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The_Goat · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 3:40 pm Post subject:

IMHO, BOM -IKA would work better than DEL-IKA.
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I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl

Caliguy · Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2016 7:48 pm Post subject:

yashkhullar · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2014 Posts: 44

Can anyone explain AI's logic of switching between 77l and 788 on the LHR route? Earlier 161/2 was on the 77l then 111/2 then back to 788 and now again the 77l. Is it because AI's having trouble dealing with high utilization of 788s or they need the extra lift in terms of cargo or extra business class seats on that route?

abhijith16 · Posted: Sun Nov 13, 2016 6:57 am Post subject:

aeroblogger · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 11:28 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 12:40 pm Post subject:

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Air India seems to be going in for Wireless IFE,

I was going through their tender for 2x 737-800s for AIX released on 7th november,

On page 5 under Technical requirements

it says "IFE System Panasonic eXW – WiFI IFE Streaming system "

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/Tender%20for%20two%20new%20B%20737%20aircraft%20lease%20%207th%20nov%202016.pdf

Quite good if it goes through

Karan

747-237 · Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2016 6:58 pm Post subject:

http://www.ptinews.com/news/8092996_Air-India-to-induct-two-A320-neos-in-January.html

Air India to induct two A320 neos in January

Nov 18

Air India is all set to take delivery of its first more fuel-efficient A320 neo aircraft in January next year.

As it works on ways to turn around its fortunes, the airline is looking to ramp up the fleet with more fuel-efficient A320 neo (new engine option) planes.

The national airline will only be the third local carrier after IndiGo and GoAir to operate A320 neos.

Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani today said two neos will be coming in January 2017.

In March this year, Air India signed a pact with the Kuwait-based ALAFCO for leasing 14 A320 neos and the delivery of these planes is to start from early next year.

Further, in June, the carrier had sought bids for dry leasing of seven new A320 neos for up to 12 years.

Currently, the Air India group has a fleet of around 135 planes, including nearly 70 from Airbus.

Four classic A320s of the total 15 aged aircraft are expected to be moved out of the fleet in 2016-17. The remaining ones will be phased out in a time-bound manner over the next 2-3 years.

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abhijith16 · Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2016 4:49 am Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2016 1:10 pm Post subject:

http://www.ptinews.com/news/8097824_UDAN-push--Alliance-Air-set-to-induct-10-ATRs.html

UDAN push: Alliance Air set to induct 10 ATRs

Nov 20

Air India's regional arm Alliance Air has finalised the agreement for leasing 10 new turbo-prop planes as it gets ready to fly to unserved and under-served airports under the government's regional connectivity scheme.

The national carrier is anticipated to be a significant player in the ambitious UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik) scheme -- that seeks to boost regional air connectivity as well as make flying more affordable for the masses.

Gearing up for more regional flights, Alliance Air has been working on expanding its fleet by leasing more number of 72-seater ATRs.

A senior official said Alliance Air has finalised the agreement for leasing ten new ATRs or turbo-prop planes.

Currently, Alliance Air has 10 ATRs and two of them are 42-seater ones.

It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India and operates 39 point-to-point air services daily to 34 cities from six base stations -- Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Bhopal. Majority of its destinations are tier-II and tier-III cities.

Earlier this year, Alliance Air had invited bids for leasing of the twin turbo-prop planes for 12 years.

From its current fleet, the airline plans to phase out a few aircraft and replaced them with new planes.

With some of the leading private carriers yet to evince keen interest in UDAN, the government is banking on the national carrier for the initiative to be a success.

For UDAN -- which would based on both subsidised and market-based pricing mechanism -- fares would be capped at Rs 2,500 for one-hour long flights.

In this regard, the government has set up the Regional Connectivity Fund (RCF) -- that would be 80 per cent financed by the Centre and the rest by respective states.

An amount of up to Rs 8,500 would be levied on every flight in major routes to fund UDAN. The levy, effective December 1, would be for an entire flight and the price of each ticket could go up depending on the number of seats in that particular flight.

"The levy for an up to 1,000 kilometre length of scheduled flight will be Rs 7,500 per flight, Rs 8,000 for a 1,000-1,500 km flight and Rs 8,500 for flights above 1,500 km," Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said earlier this month.

It would be applicable only on scheduled domestic flights operating on major routes and excludes regional flights.

