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karatecatman · Guest

Update

Thai is supposed to be in back channel negotiations with Jet and Air India for upto 3 777s. But Air India is pushing for leasing 6 aircraft (3ERs AND 3 LRs).

Nimish · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 8:51 am Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

INDIAN EXPRESS
Step-by-step privatisation of Air India likely
Smita Aggarwal
Mar 08, 2010

New Delhi : Faced with accumulated losses of Rs 7,200 crore, national carrier Air India’s deteriorating condition has forced the government to push for privatisation of the carrier. While the UPA government does not favour strategic sale, the civil aviation ministry and the Air India management are likely to consider a piecemeal approach to privatisation.
Officials in the civil aviation ministry told The Indian Express that a background note on the company’s financials was being prepared for the Union Cabinet. “The options before the Cabinet will be limited. And privatisation will definitely be one of the logical options,” an official said. Just a fortnight ago, the airline was faced with the prospect of a shutdown with state-owned oil marketing companies (OMCs) refusing to extend credit, the officials said. The OMCs bills had piled up to Rs 2,000 crore and they threatened to put an almost bankrupt Air India on a cash and carry basis.

Air India executives who did not wish to be quoted said the government may adopt a step-by-step approach towards privatisation. To start with, non-core businesses such as Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO), ground handling and engineering services can be hived off. “These revenue and profit generating business units will reduce Air India’s staff strength of 31,000 by about 15,000. The units are likely to fetch a positive valuation between Rs 6,000 crore and Rs 8,000 crore,” said an executive. Air India has two MRO joint ventures with Boeing and Airbus and a ground handling joint venture with Singaporean firm SATS, thus taking at least half of the employees off Air India’s rolls.

Within the Union Cabinet, which has been asked to decide on the politically sensitive issue of wage cuts of employees, privatisation is being favoured by a section. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel himself may suggest roping in a strategic investor as an option when Air India is discussed in the Cabinet, ministry officials said. “The idea has gained currency within the government,” an official said.

The Prime Minister, however, is learnt to be against privatisation of the national carrier. Even when the Air India management, backed by the civil aviation ministry, favoured a shutdown when pilots struck work, the Prime Minister intervened to stave off a crisis. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee too is not in favour of any strategic sale of PSUs.

The Air India management, however, feels a gradual move towards privatisation will work with the government. “There is hardly any other option in front of us,” admitted a civil aviation ministry official on the issue of privatisation of Air India. The carrier has reached the stage where it is doubtful if salaries could be paid at all in near future, the official added.

The airline owes around Rs 2,800 crore to its various vendors, including oil companies as on date. The airline rushed to banks recently to raise Rs 1,000 crore after the board which includes two government appointees, approved enhancing working capital limit from Rs 17,000 crore to Rs 18,000 crore in its meeting in February. Finance Minister Mukherjee-led Group of Ministers (GoM) overlooking Air India’s progress, was expected to arrive at a decision on wage cuts. After an unsuccessful attempt to pare wages last year, the airline had approached the GoM for their approval. Instead, the GoM referred the politically sensitive matter to the Union Cabinet, delaying the recovery of the carrier.

However, it approved the release of first bailout installment of Rs 800 crore, which later received the cabinet’s nod. A provision of Rs 1,200 crore that has been made in the Union Budget 2010-11, would be released if Air India brings down the wage bill from current levels of Rs 3,500 crore per annum, the carrier was told by the GoM. The carrier had projected savings of Rs 800 crore by implementing wage cuts. Even though the carrier has been able to curtail losses by Rs 125 crore during April-December 2009, on the cost-cutting front it has been able to squeeze Rs 700-800 crore against a target of Rs 2,000 crore till March 2010. Any further saving is contingent upon the rationalisation of wage agreements, ministry officials said.

karatecatman · Guest

con spirito · Member Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 577 Location: Inflight

karatecatman · Guest

NDTV PROFIT
'Merger pushed Air India deeper into red'

Press Trust of India, March 7, 2010 (New Delhi)

The merger of Air India with Indian Airlines and that of Kingfisher Airlines with Air Deccan has resulted in a massive increase in their losses, according to official figures.

The losses for the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), which runs Air India, more than doubled from Rs 2,226.16 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 5,548 crore in 2008-09.

Similarly, Kingfisher's losses rose almost four times from Rs 408.91 crore to Rs 1,602 crore during the same period, the figures have shown. The 2008-09 losses for liquor baron Vijay Mallya's airline were recorded after its merger with low-cost carrier Air Deccan.

Likewise, the combined losses of Jet Airways and its fully-owned subsidiary JetLite or erstwhile Air Sahara rose from Rs 695.10 crore to Rs 1,032.7 crore.

Besides merger, very high fuel costs, the global economic downturn and comparatively low yields due to heightened competition also contributed to the rise in their losses, which have been estimated by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to account for one-third of the losses of the global aviation industry.

But the government has defended its decision for merging the two state-owned carriers saying that the combining their critical mass or size would be a key factor in helping them survive and prosper amid a fierce global and domestic competition.

