Airliners-India.com

Karan69 · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 1334

Just saw the regular AI Billboard at Juhu Beach in Mumbai,

It strangely advertised this

"Now Daily to Chicago" and below that "On our brand new Aircraft"

I thought they were daily to ORD for a while or was it 6 weekly?

I dont know the logic behind advt an additional weekly frequency rather than service to Dulles

Karan

avbuff · Member Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

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

Air India reportedly announced it is considering plans to purchase a USD36 million hub control system from Sabre to manage the operations of its fleet of 140 aircraft (Live Mint, 03-Dec-2009). The new system would also reportedly assist Air India to fully merge its IT system with the former Indian Airlines.

Sri_Bom

karatecatman · Guest

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

"Air India and Indian Airlines currently don’t have a common reservation or booking system."

Isn't that just mind-boggling?

karatecatman · Guest

Update

Air India is firming up plans to reduce the fleet further, either as outright sale or lease of aircraft. Latest to join the list will be upto 3 A310Fs being offered for outright sale with spare engines, tooling.

Nimish · Posted: Fri Dec 04, 2009 10:21 pm Post subject:

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

karatecatman · Guest

TIMES OF INDIA
AI may be first to move into IGI’s new terminal
Neha Lalchandani
TNN
4 December 2009
NEW DELHI: Air India might be the first airline to move into the new integrated-terminal, T3, when it becomes operational in April 2010. The
terminal is near completion and Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) officials say that by March 31, the building will be ready. Full operations are likely to commence by July 1.

Sources said that talks are on with Air India for it to move both its international and domestic operations to the terminal in April itself and take part in the operational readiness and airport transfer (ORAT) trials that will be carried out for three months before the terminal is opened to all other airlines. By the time it is functional, it will house all international airlines and the full-cost carriers. The new domestic departure terminal will then function as the first exclusive low-cost carrier terminal in the country.

According to DIAL officials, most of the construction work is now over at T3 and finish touches are being given to the interiors. A team of officials from the ministry, NHAI, DJB, Delhi Transco and directorate general of civil aviation visited the site on Wednesday and were reportedly quite happy with the way the building had shaped up.

"We are aiming to move all airline at the new terminal before the Commonwealth Games. An official decision on which airline will move in when will be taken once all work is complete at the building, but we want that all of them should shift there before October 2010,'' said an official in the ministry of civil aviation.

Air India officials confirmed that they had been approached to move into the terminal for the ORAT trials. "If the plan goes ahead, our domestic and international operations will shift to the terminal by March. It actually may be much better for us to have all our operations together in one building rather than spread out. We will also have better access to the new runway. However, being the first to work out of the new terminal, we will also have to bear the brunt of its teething troubles,'' said the official. The national carrier is also the official airline of the Commonwealth Games 2010.

747-237 · Posted: Sat Dec 05, 2009 2:03 am Post subject:

AI is selling two A310 converted freighters, after converting & repainting into new colors.

http://mmd.airindia.co.in/aimmd/tender/MM_A310-300_2009_SALE0.html

karatecatman · Guest

New Air India COO likely by January, says Jadhav
STAFF WRITER

Mumbai, Dec 5 (PTI) National air carrier Air India today said it is likely to get a new Chief Operating Officer from January next year.

"It is in the process... I think we will be calling a meeting shortly... hopefully by January-end you should see a new COO," National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) CMD Arvind Jadhav told reporters here.

NACIL is the holding company formed after the merger of Air India and erstwhile Indian Airlines.

Air India had embarked on a time-bound operational and financial turnaround plan, which envisages pruning costs, increasing yields and making profits. This appointment is part of the carrier's initiative to bounce back in black.

The COO will be in charge of the airline's day-to-day affairs and work under the NACIL CMD.

karatecatman · Guest

AI proposes cut in expat pilots' wages
STAFF WRITER

Mumbai, Dec 6 (PTI) Under pressure from its pilot unions, Air India is understood to have proposed a 10 per cent cut in the salaries of about 150 expat pilots currently on its rolls.

"The managment has proposed a 10 per cent reduction in the salaries of the expat pilots," sources familiar with the development said, weeks after the pilots unions demanded compatibility between their pay package and that of foreign pilots.

In addition, the managment is also considering slashing the bonuses of foreign pilots by 50 per cent and stopping the reimbursement of their travelling allowances, they said.

Currently, there are around 810 expat pilots employed by five airlines--Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

Air India alone has around 153 pilots, besides 1,253 Indian pilots and about 200 trainees.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

http://www.airlinequality.com/Forum/air_india.htm

Latest review of Air India on Skytrax mirrors what I and others have experienced, even on the new Air India - inconsistency and a poor eye for details. And the critic really hits on the issue of whi isn't this service adequately advertised? Well, perhaps its because the people at Air India are: (a) idiots; (b) don't care; (c) want to make $$$ off of an ad budget; and (d) all the above. Personally, I'll go with (d).

