pm Post subject:

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/ad-war-in-the-sky-air-india-and-indigo-finally-call-a-truce/story-1JwTCKVepgNYHXjOGIjN4N.html

Ad war in the sky: Air India and IndiGo finally call a truce

Oct 05, 2016

Air India and IndiGo have finally called a truce after taking potshots at each other over the past two weeks in an ad war at the Mumbai airport which had the aviation ministry worried, as it threatened to spill over into a battle between the two airlines.

The national carrier pulled down its advertisement boards at the Mumbai airport on Tuesday evening after which IndiGo followed suit. Sources said the truce was reached after IndiGo chief Aditya Ghosh spoke to Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani and it was mutually decided to remove the advertisement boards.

Officials at the two airlines confirmed that the advertisements at the Mumbai airport had been removed.
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 6:46 am Post subject:

Air India Express has added a new 737-800 to the fleet today, as VT-GHE.
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2016 6:59 am Post subject:

http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-wants-to-rejoin-lobby-group-116100500955_1.html

Air India wants to rejoin lobby group

October 6, 2016

Two years after government-owned Air India (AI) walked out of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA), citing differences in opinion, it has approached the lobby group to return, said three sources.

They say chairman Ashwini Lohani feels it will give more muscle to AI's demands when it approaches the government as part of a group. FIA is now a lobby group of the country’s private airlines, which presses for change in public policy and regulations. At present, IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Airways and GoAir are members, together almost 80 per cent market share. AI's joining will give a shot in the arm to the group, which has been strongly opposing the move for relaxing the 5/20 rule for plying abroad. The rule, described by aviation minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju as anti-business, made it mandatory for an airline to have plied for at least five years and having 20 aircraft before being allowed to fly abroad. It was partially diluted in June, with the norm of five years being removed.

According to a senior AI executive, Lohani has written to the group, “expressing interest to join the group”. “Air India is facing similar issues as the FIA members are, such as high airport charges or oil companies increasing the price of air turbine fuel arbitrarily,” the official said.

However, the official added, AI would be cautious against becoming a party to any case which the lobby group files against the government. FIA is currently engaged in a legal tussle with the government against the decision on reducing charges for extra baggage allowance.

A senior executive of a private airline which belongs to FIA confirmed the AI development. “The FIA board will decide on the request in a special meeting this month,” he said.

AI left FIA in November 2014, citing discomfort on taking a stance against the government and differences among member carriers on policy issues. Rohit Nandan, then chairman of AI, felt they were unnecessarily being dragged to court against the government.

“The airline has independent decision making power. It can make its own judgments for joining or leaving any group,” said an official of joint secretary level at the ministry.

Multiple calls to Lohani were not answerd and text messages not replied to. Ujjwal Dey, associate director of FIA, also did not respond to calls.

FIA was formed in 2006, after a meeting of airline executives of all major carriers, to approach the government on issues related to infrastructure and high taxes in the sector. In 2009, the group organised a strike against the then government.
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747-237 · Posted: Sat Oct 08, 2016 6:59 am Post subject:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/come-oct-16-fly-air-india-around-the-world-in-32-hours/article9198610.ece?homepage=true

Come Oct 16, fly Air India around the world in 32 hours

October 7

From October 16, Air India will give its passengers the option of flying around the world non-stop in about 32 hours. Air India will become the only Indian airline to offer this facility to its passengers.

This follows the airline re-routing its Delhi-San Francisco non-stop flight to fly over the Pacific Ocean on its way from India and returning through the North Atlantic airspace. At the moment the flight, which was started in December last year, operates through the North Atlantic airspace in both directions.

“The aircraft will receive tail winds (which will help push the flight faster to its destination) in both directions. This will help the aircraft reach San Francisco and Delhi in the return direction 90 minutes earlier,” a senior official of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation told newspersons.

The saving in time on the flight will translate into a saving of about 7,000 litres of fuel in each direction, and several crores of rupees for the Maharaja.

The new flight routing has become possible due to certification of new rules for aircraft operating over the Pacific Ocean which were not there earlier, DGCA officials said.