While Air India planned several cost cutting measures to save Rs 1,911 crore, it later projected a synergy benefit of Rs 996 crore over a two-year period.

The official figures showed that an amount of Rs 503 crore have been realised in the first year of the integration process.

In this background, a Parliamentary Committee recently said that even if NACIL managed to cut costs and generate some amount of revenues, "it may not be able to service the huge liability created due to debt repayment and interest payment" for purchasing a total of 111 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus.

The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture, headed by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury, recommended that in such a situation, "the entire aircraft purchase of the NACIL may be funded by the government as soft loan as a one-time measure."

karatecatman · Guest

INDIAN EXPRESS
Clipping Jadhav’s wings
The Indian Express
Mar 08, 2010

Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav seems to have run into rough times at the Civil Aviation Ministry, including with minister Praful Patel. He is said to have irked everyone with his “go-alone approach”, with Patel taking offence at Jadhav flying off to Ireland recently without informing him or his office. Though he later found out that a clearance had been obtained from the office of the Civil Aviation Secretary, Patel was said to be furious. He shot off instructions that all aviation PSU heads would have to get prior clearance from his office before proceeding on any foreign tour now on. With four independent directors having been appointed now, Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan hopes to keep a better watch on Air India’s affairs

This was to discuss the Dublin hub plan!

Nimish · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:43 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 7:10 pm Post subject:

Air India has retired an Airbus A310. VT-AIA "Tapti" (in ner colors) has been ferried to Roswell, NM for storage. She was acquired from Singapore Airlines in 2004.
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747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:10 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:16 pm Post subject:

http://netindian.in/news/2010/03/08/0005671/air-india-operates-22-all-women-crew-flights-mark-womens-day

Air India operates 22 all-women crew flights to mark Women's Day

National carrier Air India today created history of sorts when, at a little past midnight last night, the first all-women crew ultra long-haul Boeing 777-200 LR non-stop flight from Mumbai to New York was flagged off by Civil Aviation Secretary Madhavan Nambiar.

Flight AI 141 was the first of 22 all-women crew flights operated by the airline across its domestic and international network to mark the centenary of International Women's Day today.

Capt. Rashmi Miranda and Capt. Sunita Narula were the Commanders on AI 141, along with Capt. Swati Rawal and Capt. Neha Kulkarni as First Officers. Mrs Harpreet A De. Singh, Head-QMS carried out a Line Observation Safety Audit. The flight was despatched by Ms. Nandita Deshpande and the Load and Trim Sheet was prepared by Ms. Ferzin Kuruvilla. The duration of this flight is approximately 14 hours and was operated with two sets of crew.

An Air India press release said the airline had 136 women pilots flying its fleet on international and domestic routes. Hundreds of women are also employed as cabin crew, flight despatchers, aircraft maintenance engineers, safety and quality auditors, doctors, technical officers, simulator maintenance engineers, ground instructors for training pilots and so on.

Women constitute nearly 19 per cent of the total workforce of National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL), the company formed in 2007 to run Air India after its merger with Indian Airlines.

According to the release, all women crew operated five other flights on international sectors today. These were the Airbus A330 flight AI 801 on the Mumbai – Jeddah sector operated by Capt. M Bedi and Capt. Sonia, the Airbus A310 flights AI 815/816 on the Hyderabad-Dammam-Chennai sectors flown by Capt. Trisha Mohan and Capt. Thanmai Papagari, and flights IC 573/574 on the Chennai – Colombo – Chennai route operated by Capt. Deepa and Capt. Sonia Jain.

On the domestic sectors, the Western Region had six flights – IC 686/IC 614 (Mumbai - Ahmedabad – Mumbai), IC105 / IC 106 (Mumbai – Bangalore – Mumbai) and IC 129 / IC 130 (Mumbai - Nagpur - Mumbai).

Capt. S. Deshmukh, Capt. Sangita Bangar and Capt. L. Nagrath were the Commanders and Capt. Rikita Singh, Capt. Deepali Pratape and Capt. Aprajita Lal were First Officers, respectively. The flights were despatched by Ms. Anjali Dhiman and the Load and Trim Sheets were prepared by Ms. Archana Patki.

Similarly, the airline’s Northern Region had as many as 10 all-women crew flights. These were IC 688/866 (Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi) by Capt K.Kant and Capt Shefali; IC 869 (Delhi-Raipur-Nagpur-Delhi) by Capt Avantika and Capt Deeksha; IC 409/410 (Delhi-Patna-Delhi) by Capt Renu and Capt S.Trehan; IC 879 (Delhi-Bagdogra-Guwahati-Delhi) by Capt N.Karmarkar and Capt K.Kaur ; IC 903/904 (Bangalore-Delhi-Bangalore) by Capt Priya and Capt Niranjana; IC 865 (Delhi-Mumbai) by Capt Manjit and Capt Neelam and AI 349 (Delhi-Mumbai) by Capt N.Bhasin and Capt Papory. Ms Babita Agarwal and Deepika Mathur prepared the Check Sheet and Ms Rita Chandra prepared the Trim Sheet.

