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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-to-increase-fuel-hedging-114101000762_1.html
Air India to increase fuel hedging
October 10, 2014
Air India will step up fuel hedging to guard against future volatility in the crude price.
Globally crude price fell below $ 90 a barrel and is expected to be bearish for next few months but airlines in Asia are looking to increase the hedge volume against future risks.
"We plan to hedge about one lakh barrel a month of our next year requirement,'' said an Air India spokesperson.
Air India began fuel hedging in 2002 but discontinued it some years later. Last year the airline's board approved hedging of about 5 lakh barrels of jet fuel each quarter which is equal to about 20% of its total consumption. However in the last fiscal it hedged 70,000 barrels.
Air India management has been cautious about hedging but globally airlines hedge 50-60% of their fuel requirement. According to a Reuters report Australian airline Qantas hedged 94% of fuel requirement in first half of the year.
The report added that many airlines are locking in contracts as far ahead as 2015 and 2016 and added that Thai Airways has raised its hedging to 63% of fuel need in late 2015 from 53%.
"Our hedging quantity is small,'' the AI spokesperson added.
Daily Air India uplifts around 5100 kilolitres of ATF and nearly 70% is purchased in India. Rise in crude prices and rupee depreciation has led to an increase in fuel bill. Increase in capacity and addition of new long haul flights to Australia, Moscow and Rome-Milan too contributed to the rise.
"We have initiated various steps and have been able to save fuel following implementation of IATA'sFuel Efficiency Gap Analysis. Measures included carrying lighter cutlery, carrying less water and fewer magazines on board and implementing fuel efficient procedures during landing and taxi stage,'' he added.
_________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:18 am Post subject: |
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Terming the ICPA’s allegations as “false, mischievous and misleading”, an Air India spokesperson said five Boeing 737-200 were insured at only $1 million last year and $50,000 this year. “Since the aircraft are still under Air India’s registration”. “The premium that is being paid on each of these aircraft was $145 last year and $90 this year,” the spokesperson said. “It is highly regrettable that a responsible association like ICPA is making such baseless allegations which sadly reflects on their credibility and understanding of the aviation business,” he added.
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/companies/pilots-say-air-india-insuring-grounded-aircraft-airline-denies/ _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Air India Begins Boeing 787 Bangkok Service from late-Oct 2014
Air India from 26OCT14 begins Boeing 787 service to Thailand, which sees daily Delhi – Bangkok and Mumbai – Bangkok operation. Both routes are currently operated by Airbus A321 aircraft.
Delhi – Bangkok
AI332 DEL1325 – 1920BKK 788 D
AI333 BKK0850 – 1205DEL 788 D
Mumbai – Bangkok
AI330 BOM0135 – 0720BKK 788 D
AI331 BKK2030 – 2305BOM 788 D
Source: Airlineroute.net _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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The_Goat Member
Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 3260 Location: South of France
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:51 pm Post subject: |
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747-237 wrote: | [i]Air India Begins Boeing 787 Bangkok Service from late-Oct 2014
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Oh dear! Not another W operation like the BOM-SIN-MAA-SIN-BOM one, with hardly any down time.
Brace for more delays dirty planes and clogged toilets then! _________________ I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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Spiderguy252 Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 4259 Location: Indian Ocean
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:04 pm Post subject: |
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With several 321s freed on these routes as the 787 comes in, would it be prudent to launch flights to those very international destinations (BKK) from other Indian points with the metal? BLR? MAA? I presume a CCU-BKK run already exists.
IC had a roundabout HYD-BLR-MAA-BKK back before the merger that has been done away with over the years. I think that may have been on the AB3 as well.
Or are the 321s headed back to domestic runs? _________________ Yeah. |
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Nimish Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 9757 Location: Bangalore, India
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 4:41 pm Post subject: |
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The_Goat wrote: | Oh dear! Not another W operation like the BOM-SIN-MAA-SIN-BOM one, with hardly any down time.