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747-237 · Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2016 6:39 am Post subject:

AICL intends to take on dry lease upto Two (2) new B737-800NG with winglets for period of eight years with an option to extend the lease by four more years. The airline desires to induct these two aircraft latest by December 2017.

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/EY_DRY_LEASE_2016_01.pdf
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Oct 10, 2016 7:27 am Post subject:

http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/companies/air-india-loans-plunge-by-a-third-to-rs-14000-cr/412441/

Air India loans plunge by a third to Rs 14,000 cr

October 10, 2016

Air India has reduced its aircraft-related loans by `6,000 crore, which now stand at `14,000 crore against `20,000 crore at the end of FY16. Airline officials told FE that the airline paid back `6,000 crore of bridge loans recently from the proceeds of sale and lease-back of its nine Dreamliner aircraft, which was conducted at the end of August.

This is the first sale and lease back transaction of Air India without the guarantee of US Export and Import Bank.

The transaction was carried with the guarantee from the government of India and attracted an internal rate of return below 3% due to the improving financials of the company.

The participants in the transaction were Deutsche Bank, Bank of India, Export Import Bank of India and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). “We are happy that this was the first transaction of Air India with the participation of the EXIM bank of India and without the presence of the EXIM bank of United States. Our aircraft related debt will come down but the aircraft rentals will increase as a result of the sale and lease back,” a senior AI official said.

In an another major development, around 10 days back AI conducted the sale and lease back of two more of it Dreamliner for `22.5 crore which was mandated by the First Gulf Bank. This was for the first time that an investment bank from the Gulf region financed the purchase of the aircraft. FE had first reported in July about AI’s plan to reduce its debt by the sale and lease back of its Dreamliner aircraft.

Air India reported an operating profit of `108 crore for the first time in FY16 after its merger with Indian Airlines. According to sources the audited results will be approved by its board of directors at a meeting next week.

During the April-June quarter, Air India reported a passenger growth of 11.5% to 9.575 million. The passenger load factor increased to 81.4% from 78.7% with a capacity increase of 7.3% on account of better utilisation.

The airline has approached the government to convert `10,500 crore worth of long term debt into non-convertible debentures. The management is expected to complete the process within the current fiscal.

Air India has R4,500 crore of interest liability every year. As a result of the conversion of the long term debt in to non-convertible debentures, the airline can save 2%-2.5% of the interest cost. The Union government has so far pumped in more than R22,000 crore in Air India in the past three years out of the R30,000 crore turnaround plan approved by it. According to the data available with DGCA, the national carrier had a market share of 14.6% in August 2016.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 4:47 pm Post subject:

Asiana expands Air India codeshare routes from Oct 2016

Asiana Airlines earlier this month expanded codeshare partnership with Air India, covering domestic service operated by the latter. Approximately effective from 03OCT16, planned new codeshare routes as follow.

ASIANA AIRLINES operated by Air India
Delhi – Ahmedabad
Delhi – Kochi
Delhi – Kolkata
Delhi – Hyderabad

Source: Airlineroute.net
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abhijith16 · Posted: Tue Oct 11, 2016 7:29 pm Post subject:

Air India Express commences 5 weekly nonstop Chennai-Singapore eff 21OCT

IX686 MAA0700 - 1340SIN 73H x24

IX685 SIN1440 - 1610MAA 73H x24
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 5:00 am Post subject:

http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/companies/air-india-express-to-launch-new-flight-to-dhaka-singapore-riyadh/415558/

Air India Express to launch new flight to Dhaka, Singapore, Riyadh

October 12, 2016

Air India Express is set to spread its wings to Bangladesh besides launching new flights to Saudi Arabia and Singapore and increasing its aircraft fleet size to 25 by the end of the next year.

The airline, which posted a net profit of Rs 362 crore in the fiscal 2015-16 for the first time since its launch in 2005, is estimated to have logged a good growth in both passenger numbers and revenue in the September quarter of the current financial year, Air India Express (AIE) Chief Executive Officer K Shyamsunder said.

“We will launch new flights to Singapore from Kolkata and Chennai besides a service to Dhaka from Kolkata. Apart from these, we are also going to connect Saudi city of Riyadh from Calicut during the winter schedule,” Shyamsunder told PTI in an interview from Kochi.