Ms. Neetu Sharma who is an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) on the B737-800, in Air India Express, certified an aircraft at Sharjah. Lady Doctors Dr Varsha Sawant and Dr Alka Mathur carried out the breathalyzer tests at Mumbai, the release added.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:26 am Post subject:

Looks like 2 IC A320s are in the process of being scrapped at BOM.

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDEwLzAzLzA4I1BjMDAyMDY=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 5:34 am Post subject:

AI yet to ground fuel-guzzling jets
Manju V I TNN

Mumbai: Air India’s five B747-400 aircrafts were to be phased out from commercial flying in the first week of January as the cost-conscious airline had planned to replace them with fuel-efficient models. Three months down the line, the jumbo jets are yet to call it a day despite the fact that these 436-seater, fuel-guzzlers fly with barely 36% of its seats occupied.

If you have ever wondered what it is like to have the iconic jumbo with humplike upper deck all to yourself, then board the 45-minute AI 963 Kochi-Calicut flight operated by the B747 one of these days. For about Rs 3,000, it’s like a private flight of sorts. The aircraft burns over 5 tons of fuel to fly between these two cities. It’s almost like a ferry flight.

“Parking space is not available in Calicut airport for more than two hours, so the aircraft flies to Kochi where it has a ground halt for 6-7 hours following which it flies to Riyadh. We don’t get passengers on this route, though tickets can be bought for this flight,’’ said an airline source. It’s in the Kochi-Riyadh leg that the threeclass configured aircraft sees about 150-170 economy class passengers. “The jumbos never get more than 170 passengers on board these days,’’ the source added. The AI spokesperson sought more time to comment on the issue.

Other routes operated by AI’s B747 also throw up similar tales. The 75-minute Hyderabad-Kochi AI-864 flight gets about 10-15 passengers. “In the last one year, the airline has not got even one full-fare paying first class passenger on flights operated by its B747,’’ the source added. It turns the economics of operating the jumbo on its head. “AI’s competitors to Middle East, the foreign airlines, get first and business class passengers and can afford to bring down the cost of an economy class air ticket,’’ the source added. Though AI hardly gets premium passengers, the airline still has to follow suit and offer cheap economy fares to stay in the competition. “The airline should have deployed smaller capacity aircrafts with better fuel efficiency on these routes. They know operating B747s on these routes is not economical and so they had planned to phase these jumbos by January. The longer the plan takes to be implemented, the greater the losses,’’ the source added.

The airline had six B747s in its fleet (three leased, three owned, the first one introduced in 1993). One B747 is grounded, which leaves five jumbos and these fly to Riyadh and Jeddah catering to the economy class customers from Mumbai, Kerala and Hyderabad. One of the round routes it operates is the Mumbai-Riyadh-Thiruvananthapuram-Kochi-Calicut-Kochi-Riyadh. The other flies between Mumbai, Jeddah, Hyderabad and two cities in Kerala. High fuel burn coupled with low occupancy on these routes mean the per passenger carbon di-oxide emission on these flights are much higher than those operated by other airlines. The airline was to lease out all the B747s, except three, which were to be used to operate VIP flights. Keeping with the plan, the airline had last month terminated the service contracts of 30 pilots flying these aircraft.
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ryder1650 · Member Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554

With those loads why are they not flying a narrow-body?

con spirito · Member Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 577 Location: Inflight

karatecatman · Guest

ECONOMIC TIMES
No coherent revival plan for Air India
9 Mar 2010
G Ganapathy Subramaniam
ET Bureau

Like most government initiatives, the Rescue Air India operation is full of good intentions, but lacks the radical punch necessary to put the
national carrier on a planned flight path.

In theory, infusion of additional equity and induction of independent directors should help the airline find its way back to the black. But the truth is, setting the problem right will not be simple. First, the government has taken too long to clear the Rs 800 crore equity infusion for Air India (AI), and neither the airline nor the bureaucracy is clear when and how another Rs 1,200 crore would be provided to the Maharajah.

As discussions dragged on, the national carrier has run up much more losses than what the government has provided for and is likely to provide in the near future. As of now, there is no indication that the royal mess is getting cleaned up. Without a clear game plan for revival, Air India is simply drifting like Alice in wonderland.

The most important reason for lack of direction is the classic case of too many cooks. There is a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, an inter-ministerial group that is essentially a committee of secretaries, the civil aviation ministry that traditionally ran the airline, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Cabinet Secretariat and a bunch of consultants.

While the GoM is the ultimate authority, people in the company and the civil aviation ministry talk about the personal interest taken by prime minister Manmohan Singh in revival of AI, and how this got PMO pulled into action. Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar is also in the picture with civil aviation secretary Madhavan Nambiar and AI chief Arvind Jadhav consulting him on key issues. Then there are numerous consultants like Booz and Company advising the airline.