Brace for more delays dirty planes and clogged toilets then! |
Or improve the maintenance service offered at BKK - BOM/DEL should anyway have the best that AI has to offer... _________________ We miss you Nalini! |
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Nimish Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 9757 Location: Bangalore, India
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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Again - shameful lapses in MX - and then we hear AI's MX being tom-tommed to ridiculous levels. Glad that DGCA is doing something pro-active - pulling up both G8 and AI for poor MX - exactly what DGCA should be doing (instead of mandating that AI build toilets for the villagers!) _________________ We miss you Nalini! |
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sumantra Member
Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 5:49 pm Post subject: |
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Spiderguy252 wrote: | With several 321s freed on these routes as the 787 comes in, would it be prudent to launch flights to those very international destinations (BKK) from other Indian points with the metal? BLR? MAA? I presume a CCU-BKK run already exists. | Interesting points, Varun.
AI does not have a CCU-BKK flight, perhaps because it does not expect much yields from the segment. Curiously enough, the CCU-BKK segment often sees low fares on AI for a one-stop CCU-DEL-BKK routing, which is troublesome from a time-conscious passenger's point of view, since two hours due west for a place that is about 02:40 hours due East (and that is travel time, alone), is not very convenient. Thai is the only convenient direct full service carrier connecting the pairs of cities.
Spiderguy252 wrote: | IC had a roundabout HYD-BLR-MAA-BKK back before the merger that has been done away with over the years. I think that may have been on the AB3 as well. | ...not to forget another route I had discussed with you, PM-AI's AI 447 BOM-HYD-BKK-SIN, for instance, on the old A310 tubbies.
Spiderguy252 wrote: | Or are the 321s headed back to domestic runs? | The AI narrow-body utilisation is not bad, and remember: the first plane painted into the *A livery was VT-ESF, which was the only one AI could spare from the schedule to go into a paint shop. AI haven't seen too many longer domestic routes for quite some time. The number of front office crew has also reduced quite a bit, with the seniors graduating to the Dream)liners. I guess I need to ask around, in case I can sniff out some route-planning here.
Cheers, Sumantra. |
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Nimish Member
Joined: 16 Dec 2006 Posts: 9757 Location: Bangalore, India
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Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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From: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/sc-raps-government-over-state-of-affairs-in-air-india/article6493505.ece
Quote: | SC raps government over state of affairs in Air India
With Air India grappling with financial crisis, the Supreme Court has rapped the government for giving “profitable routes” to private carriers and asked it to plan a turnaround in the national carrier saying it “faces extinction” if things continued like this.
“Why many lucrative routes have been given to private carriers,” a bench comprising justices Vikramjit Sen and Kurian Joseph observed while expressing concern over Air India taking a beating against private airways, post merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
The bench, which wanted the Civil Aviation Ministry to think over the various issues plaguing the national carrier, also said other area of concern was the priority given to private airlines with Air India aircraft being asked to hover around during the peak landing hours causing huge loss of money on fuel.
“A situation has reached where after travelling in private airlines, when one boards Air India, he thinks why have I taken this flight. The situation is really, really bad, we are sorry to say. The financial loss is already being talked about since long, passenger dissatisfaction is a known fact too.
“Strangely, Air India is focusing on money-losing routes while many profitable routes have been given to the private airlines. Please think of how a turnaround can be brought about,” the bench said, adding, “if things continue like this the airline faces extinction.”
The remarks were made during the hearing of the cross-appeals filed by Air India Management and workers union against the order of the Bombay High Court which dealt with various contentious issues arising out of the Justice Dharmadhikari report on the merger of the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India.
Attorney General Mukul Rohtagi was appearing for the Centre and Air India.
The high court had dealt with the issues of 75 per cent of wages and salary for the workers and had asked the unions to approach the Central Government Industrial Tribunal regarding lowering of salary allowances following the merger. |
While I think the SC generally makes a lot of sense, I'm not sure I want the SC to be the next "Driver" for Air India. We need less government, and need AI to be freed up. _________________ We miss you Nalini! |
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Jeh Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 669 Location: Delhi, India
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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Quote: | Air India Begins Boeing 787 Bangkok Service from late-Oct 2014
Air India from 26OCT14 begins Boeing 787 service to Thailand, which sees daily Delhi – Bangkok and Mumbai – Bangkok operation. Both routes are currently operated by Airbus A321 aircraft. |
Air India today (14OCT14) begins Boeing 787 operations on flights to Thailand, which both Delhi – Bangkok and Mumbai – Bangkok route being served by Dreamliner, instead of Airbus A321.