Moreover, even in First and Business Class, the presentation of food and drinks is often not quite to the mark in part because many of the cultural norms involved in serving wines and meals by courses are alien to many Indians. One can't really blame the cabin crew if they're not trained adequately. After all, one isn't born with the inate knowledge of grades of caviar and wine pairings (what red goes with an Indian meal, for instance). You have to learn it, and then learn to appreciate it. It appears that the folks who have been training AI cabin staff are clueless, and therefore the cabin crew are too (I remember an incident in which upon asking the "chief" airhostess what the white wines were on that day's flight being told that they were "nice" wines. I asked her to bring the bottles, and had to give her a quick lesson on the wines, one of which was definitely not "nice.").

Also serving desserts and salads with plastic cling wrap on the bowl does not equate to a First or J class experience. I know that some European carriers like SAS do it, but no reputable Asian, Gulf, or for that matter even average US carrier does. Frankly, AI can't afford to.

I can't comment on the poor IFE offerings although I've read comments indicating dissatisfaction with AI's IFE on several forums. Apparently its very Bollywood heavy, but not everyone wants Bollywood (not even all Indians).

Nimish · Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:49 am Post subject:

I don't think AI's really serious on a turn around - they're happy to plod along and hope that the GoI will bail them out every year while they enjoy life!
_________________
We miss you Nalini!

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Nimish · Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2009 10:39 am Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

In response to an RTI application, NACIL had said it paid Rs 93.29 crore towards salaries and expenses to the agencies which provided expatriate pilots to Air India and Air India Express in the last fiscal.
Of this, Air India paid Rs 46.63 crore (USD 93,27,644.23) and AI Express spent Rs 46.66 crore (USD 93,33,732.11) on expat pilots.
The expat pilots are paid through approved agencies which are given a monthly fee.
Air India hires its expat pilots from global hiring agencies like Rishworth and Sigmar.
As per the reply to the RTI application, NACIL had said a Boeing-737 commanding pilot is paid USD 10,000 while a B-777 commanding pilot USD 12,700, a B-747 and Airbus A-310 commander pilot USD 8,750 as salary.
They also get a yearly bonus of USD 12,000, USD 13,000 and USD 15,000 on completion of one, two and three/four years in service respectively.
In addition, the company spends up to Rs 7,500 per day to accommodate foreign pilots in hotels and provide chauffeur-driven air conditioned cars for non-flying duties as well.
With a total staff strength of 30,505, the airline is targeting to lower its total manpower costs from Rs 839 crore in the first two quarters of the current financial year to Rs 650 crore in the next two quarters, official figures show.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 12:09 am Post subject:

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

karatecatman · Guest

That's the new 777 seats. Has the cut-out light clearly visible.

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Well, here’s a link to the report at FT: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/airlines-india/1024037-trip-report-air-india-lhr-yyz-executive-class.html

It was a recent trip, on one of the new 77Ws, and the meal pic seems to be of the main dinner service from Toronto to London (the writer picked the veggie meal).

Some more disappointing pics:
Amenity kit (note the old logo):

Business class seats:

It is interesting that the writer keeps saying that the all of the hardware (seats, meals, IFE) were disappointing, but wouldn’t complain because of the fare paid.
_________________
four years free of jetya punti!

karatecatman · Guest

http://www.centaurhotels.com/

Revamped!

karatecatman · Guest

http://www.flickr.com/photos/airindiasucks/
Rolling Eyes

jasepl · Member Joined: 26 Jul 2008 Posts: 4257 Location: bund-bay

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

karatecatman · Guest

ECONOMIC TIMES
AI's entry into Star Alliance: India lags in fulfilling norms
9 Dec 2009

PTI

MUMBAI: Problems relating to Air India joining the Star Alliance are likely to be discussed by the airline CMD, Arvind Jadhav, who is in Brussels to
attend a meeting of the global airlines body.

"Jadhav is in Brussels where Brussels Airlines is joining the Star Alliance. The issue of Air India's entry into Star Alliance is expected to figure in his interactions with the officials," NACIL (National Aviation Company of India Limited) sources said here today.

The national carrier's entry into the Star Alliance was okayed in December 2007, but its formal admission into the elite club of major global airlines has been deferred time and again due to a host of requirments not being fulfilled.

The airline has set a deadline of June 2010 for its formal entry into the alliance, which is an inter-line commercial pact among world carriers to providing passengers wider choices for air travel and related facilities. Other competing alliances are the One World and SkyTeam.

Among the major requirements which Air India has to fulfill is the common flight code, which continues to be AI for Air India and IC for the erstwhile Indian Airlines even two years after their merger. A single code is required for an airline to serve several purposes, including ticketing.

While Air India has claimed that most of the requirements have been fulfilled, another major issue relates to the selection of a new reservation system or PSS which is "critical" to the process of joining the Star Alliance.

Selection of firms to work on this new system is yet to take place though the tender evaluation was completed two months ago, they said.

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Wed Dec 09, 2009 11:51 pm Post subject:

We all know it. It's not going to happen. Air India can remain in the Star Alliance list of "Potential Future member" due to join in 2010. 2011. 2012. 2020. Forever. And thanks to the pressure tactics of the GoI, Jet can't join Star as well.

In the meantime, crappier airlines like Garuda and Egypt and Ethiopian are getting membership in a matter of months. Heck, one fine day, you might see Biman join Star. But AI and IC will most definitely not.