More alarming is the fact that AI does not even have a functional director handling the key commercial portfolio. It is an open secret that some of the functional directors are not handling the functions for which they were originally appointed. No wonder there are too many unhappy seniors in the AI system. While some are indifferent, others have chosen to go to court or simply stay out on leave. Worse, middle level executives are demotivated and the junior staff clueless why they are heading deeper into disaster.

For cost-cutting to succeed, the AI management needs to send out a clear message that the airline is doomed if every employee does not give up a bit.

Personal interests should not prevail over the future of the company and that can be ensured only if the entire team carried along. The pilots strike fiasco is a golden example. First, extensive consultations with the pilots should have resulted in a building a consensus on wage cuts. If that was possible, the management could have avoided taking them head on. Going to the brink only to capitulate did not do any good to the management.

Rather than look outwards for inspiration, AI should look within to win the battle. A consultant can say with conviction that the airline can come back to the black if loads were good, yields high, fuel prices benign, employee costs low and taxes moderate. Do you need a consultant to give such obvious advice? It will be amazing if the AI management cannot find people in the company who do not know better. The human resources the company has should be tapped. If the management feels that the top directors are not up to the mark, then they have to be asked to go. There is no point in having idle minds.

Who calls the shots should also be made clear. Rather than allow people to play politics within the numerous power centres involved, all sections of the government need work together to sort out the mess. The responsibility and roles of the the civil aviation ministry, the GoM, and the newly-appointed board should be clearly spelt out. That the new AI board does not contain people like NR Narayana Murthy, Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, KV Kamath or Deepak Parekh is a disappointment.

Considering the Satyam saga, Anand Mahindra will bring in inspiration, but that alone will not be enough. Yet, it is good that we have a new dispensation as opposed to the earlier situation where the company did not have any independent directors.

Sooner than latter, the management has to face the bitter truth. The first challenge will be to take the entire organisation on board to cut wages and downsize without causing a strike. The government, being the owner of the company, should send out a loud message that funds will not continue flowing.

While resources should be generated by selling some assets including real estate, AI could show resilience by running its operations efficiently – stop revenue leakage, run flights on time and save every penny possible. The resultant improvement would help in ultimate privatisation of the airline, which could be the only practical way to run the company as a profitable entity, emulating the likes of Jet, IndiGo and SpiceJet.

karatecatman · Guest

LIVEMINT
AI seeks to spin off two units, cut salaries

Air India wants to turn its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business and cargo operations arm into separate units
Tarun Shukla New Delhi:

Air India proposes to spin off two units as part of a plan to be sent to the Union cabinet that will also propose wage cuts and set out the financial state of the troubled national carrier, said two civil aviation ministry officials.
Air India wants to turn its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business and cargo operations arm into separate units, said one of the two officials. The separate balance sheets may lower losses on Air India’s books.

The second official said the plan would be firmed up by the ministry this week. Both officials didn’t want to be named because they aren’t authorized to speak to the media.
The proposed pay cuts may help Air India, run by the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), meet cost reduction targets.
“There has to be a cut, it could mean a saving of Rs500-700 crore depending on the cuts made,” the first official said.

The airline, weighed down by accumulated losses and debt, had in 2006 placed a Rs50,000 crore order for 111 aircraft. It owes Rs16,000 crore towards working capital loans.
Air India was granted Rs800 crore in equity infusion by the government but was denied an additional Rs 1,200 crore by a group of ministers (GoM) this year because it failed to meet cost-cutting targets. The matter was then referred to the Union cabinet by the GoM.
One view in the ministry is to look at the possibility of a “consortium of public sector banks, financial institutions or industries” being brought in as strategic investors, the officials said. Whether this proposal would be contained in the draft plan to be placed before the cabinet isn’t known.
Over the next four years, Air India needs to repay the principal and interest on aircraft loans besides the working capital loan of Rs 16,000 crore, according to an airline official who asked not to be named.

karatecatman · Guest

Sent through Air India

RAJYA SABHA
March 9, 2010

National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) is expected to incur a loss of Rs.5400 crores approximately during the year 2009-10. It had incurred a loss of Rs.2226.16 crores and Rs.5548 crores during the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09 respectively. The trend of losses is likely to continue for few more years.

NACIL has initiated action as part of the turnaround plan alongwith cost reduction and revenue enhancement programme focusing on Fleet Rationalisation, Route Profitability, Manpower Rationalisation and Structural Changes. The cost reduction/turnaround plan envisages benefits of Rs.1911 crores for the financial year 2009-10. However, NACIL has implemented various initiatives which will only result in savings of Rs.753 crores in Financial Year 2009-10.

Air India’s total outgo on lease rental payments for 2007-08 was Rs.717.20 crores, for 2008-09, Rs.811.00 crores and for 2009-10 (upto February, 2010) Rs.759.25 crores respectively.

The outstanding fuel dues of NACIL till the end of January, 2010 was Rs.1741 crores. The Government had advised NACIL to clear these dues expeditiously.

Additional measures to enhance revenues are part of the turnaround plan. These will includes measures to enhance yields and improve load factors that have remain depressed in the recent years. Additional measures to cut costs including wage rationalization and other expenses are also part of the turnaround process.