AIE would also connect Dhaka with Kolkata during the winters, he said, adding “a number of other new flights are set to be launched between this month and March next year.”

The winter schedule of the Indian airlines would commence from October 30 and last up to March end next year.

AIE has a fleet of 21 Boeing 737 planes–17 owned and four on lease–and two B-737 are expected to join the fleet by next month, which will take the total number of aircraft to 23.

In addition, Air India Express has recently invited bids for dry leasing of two Boeing 737 aircraft which it plans to induct by December 2017.

“We need them (the two planes) for expanding our operations, though we have yet to finalise the routes or the airports we will fly them to. We will have to wait for the deliveries of these planes,” Shyamsunder said.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 6:26 am Post subject:

Air India, which operates its flights four days a week between Hubballi and Bengaluru, will also become a daily service from November.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/575480/daily-air-service-hubballi-bluru.html
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747-237 · Posted: Sat Oct 15, 2016 6:46 am Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-India-posts-first-operating-profit-since-2007-merger/articleshow/54857103.cms

Air India posts first operating profit since 2007 merger

Oct 14, 2016

For the first time since the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007, the merged national airline has posted an operating profit. The merged Maharaja has reported Rs 105 crore operating profit in FY 2015-16 as costs have come down due to a fall in oil prices and because of increase in passenger revenue owing to sharp rise in domestic air travel.

Air India had posted an operating loss of Rs 2,636 crore in fiscal 2014-15.

Fuel prices falling by almost 24% contributed significantly to this turnaround. However, the AI officials said the operating profit came due to improved efficiencies and enhanced network as lower fuel prices meant lower fares so that effect was nullified. Ticket yield fell by almost 8%.

Air India carried 1.8 crore passengers in 2015-16, up from 1.6 crore in the previous year

In 2015-16, the Air India revenue fell to Rs 20,526 crore from Rs 20,613 crore in 2014-15. Indicating improved operating performance, Ebitdar (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rentals) rose to Rs 3,587 crore in last financial year, from Rs 1,436 crore in 2014-15. Due to currency fluctuations, the Air India incurred a forex loss Rs 350 crore in 2015-16.

"It is not correct to say that our operating profit came due to fall in oil prices alone. Of course, that has helped but we have focussed on adding routes, enhancing network and improving services to attract passengers. Aircraft utilisation has gone up. All these factors, including oil, helped us report the profit," said an official.
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ryder1650 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554

DEL-SFO is now taking a Pacific route. FlightAware shows the flight went southeast to Myanmar and then northeast to PVG. From here it followed the usual flightpath of a PVG-SFO flight.

This week the tail winds on the Pacific have been especially strong, so the flight took only 14:30. However, distance wise, this flightpath deviates highly from the GC route. The flight was 9381 miles versus a 7701 mile GC route. Yes, I know DEL-SFO would have to deviate significantly from GC route regardless due to the Himalayas. My question is, though, was this routing done purely because of strong Pacific winds and will future flights go more polar via the Pacific?

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/AIC173/history/20161015/2200Z/VIDP/KSFO

747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 8:02 am Post subject:

http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/air-india-to-staff-stick-our-ads-on-windshields-of-your-cars-3088681/

Air India to staff: Stick our ads on windshields of your cars

October 18, 2016

AIR INDIA’s new brand promotion drive is set to take off — on roads across the world. The national carrier has asked all its employees, around 22,000 of them, to paste stickers of print ads of its new schemes on their rear windshields.

The decision was conveyed to the airline’s offices worldwide in the form of a circular issued on Friday. Confirming details of the new strategy, Dhananjay Kumar, senior manager, corporate communication, Air India, said, “It is a good way to promote our brand and our employees should do this.”

Sources said the airline had initially decided, after a meeting of a special committee formed to formulate a new promotion strategy, that officers of senior-manager grade and above, who claim fuel reimbursement, would be mandated to paste these stickers on their vehicles. The move was cleared by Air India’s chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani who was briefed by the committee Wednesday.

“The decision to involve all employees was taken on Friday as the airline wanted to ensure maximum reach and save money by not issuing advertisements for the same scheme several times. From now, after issuing an advertisement for a new scheme once, they will be promoted through stickers on employees’ vehicles,” sources added.