I find it amusing when aviation analysts not from India begin a sentence by saying "That sounds good! maybe when AI joins star, we can see........"

Will you look at that! Crying or Very sad

_________________
Yeah.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

Please, Ariana Afghan Airlines will join Star Alliance with its two 1970 era Boieng 727s before AI/IC.

Star should just tell AI to go sod off, terminate its offer, and then extend it to Jet, or for that matter Kingfisher or any other Indian carrier.

Nothing is happening or will happen at AI. It's a hair's breath from being a lost cause. I bet that the reason the presentation of that J Class meal on the LHR-YYZ flight was so poor was because AI's staff have stolen half the new product and because the other half never showed up even after payment, AI's babus and their contractor friends having split the profits between them.

sammyk · Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 7:53 am Post subject:

I wonder if they asked Jet or KF first but were declined.

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject:

circleglobe · Member Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 709

Regarding the meal discussion, in fairness, catering quality and quantity seems to be on the decline, even in business class, across many airlines. A number of A.net trip reports attest to this. Particularly so on those nighttime departures out of India.

Nimish · Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:30 am Post subject:

Nimish · Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:33 am Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

ATW
Air India faces hurdles ahead of Star Alliance join
December 11, 2009

Air India Chairman and MD Arvind Jadhav expects the carrier will become a Star Alliance member sometime between June and October 2010, he told ATWOnline in Brussels, although an alliance executive told this website that questions remain concerning AI's readiness.

"Making fleet updates, a merger and preparing the carrier for the alliance all at the same time is a difficult task. We will see if AI is able to make it," the Star source said.

Indeed, the integration of the old Air India and Indian Airlines, which began in July 2007, still is going on. "But a lot of work has been done," said Jadhav, who took up his position at AI last spring. "We are in the process of phasing out 46 aircraft, including our A310s and 747 Classics. Through 2011 our fleet should be trimmed from 156 to 125 aircraft." The airline is undergoing an intensive restructuring and is hoping for a INR4 billion ($85.2 million) equity infusion from the government next month (ATWOnline, Nov. 1 Cool

.

Jadhav also said he is skeptical about the future of AI's order for 27 787-8s. Boeing has promised first flight by the end of the month. "We are waiting for data from the 787's maiden flight on its performance. This is crucial for us [in making a decision about whether to stick with the order]. By now we should already have the first 787 in our fleet." Asked about an interim solution or whether AI will consider the A350, he said, "We are looking at it," but added that no decision is imminent. He did not offer details on when AI expects their first 787.

One of Jadhav's main strategies to revive AI is creating more independent spinoff subsidiaries in areas such as MRO, cargo and ground handling. He claimed it would make the airline more efficient and said that an independent MRO facility will be able to handle up to 300 aircraft per year, including for third-party customers.

Another factor that would enable AI to be more alliance friendly is addition of the third terminal at Indira Gandhi International in Delhi. To this point, the infrastructure at Indian airports has made it difficult to establish the sort of hub operations that facilities like Dubai, Singapore and Munich offer (ATWOnline, Dec. 9). "In October or November 2010, the new DEL airport facility should be ready," he said. "The problem had always been that the two main airports [Mumbai and DEL] had never been integrated so AI could support hub traffic." He cited Jet Airways' decision to operate a hub in Brussels and AI's operation in Frankfurt as examples of how Indian carriers have adapted.

Jadhav said he hoped that joining Star, the new terminal at DEL and next October's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will change the carrier's fortunes. "Then, you will see a new AI," he said.

by Kurt Hofmann

Spiderguy252 · Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 1:09 pm Post subject:

Well, if AI is looking at the A350 and dumping the 787s, there goes there compensation too!
_________________
Yeah.

Jaysit · Member Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346

karatecatman · Guest

FINANCIAL EXPRESS
Air India gets extension to join Star Alliance

Surabhi Agarwal
Dec 12, 2009

New Delhi: State carrier Air India has managed a further extension of its deadline for joining Star Alliance, one of the largest airline networks globally, to December 2010. Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav told FE from Brussels that Air India can now join the alliance by December 2010, as the deadline has been further extended from the earlier June 2010.

A common code for Indian Airlines and Air India is the major roadblock in way of the carrier's entry into the alliance, the membership of which was accepted two years ago, in December 2007. “The contract for the IT integration of the reservation system of both Indian Airlines and Air India will be awarded by the end of this month. Both the airlines are expected to operate on a common code between June and October next year,” he said.

The failure to join the Alliance has invited a lot of flak, as the carrier’s entry can give a significant boost to its operations. None of the other domestic airlines are part of any global airline alliance so far.

Aviation sector experts say Air India’s membership of the Star Alliance, which has over 20 members, including leading airlines Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Thai, United Airlines and Air Canada, could significantly boost its traffic, both internationally and domestically. It will also open new routes for the airlines, along with significantly upping its brand image and passenger experience.

As reported earlier, global travel distribution company Amadeus and home-grown travel giant Sita have bid for the IT integration project. As per reports, though Air India has decided on the company, it is yet to award the final contract.