These informations were given by the Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel in written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.

d3vski · Posted: Tue Mar 09, 2010 4:38 pm Post subject:

How comes every pilot in India is referred to as a "Capt"?

This stupid glorifying arse licking is getting ridiculous.

Ill give you an example: Ive seen an internal Kingfisher email welcoming new staff. It had a list of about 20 trainee pilots and they were all referred to as "Capt".

Capt. Singh joins with 231 hours, he likes flying, computers.

Capt. Joshi joins us with 300 hours, she likes chess

Capt. David joins us with 241 hours, he likes blah blah

Surely if someone has about 300 hours, they cannot be a "Capt". I only mention this because all the Air India press releases about all women flights seem to indicate that they have no First Officers on their books.

or is it something similar to what people in the medical profession call themselves. e.g.

Dentist is referred as a DR
Pharmacist is referred to as a DR
Physio therapist is referred to as a DR
compounder will graduate into a DR
Homeopath is a DR

karatecatman · Guest

Patel said, the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines had entered into lease agreements with lessors in accordance with international norms.

“At the end of the lease, some lessors are very strict in applying lease return conditions to the minutest detail, while others have a more practical approach in receiving the returned aircraft,” he said, adding, “No action against any employee of NACIL was warranted.”

Patel said that the total outgo on lease rental payments for 2009—10 (up to February 10) was Rs 759.25 crore. During 2007—08 the outgo was Rs 717.20 crore and in 2008—09 it was Rs 811 crore.

On the outstanding fuel dues of NACIL, the Minister said, it was Rs 1,741 crore. “The government has advised NACIL to clear these dues expeditiously,” he added.

747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:52 pm Post subject:

Aseem · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ

747-237 · Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 10:28 pm Post subject:

karatecatman · Guest

ECONOMIC TIMES
Higher passenger nos help AI narrow down operating losses

10 Mar 2010
PTI

MUMBAI: A healthy 14 per cent jump in passenger traffic during the April-January period of this fiscal has helped the ailing national carrier Air
India bring down its operating losses by around Rs 1,300 crore, according to a senior airline source.

The national carrier clocked a healthy 14 per cent jump in passenger traffic during the period over the corresponding period of last fiscal, besides improvement in yields, the source, who wished to be unidentified, told PTI here today.

"The airline has shown significant improvement in both financial as well as physical parameters in the April-January period over the same period last fiscal," the source said.

As a result, Air India's operating losses came down by around Rs 1,300 crore, the source said.

However, the airline spokespersaon could not be reached for comments.

It can be noted that there is still a long way to go for the national flag-carrier to fly out of the financial airpocket as it is projected to end this fiscal with a massive Rs 5,400-crore loss--entering the third successive year of loss-making.

During the reporting period, the airline's load-factor or passenger carriage also jumped to 64.9 per cent as against 58.5 per cent in the April-January 2009, the source said.

The airline's passenger carriage rose by 14 per cent at 10.24 million in the first nine-months of this fiscal, the source said, adding, "during the period, passenger traffic on domestic routes increased by 19.1 per cent while on the international routes it was up by 8.1 per cent."

***

Air India to introduce direct flight to Dehradun
STAFF WRITER
New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI) Air India is introducing a daily direct flight from here to Dehradun from March 28, when the summer schedule comes into effect.

The national carrier will be operating the flight with a 46-seater ATR aircraft, which will depart Delhi at 10.10 am and reach Dehradun at 11.10 am. On it return leg, the flight will take off from Dehradun at 11.35 am and reach Delhi at 12.35 am.

"The timing of the flight had been kept as such, that on its arrival at Delhi, passengers have the options of taking connecting flights to all metros like Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin and Chennai and also to tourist places like Ooty, Kodaikanal and Tirupati," an Air India spokesperson said.

***

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/ai-to-increase-summer-capacity-by-10/88052/on
AI to increase summer capacity by 10%

Press Trust of India
Mumbai March 10, 2010

The ailing national carrier Air India has decided to increase the domestic capacity by 10 per cent from March 29 to tap the summer rush, besides introducing in-flight entertainment on the metro routes, according to a senior airline official.

"We will also be offering an additional 10 per cent capacity on our domestic network through a greater utilisation of the Airbus A320 aircraft fleet," the airline source told PTI here today.

"The airline will also deploy A321s and A319s fitted with IFE on the metro routes in our summer schedule," the source added.

As a part of its capacity enhancement during the summer schedule, Air India will also operate five flights between Delhi and Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata as well as four daily services between Delhi and Hyderabad for the summer schedule.

Three daily flights between Delhi and Patna are also in the offing, the source said.

Air India is also planning to introduce new direct flights between Delhi and Dehradun, Coimbatore, Kozhikode and Mangalore with a CRJ aircraft (Canadian regional commercial aircraft), the source said.

"In addition, we will reintroduce services to Seoul by extending the existing Delhi-Hong Kong flight to Seoul four times a week from August," source said.