Source: Airlineroute.net _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:19 pm Post subject: |
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Air India has decided to restart Delhi-Vadodara flight from tomorrow, over a month after the service was suspended by the national carrier.
Gujarat Finance Minister Saurabh Patel informed this on Wednesday after taking up the matter with authorities in the government-run airline.
“I took up the issue with higher authorities in Air India and emphasised the need for restarting the flight which was stopped on September 8,” Patel said. “I brought to the notice of Air India officials the difficulties being faced by passengers from the city due to suspension of the service,” Patel said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/air-india-to-restart-delhi-vadodara-flight-from-tomorrow/ _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:42 pm Post subject: |
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This tweet
https://twitter.com/winglets747/status/521238310186799105
On Air India's 787 it's "Please follow all posted placards and hand-written instructions."
(apparently AI317 Seoul-Hong Kong; Oct 12)
Made it to the newspapers in India
_________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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Caliguy Member
Joined: 14 Nov 2007 Posts: 723 Location: Los Angeles
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 8:46 pm Post subject: |
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Does anyone know what's going on at AI? I am sorry I can't for the life of me understand what's going on. Have flown them many times in the 80's and early 90's, they were never this bad. We always got where we were going, bags came, food good etc. Now they are a joke. Is it just that people are skimming so much money off the top they have to resort to writing on the walls rather than use printed signs? They strip new planes (in PUBLIC), they don;t maintain brand new planes (yet have tons of mechanics on staff). It just doesn't make sense. How long can this go on?
Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
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The_Goat Member
Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 3260 Location: South of France
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Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 10:08 pm Post subject: |
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Caliguy wrote: | Is it just that people are skimming so much money off the top they have to resort to writing on the walls rather than use printed signs? They strip new planes (in PUBLIC), they don;t maintain brand new planes (yet have tons of mechanics on staff). It just doesn't make sense. How long can this go on?
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AI has always had a penchant for the tacky.
Hand written signs, F class meals wrapped in Saran wrap etc. I also remember a photo of a 747 with its cockpit windows all covered with newspaper to reduce the glare...
I guess we must be thankful that they at least got the spelling right! _________________ I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 7:29 am Post subject: |
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http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-alliance-air-flying-hours-halve-as-14-pilots-leave-2026769
Alliance Air flying hours halve as 14 pilots leave
17 October 2014
Alliance Air, a subsidiary of national carrier Air India, has witnessed substantial attrition as 14 pilots and many other staffers have left the company in the last few months, affecting the utilisation of its eight aircraft.
As per the fleet utilisation chart prepared daily, average hours each aircraft flies, which should be which should be at least 10-12 hours a day as per aviation guidelines, has come down to around six hours. On October 12, the fleet utilisation of the two aircraft was just around three hours.
Alliance Air thus adds to the burden of already indebted Air India, as all the air-craft are on lease and the company has to pay a premium of $ 1.75 lakh for every aircraft.
"If people are leaving and aircraft are not making profits, then the company should look into the matter and take action. It seems that nobody is bothered about it," a senior Air India official told dna, requesting anonymity.
According to Alliance Air website, it operates services with a fleet of 4 CRJ and 4 ATR aircraft mostly to Tier 2 and 3 cities, or those which link these cities to the metro hubs.
The airline CEO Anil Mehta, speaking to dna, claimed that airline operates at least 24 flights everyday, but denied that pilots and other staff member are leaving the job. As of now, Alliance Air has just six captains and 7 co-pilots running the show, sources said.
However, as per the data available with dna, at least 14 pilots have left the job and many of them joined a private low-cost airline. Besides, several other cabin crew members have also quit.
Some of the pilots and cabin crew members who left have reasoned that they couldn't work with the executive director (operations) of Alliance Air S Mehrotra allegedly for his "unprofessional" attitude. Mehrotra is also a pilot and flies Airbus of Air India. The staffers also alleged that he flies much less than the required flying hours. "He thought all of us were his slaves. And he works as per his own comfort and prejudices," said one of the staffers who resigned recently. A senior chief ground instructor, approved by Director General Civil Aviation (DGCA), has also left the job.