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the proposed levy is a small amount but can go a long way in bringing more travellers and cities to the Indian aviation network.
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:28 am Post subject:

http://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/251116/air-india-clips-wings-of-25-obese-female-cabin-crew-members.html

Air India clips wings of 25 obese female cabin crew members

Nov 25, 2016

Air India has grounded 25 of its female cabin crew members for being ‘obese’. The national carrier’s chairman and managing director (CMD) Ashwani Lohani had in an internal meeting, in June this year, told 110 overweight crew members to maintain the body mass index (BMI) prescribed (see box) by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) within six months’ time.

The aviation regulator’s guidelines state that ideal BMI for a woman cabin crew member should be between 18 to 22, while for males it has to be between 18 and 25. According to the latest statistics, of the 110 overweight Air India crew members, 60 were found to be obese. Twenty five of the obese crew members — all women — from all over the country have now been grounded, meaning that they are debarred from flying and are being given ground staff duty.

Mr Lohani said, “We are being more strict about the crew members’ BMI, as they had been given time to achieve the required BMI. With the shortage of around 1,800 crewmembers, we have recruited 300 crewmembers and are in the process of hiring 300 more people for cabin crew.”

The airline in 2015 decided to ground 125 of its crewmembers due to the same issue, but had to revoke its decision owing to staff crunch. The airline’s medical services department had, in 2015, written to the DGCA asking it to relax the norms, as the average age of the crew was around 45 years.

The DGCA on May 2, 2014 had issued guidelines on ideal BMI for male and female staffers. According to them an overweight person is to be declared temporarily unfit and grounded from flight duty. They would, however, continue to be employed as ground staff. If they remain overweight even after 18 months, they are to be declared permanently unfit and terminated from service. The crew have to undergo a medical examination once every four years till the age of 40. This increases to once every two years thereafter, till the age of 50, and once a year for staff older than 50. A senior member of the All India Cabin Crew Association said, “Conducting a medical test every year is wrong and unlawful. It should be done every four years till the age of 40 and so on, but this is not being done. Instead, every year they come up with these tests. We have written a letter to the DGCA raising the issue.”
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:33 am Post subject:

Incident: Air India Express B738 near Kochi on Nov 23rd 2016, suspected tail pipe

Thursday, Nov 24th 2016

An Air India Express Boeing 737-800, registration VT-AXZ performing flight IX-885 from Mangalore (India) to Dammam (Saudi Arabia) with 131 passengers and 9 crew, stopped the climb out of Mangalore at FL250 and diverted to Kochi for a safe landing about 60 minutes after departure.

The aircraft remained on the ground for about 3 hours, then departed, climbed to FL360 and reached Dammam with a delay of 4 hours.

Kochi's Cochin Airport reported the aircraft diverted to Kochi reporting a suspected tail pipe fire, that was observed about 8 minutes after departure from Mangalore. The aircraft could not return to Mangalore due to landing weight considerations explaining that due to the fuel needed to reach Dammam the gross weight of the aircraft would have required a longer runway than available. After landing there was no evidence of any engine (CFM56) related fire. The aircraft was examined and released to continue the flight.

Source: avherald.com
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2016 4:54 pm Post subject:

Air India intends to induct on dry lease upto 7 new A320NEO aircraft powered by CFM LEAP-1A26 Engines for a period of maximum upto 12 years.
Deliveries of aircraft are sought by Air India on or before 30th June 2018.

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/Tender%20Document.pdf
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luvleen · Member Joined: 02 Jul 2012 Posts: 179 Location: Bombay

Air India has 'great expansion plans': Ashwani Lohani

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-has-great-expansion-plans-ashwani-lohani/articleshow/55653315.cms

747-237 · Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 7:43 am Post subject:

In the coming year, the airline plans to commence three of its new direct flights from Mumbai. Also, as part of its plans to expand its network, AI would be adding a total of 14 Airbus 320 aircraft and 20 ATRs (small aircraft). The airline also plans to add six wide-body aircraft (bigger aircraft) and around 300 pilots to its fleet.

http://www.asianage.com/metros/mumbai/291116/air-india-to-expand-wings-with-24-new-planes.html
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Nov 29, 2016 7:53 pm Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/aie-board-grants-approval-to-codeshare-pact-with-air-india/articleshow/55688811.cms

AIE Board grants approval to codeshare pact with Air India

Nov 29, 2016

Air India Express (AIE) board today granted its approval to a proposal, seeking a one-way codeshare pact with the parent Air India for some select destinations.