***

Online Bookings For Air India Take-off, Cheaper Tickets The New Online Mantra
Rachit Kwatra
March 9, 2010

There was a time when web services was the scourge of national airline carriers. Faced with stiff competition from the private airlines and with the advent of the internet in every sphere of life, Air India introduced online booking services some time back. But the services failed to take off, partly for the lack of ease of booking, and partly for the lack of awareness among the public.

But going by the latest figures, the era of online flying has arrived. In just under two years, the number of booking from online facilities has increased from a figure of around 400 a day to 2700 a day. The web sales have also seen a jump from about Rs 60-65 lakh previously to about Rs 1.25 crore.

What makes airline booking an advantageous scenario is the discounts available to the customers. Firstly, the lack of the “middlemen”, travel agents in this case, saves the customer from paying commission. Secondly, Air India offers a flat discount of Rs 200 on any web booking. A cherry on top of the pie is the fact that Air India has started a special scheme for customers flying economy class between 9th March and 30th April. According to this scheme, Air India will offer 10 per cent discount on any booking in the economy class made through the web.

The ease of service has also served as another big factor in the jump in the number of online bookings. Because the tickets can be booked any time from 4 hours to 360 days before departure, depending on availability, air ticket booking has become a hassle-free affair. The payment can be made online using a credit card and the e-ticket is then mailed to the customer.

The airline industry has been struggling for the past few years. Bogged down by economic recession and rising jet fuel prices, it is only now that the industry has seen some sort of revival. According to the latest figures released, there has been an increase of about 22.7 % in the number of domestic passengers in January this year, as compared to the same period last year. Success of the online booking facility is an encouraging sign in such a scenario. While the revamp of the Air India website last year has had no small role to play in this development, these are certain indications of a recovering economy in general and civil aviation industry in particular. Whatever the case may be, one thing is clear, customer is the King for the Maharaja .

***

LIVEMINT
Air India to expand Delhi route network
The carrier plans to connect new domestic city pairs from 29 March onwards and extend its international flights to South Korea’s capital Seoul in a bid to increase asset utilization
Tarun Shukla
New Delhi:

National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India will increase its operations from New Delhi airport this summer. The carrier plans to connect new domestic city pairs from 29 March onwards and extend its international flights to South Korea’s capital Seoul in a bid to increase asset utilization, two airline officials said.
“We will be increasing 10% of the total seats offered by us in the domestic market presently. The aircraft which are now being used for 8-9 hours will be able to do 10-11 hours daily,” one of the senior officials said asking not to be named as he is not authorized to speak with the media. Delhi will also be connected to Dehradun, Coimbatore, Calicut and Mangalore with Bombarider CRJ regional jets.

Air India will also replace its old Airbus A310 aircraft, which runs Delhi-Hong Kong currently, with a bigger Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft. This flight will be extended to cover Seoul from August, the same official said.

Kabir-de-saint · Member Joined: 09 Mar 2009 Posts: 73 Location: New Delhi

sammyk · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 10:29 am Post subject:

xterra · Member Joined: 10 Feb 2007 Posts: 595 Location: DONT KNO

karatecatman · Guest

Update
Airbus A320 F-WWDG and to become VT-EDF getting ready for delivery.

iflytb20 · Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:08 pm Post subject:

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karatecatman · Guest

March 11, 2010

SECOND MEETING OF PARLIAMENTARY CONSULTATIVE COMMITTEE ON CIVIL AVIATION HELD

The Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Civil Aviation met to discuss issues relating to the Civil Aviation Sector. Welcoming the Members the Chairperson of the Committee, Minister for Civil Aviation, Shri Praful Patel observed that the aviation industry had gone through a critical phase in the past two years. He briefed the Members on the policies of the Government and the problems of the sector. He remarked that self-regulation by airlines to face the economic crunch had brought about reduced capacity. However, airlines are registering growth once again and more new flights to different parts of the country is expected to start soon. The Minister made a special mention about the problems being faced by Air India. He said that the Government is committed to ensure that the national carrier does well and turns around. He ensured the Members that the next meeting of this Committee would focus on Air India – a detailed presentation would be met to the Members on the problems of Air India and plans to turnaround the company, so that the Members could give their suggestions in this regard.

Cutting across party lines, Members expressed appreciation of the modernization and upgradation of airports across the country. Besides, Members, raised various important issues regarding the sector including growth of cargo operations in the country, shortage of air traffic controllers, corporatisation of ATC, helicopter operations, connectivity to remote areas like North-East, Leh and Andaman & Nicobar islands, pilot training, naming of airports across the country, facilities of Members of Parliament at airports, status of flying clubs across the country, use of cell phones in aircraft, airport entry passes, use of body scanners at airports, User Development Fees at airports, and most importantly the crisis situation in Air India.

In the course of the meeting, the Minister announced that the Standard Operation Procedure for helicopter operations would be notified by 15th March, 2010.