"Many pilots are sitting without necessary refresher, which is compulsorily conducted twice a year," said another Air India official. According to sources, another official hired to train the pilots has not been approved by the DGCA.
When contacted, Mehrotra refused to comment on any official issue, saying he was on medical leave. "I have recently undergone an operation. I am not aware of anything happening in office," he told dna over phone.
_________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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ameya Member
Joined: 09 May 2007 Posts: 3671 Location: Pune,Maharashtra
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Posted: Fri Oct 17, 2014 10:49 am Post subject: |
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Air India re-introduces flights to Vadodara
With the Minister of Finance of Gujarat Government going public and requesting Air India to re-start flights to Vadodara, Air India seems to have taken note and restarted flights. Earlier the flight was operated by CRJ-700 and now this would be operated by A320
The flight would operate as below,
AI819 DEL0625 – 0800BDQ D A320
AI820 BDQ0835 – 1015DEL D A320
The flights will be operated by all economy A320 _________________ www.networkthoughts.com |
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ssbmat Member
Joined: 20 Dec 2006 Posts: 1710
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Caliguy wrote: | Does anyone know what's going on at AI? I am sorry I can't for the life of me understand what's going on. Have flown them many times in the 80's and early 90's, they were never this bad. We always got where we were going, bags came, food good etc. Now they are a joke. Is it just that people are skimming so much money off the top they have to resort to writing on the walls rather than use printed signs? They strip new planes (in PUBLIC), they don;t maintain brand new planes (yet have tons of mechanics on staff). It just doesn't make sense. How long can this go on?
Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
I believe that too much is made out of absolutely trivial stuff. So what if it was handwritten. Does it make any difference to flight safety ? If it doesnt, it shouldnt matter to 99.5% of the world which is anyway ignorant on aviation matters.
I'd be rather worried about public health hazards of operating airplanes in and out of West Africa, for example, over some stupid things like this
This bashing reminds me of crowds in India who usually join into a fight amongst two parties even they really shouldnt be concerned about it. ITs that bad these days.
Social media has gone bonkers . |
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The_Goat Member
Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 3260 Location: South of France
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:01 pm Post subject: |
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ssbmat wrote: |
I believe that too much is made out of absolutely trivial stuff. So what if it was handwritten. Does it make any difference to flight safety ? If it doesnt, it shouldnt matter to 99.5% of the world which is anyway ignorant on aviation matters.
I'd be rather worried about public health hazards of operating airplanes in and out of West Africa, for example, over some stupid things like this
This bashing reminds me of crowds in India who usually join into a fight amongst two parties even they really shouldnt be concerned about it. ITs that bad these days.
Social media has gone bonkers . |
You are missing the point.
Hand written signs are not a flight safety issue but point to a certain sloppiness, and this is seen is EVERY aspect of anything the Government of India does.
If this attitude is prevalent even among the maintenance and engineering depts in AI, then it won't be long before it starts affecting flight safety.
And a lot of questions are being raised about AI in this aspect too. Brand new planes sitting on the ground cannibalized, flights returning to the port of origin because of clogged toilets and heaven knows how many other issues there are that we don't know about. _________________ I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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stealthpilot Member
Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 2325 Location: BLR, DXB
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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ssbmat wrote: | I believe that too much is made out of absolutely trivial stuff. So what if it was handwritten. Does it make any difference to flight safety ? If it doesnt, it shouldnt matter to 99.5% of the world which is anyway ignorant on aviation matters. |
What The_Goat says ....
Trivial? If every seat number were written with a felt pen and the safety instruction cards laminated A4 paper it wouldn't affect safety- but points to professionalism. If people saw that in a city metro they would think it was shabby ... on a 787 _________________ eP007 |
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Sat Oct 18, 2014 3:43 pm Post subject: |
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A Boeing 787 Dreamliner, flying between Delhi and Rome as Air India AIC123 flight was intercepted by two Italian Air Force Eurofighter Typhoon interceptors from Grosseto airbase on Oct. 16.
According to the Italian Air Force, the aircraft, registration VT-ANQ, lost radio contact with the Air Traffic Control agencies and entered the Italian airspace unauthorized. For this reason the QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) cell at Grosseto airbase was scrambled to intercept, identify and escort the liner, as done last month with a Lebanese A320 following a bomb threat.