The board, which met here today, also accorded its permission to the airline to launch air services to Iranian capital Tehran from early next fiscal, sources said.

"Air India Express Board has given its green signal to the airline to operate codeshare flights with Air India. It has also given its approval to the proposed air services between New Delhi and Tehran from early next fiscal," sources privy to the information told PTI here.

The pact would allow AIE to sell tickets and book passengers from the cities from where it does not fly, they said, adding, "Codeshare flights with Air India will be operated from 5-6 tier-II cities to begin with."

Sources also said that with the approval for Tehran flight in place, Air India Express may launch the service to the Iranian capital city as soon as by April next year.

Earlier Air India used to fly to Tehran before it opted out of the route in the 1990s due to the political instability in the region at that time.

AIE Chief Executive Officer K Shyamsundar had also month said that most of the issues pertaining to the launch have been sorted out and the airline was in the process of finalising a General Sales Agent (GSA) and cargo handling firm for this purpose.
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Nov 30, 2016 11:33 am Post subject:

Air India / EVA Air begins codeshare service from Dec 2016

Star Alliance members Air India and EVA Air plans to commence reciprocal codeshare partnership, covering flights between India and Taiwan, via 3rd point in South East Asia.
Planned codeshare service commencing on 01DEC16, covering following routes.

Air India operated by EVA Air
Taipei Taoyuan – Bangkok
Taipei Taoyuan – Singapore

EVA Air operated by Air India
Mumbai – Bangkok
Mumbai – Singapore

Source: Airlineroute.net
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747-237 · Posted: Thu Dec 01, 2016 12:03 pm Post subject:

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/air-india-to-operate-more-international-flights/article9403353.ece

Air India to operate more international flights

Dec 1

Air India not only plans to operate to more international destinations but is to also increase frequency to existing international destinations that it operates to, Pankaj Srivastava, Commercial Director, said late on Wednesday night.

The airline is looking to start operations to the Scandinavian region with plans to launch flights to either Copenhagen or Stockholm. By the middle of next year, he announced at a function called to mark the start of services to Madrid. The three times-a-week non-stop flight begins operations on Thursday. On the anvil are also plans to connect India to Israel and Tanzania and Kenya in Africa, Srivastava announced.

Air India is also considering starting a flight connecting Mumbai to Hong Kong. The airline also plans to enhance the frequency of flights between not only India and Shanghai but also to Melbourne and Sydney.

The airline is looking to add more international destinations to its route network as it taking delivery of more Boeing 787 aircraft more popularly called the Dreamliner. The aircraft being delivered currently are part of a 68 Boeing aircraft order which Air India had signed in January 2006.

Madrid is the 42 international destination that Air India operates to. The start of the Madrid flight will offer passengers not only to many parts of India but also to Bangkok, Kathmandu, Colombo and other destinations through Delhi.

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747-237 · Posted: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:33 am Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/surat/AIs-morning-flight-gets-water-cannon-salute-at-Surat-airport/articleshow/55735271.cms

AI’s morning flight gets water cannon salute at Surat airport

Dec 2, 2016

The Air India's Airbus A-320 from Delhi was welcomed with a water cannon salute by Surat airport authorities here on Thursday morning. When AI's AI493 Airbus arrived at Surat airport with 75 passengers, in keeping with the tradition around the world, it was given a water cannon salute.

If this was not enough, members crusading for better air-connectivity lined up at the waiting area of the airport to welcome the passengers who arrived in the inaugural flight from Delhi. Members of airport groups like Surat Airport Action Committee (SAAC), who are happy with the AI for fulfilling its promise of providing morning Airbus flight between Delhi and Surat, distributed roses and sweets to the passengers.

With this, the AI has taken back the ATR aircraft in the morning session operated by its partner airline Alliance. Now, there are two Airbus aircraft between Surat and Delhi in the morning and evening schedule. However, the AI will continue to run Surat-Mumbai operation with the small aircraft.

Sources said the airport groups have been demanding that the AI rationalize the airfare on the Delhi-Surat sector and provide a level-playing field to the passengers compared to Vadodara and Ahmedabad.