The meeting was attended by Shri Milind Deora, Shri Ninong Ering, Shri Mithlesh Kumar, Dr. Prasanna K. Patasani, Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Shri Dilip Gandhi, Shri Ram Singh Kaswan, Shri Ashok Argal, Shri Ambica Banerjee, Shri Hassan Khan, Shri P.C. Chacko, Shri Manicka Tagore, Shri Poorika Balram Naik from Lok Sabha and Shri Santosh Bagrodia, Shri Lalhming Liana, Shri Tarlochan Singh, Shri Vijay J. Darda, Shri Tiruchi Siva, Shri Adbul Wahab Peevee, Shri Rajiv Pratap Rudy and Shri Avtar Singh Karimpuri from Rajya Sabha.

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karatecatman · Guest

ECONOMIC TIMES
AI's passenger revenue surges to Rs 2,585 cr on higher demand
12 Mar 2010
Manisha Singhal
ET Bureau

MUMBAI: National carrier Air India — which is struggling to cash in on improved economic conditions even as it seeks a bailout from the government —
has managed to increase the money it makes from its passengers by Rs 235 crore in the three months beginning November 2009.

The government-owned airline has managed to earn Rs 2,585 crore from fliers in the period November 2009 to January 2010, compared with Rs 2,350 crore in the same period last year, mainly due to a rise in demand as more people switch back to air travel in the wake of an economic upturn. It has also shown a surge in the so-called passenger yield - the average price at which tickets are sold - by about 10% in the same period. The airline’s load factor — passengers carried as compared to capacity — has gone up by 10 percentage points to 74% in January.

“We see this upward trend continuing, and this will improve our bottomline,” said an Air India spokesperson.
The national carrier, which racked up huge losses in the recent past due to lower air traffic and higher fuel charges is hardly out of the woods. It has an eye-popping cumulative loss of Rs 7,774 crore for the past two years, while the deficit for the current fiscal is estimated to be Rs 5,400 crore. It is likely to receive funding from the government, but with riders that stipulate better operational performance.

The company has also been able to reduce its operating deficit by about Rs 1,300 crore in the period between April 2009 and January 2010, mainly due to capacity rationalisation and increased utilisation of its planes. During the same period, the operating cash surplus on domestic routes was Rs 43 crore, while international routes have seen lower operating losses.

“The trend for Air India is reflective of buoyancy in the sector and also of an uptrend in load factors and cash realisation,” said the spokesperson. For the industry as a whole, passenger traffic has grown by 25% in the past three months.

The airline is also likely to increase its capacity by 10% on the domestic routes for the summer months, to meet an increased demand due to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. For its summer schedule, Air India will add more direct flights from Delhi to Dehradun, Coimbatore, Calicut and Mangalore with smaller aircraft for optimum utilisation. Flights will also be added from Delhi to metros such as Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. Air India, with a paid-up capital of just Rs 145 crore, has a debt burden of over Rs 14,000 crore. The losses for the current fiscal ending March 2010 are pegged at Rs 5,400 crore. The government has said it will pump in Rs 800 crore of fresh equity into the airline in two instalments, but with riders.

Currently, Air India is being advised by consulting firm Booz & Allen on how to reduce its costs and by Accenture for merger-related issues. The government recently appointed four independent directors on the board of Air India, including Mahindra & Mahindra vice-chairman Anand Mahindra, as part of a programme to boost the company. Air India merged with Indian Airlines, its domestic arm, but the merger is widely regarded as having been unsuccessful. In its merged avatar, the company is referred to as Air India.

The management is in the process of submitting a cabinet note chalking out a credible revival plan with harmonisation and rationalisation of wage structure and setting up of support businesses. This is likely to be submitted within two weeks.

karatecatman · Guest

karatecatman · Guest

AI-IA merger erroneous: Govt panel
India Blooms News Service

New Delhi, Mar 12

The government Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) panel on Friday criticized the Air India-Indian Airlines merger and called it an ‘erroneous’ one.

“The AI-IA merger is ill-conceived and erroneous,” said the panel in a statement.

“It is like a marriage of two incompatible individuals.”

The panel said it would like to be apprised of those who are responsible for this merger.

“The committee would like to find out who are the agencies and individuals responsible for this whimsical decision.”

“The root cause of malaise in AI is the merger,” the statement read.

The panel suggested that Air India should continue to operate as an independent airline while Indian Airlines should focus on the domestic sector.

***

Once again, the merger between Air India and Indian Airlines has been strongly criticized by a committee of experts. A government Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) panel has described the merger as "the root cause of all that ails India's national airline today."

In January, a parliamentary committee headed by Sitaram Yechury said the merger had been taken in haste, and had "given rise to so many problems concerning financial, administrative and operational (issues), which could not be foreseen by the people who took this decision."

The new report is even tougher, saying the "erroneous" merger is like "a marriage between two incompatible parties."

The PSU panel recommends that in order to crawl out of its financial abyss, Air India and Indian Airlines should function like two separate airlines, with Air India handling international flights and Indian Airlines focusing on the domestic sector.

The committee says it's critical to identify the "agencies and individuals responsible for this whimsical decision." Members of the panel stop short of naming Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, but say whoever recommended the merger to the cabinet should be held accountable for causing huge losses to a public sector company.