“A senior official in Delhi has dispatched copies of the stickers and asked all general managers concerned to distribute them in their offices,” they said.

Lohani had recently directed the management to work out a new strategy to promote the brand as several people were unaware about newly launched schemes, said sources. “A special committee, comprising the Air India management, was then formed. It informed the CMD that despite placing several advertisements in the media, the target customers were still not aware about various initiatives and still have a bad image of Air India,” said one source.

The airline has already placed an order with its advertising agency to print 8,500 stickers of their latest ad and asked departments within the administration to monitor compliance through “surprise checks”.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 10:28 am Post subject:

http://www.vccircle.com/infracircle/government-review-air-indias-aircraft-orders/

Government to review Air India’s aircraft orders

October 18, 2016

In an attempt to prepare state-run Air India to execute the regional connectivity scheme (RCS), the government plans to evaluate and review the carrier’s new aircraft orders.

The national carrier is set to expand its fleet and add 100 more planes to its current fleet of 118 planes in the next four years.

According to a senior civil aviation ministry official, who requested anonymity, Air India’s subsidiary airlines—Air India Express and Alliance Air—along with the flagship carrier may get more aircraft than initially mooted.

The ailing air carrier last week reported a net profit of Rs.105 crore, a first in the last 10 years.

Air India has five 70-seater ATR 72-600 aircraft, three 48-seater ATR 42-320 turboprop planes and three CRJ700 planes—all on dry-lease. It also has 66 narrow-body planes, which largely caters to domestic routes and some nearby foreign destinations, and 41 wide-body aircraft, bringing the total count to 118.

Another aviation ministry official, who also did not want to be named, confirmed that a high-level meeting is being planned to evaluate the market demand and scrutinise the requirement to compete with the private carriers and stay afloat.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Air India has a current market share of 15%. In comparison, IndiGo, has a 39% share of the Indian domestic market.

The government will also take into account the requirement of small planes which the airline will need to partner in the RCS project as private carriers have shown little interest to operationalise the scheme which aims to make air travel accessible to remote areas.

“Air India would operate small ATR planes on some of the RCS routes initially to create demand,” according to an Air India official who requested anonymity.

The RCS has been set up under the New Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, and the government plans to develop or revive a total of 60 airports during the first phase spanning the next three years. Overall, the scheme targets to connect around 390 airstrips.

The second aviation ministry official explained that the airline will opt for leasing, unlike the 111-aircraft order of United Progressive Alliance-I when planes were bought.

On 13 May, newspaper The Times of India had reported Air India will have 232 planes by March 2020.

Air India also has 20 planes lined up for induction in its fleet by 31 March 2017.

Air India is currently running on a Rs.30,000 crore bailout package under the financial restructuring plan. This is in addition to Rs.3,200 crore equity for the airline’s turnaround plan approved by the erstwhile Planning Commission in May 2012.

Queries emailed to the ministry of civil aviation and Air India on 17 October remained unanswered.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 12:05 pm Post subject:

Air India Charters Ltd. is in the process of replacing the existing economy class seats on its owned seventeen B737-800 aircraft with new economy class seats.

1. No. of Aircraft : 17
2. No. of seat places per aircraft : 186 (Triple Seat, six abreast)
3. In Flight Entertainment System : WiFi IFE Streaming System
4. Upholstery : e-leather ( Centre seat SL3UL 2405 RED 023 and Side Seats SL3UL 2687 RED 023 )
5. Weight : not to exceed 36 kg for a triple seat dressed with e-leather.

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/Tender%20-%20AICL%20new%20economy%20seats%20186%20-%2017%20aircraft.pdf
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 18, 2016 4:14 pm Post subject:

Air India Express adds Chennai – Singapore link from Oct 2016

Air India Express later this week is launching additional route to Singapore, with the offering of Chennai – Singapore route.
From 21OCT16, the airline will operate this route 5 times a week, with Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

IX686 MAA0700 – 1340SIN 73H x24
IX685 SIN1440 – 1610MAA 73H x24

This is the airline's overall 2nd route to Singapore.

Source: Airlineroute.net
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