SAAC president Sanjay Ezhawa said, "We were demanding morning Airbus flight since the past so many months. With the morning Airbus operation, Surtis travelling abroad and returning early morning at Delhi airport will be able to fly directly to Surat. But, still we are demanding that the AI make the airfares attractive to get more passengers."
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arpitgupta · Member Joined: 01 May 2016 Posts: 17 Location: Delhi

Does anyone has info as to how many passengers boarded the inaugural DEL-MAD AI 135 and it's return leg on 1st Dec. Couldn't find any info regarding this. Anyone ?

747-237 · Posted: Mon Dec 05, 2016 7:24 am Post subject:

"We will be taking delivery of the 23rd Boeing 787 Dreamliner on January 9 and hope to have the last batch of four more Dreamliners by the end of this fiscal year. That will have us completing the process that started more than a decade ago in 2006," Air India finance director Vinod Hejmadi told PTI.

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/air-india-to-get-23rd-dreamliner-in-jan-last-4-planes-by-mar-116120400502_1.html#
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Dec 06, 2016 8:23 pm Post subject:

http://www.ptinews.com/news/8157870_Alliance-Air-to-start-Delhi-Bhatinda-flight.html

Alliance Air to start Delhi-Bhatinda flight

Dec 6

To boost regional connectivity, Alliance Air will start flight services from the national capital to Bhatinda, Punjab, from December 11.

The airline, a wholly-owned subsidiary of national carrier Air India, would have the services thrice a week -- Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Seventy-seater ATR-72 aircraft would be utilised for the services.

"The flight will depart from Delhi at 1215 hours and reach Bathinda at 1345 hours. The return flight 9I 622 will fly out from Bathinda at 1415 hours and will reach Delhi at 1545 hours," Air India said in a release.

It would be a boon for the city as currently there is no air connectivity offered to passengers from Bhatinda, the release said.

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747-237 · Posted: Thu Dec 08, 2016 11:49 am Post subject:

http://www.aviationpros.com/press_release/12285292/lufthansa-technik-proves-landing-gear-mro-for-air-indias-boeing-777-200-300-fleet

Lufthansa Technik to Provide Landing Gear Support for Air India's Boeing 777-200/300 Fleet

Dec 7, 2016

Air India and Lufthansa Technik have entered into an agreement for the maintenance and repair of the carrier's Boeing 777-200/300 landing gears. The four-year contract covers a total of 15 shipsets. The maintenance and overhaul work will be performed by Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services UK (LTLGS) located in Hayes, London, in the United Kingdom.

Zang Thio, Vice President Corporate Sales South East Asia and Australia at Lufthansa Technik, commented: "We are very proud to extend our customer base in India with the country's flagship carrier. I am certain that with our extensive level of experience, we will meet our customer's expectations both in terms of quality and reliability."

The first Boeing 777-200/300 landing gear delivery to Air India also marks an important milestone for LTLGS - the 50th Boeing 777-200/300 landing gear overhaul by LTLGS since 2013. This amounts to a market share of approximately 70% in the currently anticipated global market.

Sandra Eckstein, Managing Director of Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services UK, commented: "All of us here at LTLGS are honored to celebrate this important milestone in our operations and we are delighted to add Air India to our existing customer base, which includes major Boeing 777-200/300 operators from Europe, the Middle East and Asia".
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Dec 09, 2016 4:13 pm Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Air-India-to-deploy-Boeing-747-jumbo-jet-on-Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi-route/articleshow/55891846.cms

Air India to deploy Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet on Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi route

Dec 9, 2016

Air India said on Friday that it will deploy its iconic Boeing 747 jumbo jet for one flight on the Delhi-Mumbai route from next Wednesday.

"AI to operate Queen of the Sky Boeing 747 on Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi from December 14," the airline said. The Boeing 747 will take off from Delhi at 8 am and the return flight from Mumbai will take off at 7 pm.

Aviation minister Jayant Sinha had recently told TOI that given the crunch situation at Mumbai Airport which does not have any free slots to accommodate more flights, the government may allow only wide body aircraft, even for domestic flights, to operate in the peak morning and evening hours to ensure more people get in and out of the Mega City in those maximum demand periods.