***

New Delhi, March 12 : A parliamentary committee Friday called the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines a “marriage of incompatible individuals” and said the two aviation companies should work separately, though under a common holding company.

The Committee on Public Undertakings presented in the LOK Sabha its report on the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL)- the merged entity of the erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines. It was tasked to find “the root cause of malaises and propose ways for revival of the PSUs”.

"The so-called merger was an ill-conceived and erroneous decision neither arrived at by the two airlines on their own accord nor mutually considered by them to be in their best interests," Committee Chairman V. Kishore Chandra Deo said.

Deo said the NACIL was “slipping into an abyss”.

The committee has recommended that NACIL should be made a holding company with two separate wings -- “NACIL Indian Airlines with its headquarters at Delhi and NACIL-Air India with its headquarters at Mumbai, each headed by a managing director”.

The managing directors should report to Chairman, NACIL.

“It needs to be immediately worked out,” the committee suggested.

***

Official GoI release

Sent through Air India
(Thanks to source)

Indian Airlines and Air India should work as two Separate wings of NACIL

March 12, 2010

Shri V. Kishore Chandra S. Deo, M.P. and Chairman of the Committee on Public Undertakings, presenting the 4th Report of the Committee on Public Undertakings on the National Aviation Company India Ltd. – Merged Entity of Erstwhile Air India and Indian Airlines, observed that the root cause of the ills plaguing NACIL is the ‘merger’ of Indian Airlines and Air India.

Shri Deo observed that the so-called merger is a kind of marriage between two incompatible individuals having wide variances with hardly any meeting ground. The committee has recommended that in order to improve the health of NACIL, it is imperative that NACIL be made into a holding Company under which two separate wings NACIL_ Indian Airlines with its Headquarters at Delhi and NACIL-Air India with its Headquarters at Mumbai, each headed by Managing Director who shall report to NACIL.

All the losses attributable to merger of IA and AI should be recouped by the Government as the decision of merger was a policy decision spearheaded by the Ministry-in-charge. The committee further observed that there is urgent need for route rationalisation and route allocation since prime commercial routes were being allocated to private airlines. For this purpose Ministry of Civil Aviation should conduct a transparent review of the entire route and slot allocations to ensure that NACIL is neither put at any disadvantage nor appear to be placed in any disadvantageous position.

The Committee observed that utilisation of aircraft in the company is at a low of 9 hours per day while the benchmark is at 16 hours per day. Hence, NACIL should take necessary steps to increase the utilisation of aircrafts. The Committee further recommended that Capital infusion into the ailing public airline to make the company credit worthy for its operational credit requirements has become imperative to salvage the remnants of the legendary airlines. The Committee also emphasised the need for ground handling by NACIL, Corporate work culture, and training.

Recognizing the fact that the employees of any organization and their welfare are key to the success of any organisation, the Committee recommended fair treatment to loyal employees. On issues relating to service matters, the committee recommended that no unilateral decision should be forced upon and the genuine aspirations of the officers in each cadre should be addressed judiciously. The assurance made to the employees before the merger of the two organizations that “No employee would be placed at a disadvantage at any stage”, must be fulfilled, the Committee recommended.

***

WALL STREET JOURNAL
India Panel Recommends Air India Split to Cut Losses

ANIRBAN CHOWDHURY
MUMBAI -- A parliamentary panel Friday recommended that Air India and Indian Airlines operate as two separate entities under one holding company in a bid to staunch heavy losses stemming from the 2007 merger of the two state-run carriers.

Air India absorbed Indian Airlines in a government-backed merger in August 2007, but it has been plagued by losses ever since as the two carriers struggled to integrate their operations and staff.

Meanwhile, rival airlines such as privately owned Jet Airways (India) Ltd. and budget carrier SpiceJet Ltd. have been growing in strength and grabbing more of India's rapidly expanding aviation market.

In an effort to arrest Air India's decline, the parliamentary panel said the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd., or Nacil,--which was formed by the government to operate Air India after the merger--should manage Air India and Indian Airlines separately.

The divisions--Nacil-Indian Airlines and Nacil-Air India--would each have a managing director reporting to Nacil's chairman. Arvind Jadhav is currently chairman and managing director of Nacil.

The panel also suggested that the government pays back all losses incurred by the airline as a result of the merger and inject capital into the carrier, so that it can meet its credit requirements.

The size of the capital infusion depends on the steps Air India takes to enhance revenue and cut costs.

Air India's run of losses, which stretches back to 2007-08, is expected to continue, with forecasts of a 54 billion rupees ($1.1 billion) net loss this financial year ending March 31.

Federal Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel added to the gloom when he said Tuesday the airline is likely to be in the red for "a few more years."

Air India has a total debt burden of 160 billion rupees and owes 17.41 billion rupees to oil companies. The government recently announced it will inject eight billion rupees as equity into the carrier this fiscal year and 12 billion rupees next fiscal year.

The panel also recommended that the Civil Aviation Ministry, which "has shown little initiative in monitoring the progress" of the merger, reviews Air India's network so that it operates on profitable routes.

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