"For Mumbai, we are examining how to adjust landing slots. The most important morning and evening slots may be given to the biggest aircraft so that more people can travel in and out of the city at highest demand times instead of narrow body," Jayant Sinha had told TOI.
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yashkhullar · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2014 Posts: 44

http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/come-april-amritsar-to-birmingham-flight/335311.html

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

This kind of pressure is AI's bane, primarily.
4 times a week DEL-BHX was an external push as well, which actually came as a pleasant surprise, and hasn't done too badly, primarily due to the Dream)liner's economics.
DEL-SFO isn't doing too badly, and came about in a very short time due to the earlier thorough homework AI had done on the route.
AMD-LHR-EWR will not do that badly, due to the demographics involved.
DEL-KNU, or the relatively unused AT7-6 based in HYD: Hmm...
In most cases, AI is trying to make the best out of what is thrust on the airline, with figuring out the best aircraft type for the ops, and trying to work the schedules to make things as nice as possible.
Cheers, Sumantra.

theflyingsikh · Posted: Sun Dec 11, 2016 11:55 pm Post subject: Air India First

AI is offering their F cabin on the 08:00 (B 747-400) Del-Bom flight in Jan for flat INR 15000/- all taxes included.
Amazing value in my opinion.
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deaphen · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 933 Location: India

747-237 · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 7:59 pm Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/Air-India-Express-plans-daily-Karipur-Riyadh-flight/articleshow/55930015.cms

Air India express plans daily Karipur-Riyadh flight

Dec 12, 2016

Passengers from Malabar, hit by the lack of adequate air connectivity to Saudi Arabia, can relax as Air India Express (AIE) is planning to increase flights from Karipur to Riyadh from four a week to seven. AIE had commenced its direct flights to Riyadh from December 2 and is operating a Boeing 737- 800 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Airline authorities said that the huge response from passengers for the newly-launched service made them think of turning it into a daily service. "We are trying to put in place the necessary infrastructure to operate daily flights from Karipur to Riyadh soon," said an AIE official.

Expatriates from the region working in the Saudi cities of Riyadh and Jeddah had been hit following the ban on operation of wide-bodied aircraft from the airport due to runway safety concerns from May 1, 2015 onwards.

Following the ban, Air India and Saudi Arabian airlines had to suspend their jumbo flights to Riyadh and Jeddah from Karipur.

Currently the only existing flight from the airport to Saudi Arabia is the AIE flight to Dammam.
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ameya · Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2016 9:22 pm Post subject:

Air India launches Kanpur & Bhatinda in quick succession

National carrier Air India launched flights from its Delhi hub to Kanpur,Uttar Pradesh and Bhatinda, Punjab in quick succession. The thrice weekly flights will be operated by Air India’s fully owned subsidiary Air India Regional/Alliance Air (IATA: 9I, ICAO:LLR) by deploying ATR-72 aircraft.

The flights on Delhi Kanpur Delhi sector were operational on Sunday 10th December and would operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. AI9801 will depart Delhi at 1215hrs and reach Kanpur at 1340hrs while AI9802 will depart Kanpur at 1410hrs and reach Delhi at 1535hrs.

Air India has operated flights to Kanpur with CRJ700 when it operated Delhi – Kanpur –Allahabad – Delhi flights. The flights had ceased operations over a year ago.

The flights on Delhi Bhatinda Delhi sector were operational on Monday 11th December and would operate on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. AI 9621 will depart Delhi at 1215hrs and reach Bhatinda at 1345hrs while AI 9622 will depart Bhatinda at 1415 hrs and reach Delhi at 1545hrs.

Kanpur is the most populous city in Uttar Pradesh, with a population even higher than capital Lucknow as per 2011 census. With Lucknow airport, which is bigger and has International connectivity, just an hour and half away from Kanpur by road, the city has never had a serious shot at dedicated flights. Flights to Kanpur will land at Kanpur – Chakeri. The 9000 ft runway at Kanpur is operated by Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) – which also has an Engine and Aircraft manufacturing Unit.
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sumantra · Member Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi

747-237 · Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 8:05 am Post subject:

http://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/ai-vistara-wish-to-be-part-of-fia-but-blocked-by-indigo-sources/473383/

Air India, Vistara wish to be part of FIA but blocked by IndiGo: Sources

December 13, 2016

National carrier Air India and startup carriers AirAsia India and Vistara are keen to be part of the domestic airlines group FIA but a member of the group is allegedly blocking their entry in the club, sources said. At present, Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir are the members of the FIA.

According to industry sources, FIA is sitting “pretty” on Air India’s request for a re-entry in the grouping since more than six months now, allegedly due to resistance from IndiGo, they said.

“The application of AirAsia India and Vistara for acquiring its membership is also pending since a long time. IndiGo has some personal agenda against these airlines and so it does not want them to be in the grouping,” the sources said.

IndiGo, however, has denied the charge, saying it has no authority to prevent any airline from joining the industry body, Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA).
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:09 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Dec 19, 2016 7:32 am Post subject:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/airport-constraints-force-ai-to-carry-less-fuel-on-mumbai-us-route-add-halt-at-vienna/articleshow/56056631.cms

Airport constraints force AI to carry less fuel on Mumbai-US route, add halt at Vienna

Dec 19, 2016

Mumbai's severely constrained airport - and its obstacle-filled surrounding - is proving to be a damper for long haul flights out of the mega city. Air India has a daily nonstop on Mumbai-Newark route. But it has now started taking a technical or fuelling halt at Vienna for this flight as the full length of the runway is not available and the airline says some hoardings and tall trees are yet to be removed and pruned, respectively.

"Due to these constraints, our 342-seater Boeing 777-300 extended range (ER) deployed on this route is not able to take off with a full load from Mumbai for the almost 16 hour flight to Newark (airport in New York's neighbouring New Jersey). A number of factors have led to this technical halt - full length of runway not being available; obstacles in take off flight path and bad weather at destination due to which we need to carry more fuel," said a senior official.

The Mumbai Airport did not comment on the story till the time of filing this report.

Apart from AI, American carrier United is the only other airline to fly nonstop from Mumbai to US and these two are the longest flights out of Mumbai. United deploys a Boeing 777-200 long range (LR) on this route. This aircraft is still flying nonstop as this aircraft has larger fuel tank and seats fewer people, due to which its full load is lesser than AI's ER.

AI has for a long time been raising the issue of obstacles around the Mumbai airport with authorities due to which it constantly faces issues in operating the B 777-300 ER on this route with a full load. About two years back it used to fly with a "load penalty" - meaning with 80 seats empty and less cargo -to be able to fill up fuel required for the nonstop journey. But with this flight reporting good occupancy, AI decided not to offload passengers - and lose money -but take a fuelling halt in Vienna. "The authorities in Mumbai have done majority of the things that need to be done to clear obstacles around the airport like removing hoardings. But that work has not been done fully and some hoardings still need to go, apart from some trees requiring pruning," said a senior AI official.

The airline had earlier complained about these "safety risks" to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation around Mumbai Airport.

*EDIT : The journalist has screwed up his 777 variants ! Rolling Eyes

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Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Where exactly are these hoardings and trees that would prohibit a fully loaded 77W from taking off?

At the end of the runway, you have the Western Express Highway (nothing express about it, but nevertheless that's it's historical name), hundreds of small marble vendors, and low rise apartment blocks (8-10 stories). These are all higher than any tree or hoarding.

yashkhullar · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2014 Posts: 44

Looking at flightradar, it was just one off halt. Does AI plan to stop regularly in VIE or was this a one off situation. The article says that about 2 years back AI used to block 80 seats. Does this mean that they stopped doing this 2 years ago or it has been going on for the past 2 years? Also AI put the 77w on this route exactly 3 years ago.

AI has done this in the past too by stopping in FRA once or twice due to excessive leftover bags and full occupancy. AI should either fly non-stop or discontinue the route cause the only competitive advantage AI has over the much better one stop options is the convenience factor of a direct flight.

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

yashkhullar · Member Joined: 20 Nov 2014 Posts: 44

747-237 · Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2016 6:51 am Post subject:

http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/air-india-new-york-flight-leaves-behind-passengers-luggage/1/838419.html

Air India mismanagement again! Flight to New York leaves behind passengers' luggage

December 19, 2016

An Air India flight -- AI 191 -- to New York that took off from New Delhi carrying 277 passengers, flew to its destination leaving behind luggage of all the passengers.

The incident happened on December 17. The Air India flight is from New Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to New York's Newark Liberty International Airport with a stop over in Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport.

A passenger of the flight, Monica, confirmed the news to India Today.

Talking to India Today, she said: "I boarded the flight from New Delhi and I think the luggage was loaded as well. We had a stopover at Mumbai, and that's where the luggage was left behind."

She also said that the airlines informed the passengers that they will take at least four to five days to bring the luggage to New York.

As Air India makes another error, passengers are stranded without warm clothes, medicines, important documents and even credit cards left behind in their airline baggage.

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