The two F-2000A jets of the 4° Stormo (Wing) reached the B787 at 24,000 feet to the southeast of Rome. The Typhoons identified the civil plane and shadowed it from distance, not to be seen by passengers and once at 30 kilometers from destination, they were cleared to return to their base.
http://theaviationist.com/2014/10/17/b787-intercepted-typhoon/ _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 3:55 pm Post subject: |
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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/turnaround-plan-air-india-proposes-outright-purchase-of-15-dreamliner-aircrafts/articleshow/44874252.cms
Air India proposes outright purchase of 15 Dreamliners
19 Oct, 2014
Air India is proposing to shift from sale and leaseback to outright purchase of 15 of the 27 Dreamliner aircraft it has ordered, in a bid to save about $225-300 million as part of the turnaround plan.
A proposal to this effect has been sent to the government for approval, as the national carrier feels that the shift to the outright purchase system would provide a much better internal rate of return, airline officials said here.
The sources said the redelivery cost (after the lease expires) of a widebody aircraft like the Dreamliners is very high at almost $20 million while for narrow-bodies it is about $10-12 million.
Such high redelivery costs would be avoided if the planes are owned by the company, the officials said.
Air India, which has seven aircraft on leaseback and has offered five more through that process, now plans to turn to the outright purchase mode for the remaining 15, they said.
At present, the airline has a total of 17 Dreamliners in its fleet with one more slated to be delivered in December. The last of these planes is to be delivered by September 2016.
Air India is also evaluating whether to induct the latest Airbus A-320 neo (New Engine Option) aircraft into its fleet after 2017, which the manufacturer claims to be a major fuel-saving airplane. _________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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Jaysit Member
Joined: 19 Dec 2006 Posts: 4346
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:14 pm Post subject: |
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ssbmat wrote: | Caliguy wrote: | Does anyone know what's going on at AI? I am sorry I can't for the life of me understand what's going on. Have flown them many times in the 80's and early 90's, they were never this bad. We always got where we were going, bags came, food good etc. Now they are a joke. Is it just that people are skimming so much money off the top they have to resort to writing on the walls rather than use printed signs? They strip new planes (in PUBLIC), they don;t maintain brand new planes (yet have tons of mechanics on staff). It just doesn't make sense. How long can this go on?
Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
I believe that too much is made out of absolutely trivial stuff. So what if it was handwritten. Does it make any difference to flight safety ? If it doesnt, it shouldnt matter to 99.5% of the world which is anyway ignorant on aviation matters.
I'd be rather worried about public health hazards of operating airplanes in and out of West Africa, for example, over some stupid things like this
This bashing reminds me of crowds in India who usually join into a fight amongst two parties even they really shouldnt be concerned about it. ITs that bad these days.
Social media has gone bonkers . |
Do you work for the GOI? If not, you should. You exhibit the typical sarkari, sloppy, "chalta-hai," "We are like this only" attitude."
I guess if something doesn't concern flight safety, AI shouldn't bother.
Yeah, that's why Indian pax have migrated to other airlines in droves. |
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sumantra Member
Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi
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Posted: Sun Oct 19, 2014 9:59 pm Post subject: |
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The_Goat wrote: | Hand written signs are not a flight safety issue but point to a certain sloppiness, and this is seen is EVERY aspect of anything the Government of India does | Sloppiness, and lack of professionalism, as member stealthpilot also rightly points out. The_Goat: Precisely Sir, though the newspapers part I have seen in other airlines (incidentally, in the US) as well,
``Hand written signs, F class meals wrapped in Saran wrap etc.'' this is not done. One does not need any money to undo this: just a change in attitude, some bit of thinking, some imagination, and taking pride in working for the airline. Even in its darkest days of the 1990s-early 2000s, the crew rest areas were simply cordoned off curtains to prevent unruly passengers from shifting their seats at will. The curtains are seen in this picture. AI badly needs those discerning First and Business class passengers from its revenue point of view, more so now, post their *A entry. I work for a semi-Government organisation, and even though I am not exactly a well-heeled and discerning passenger (more so, when AI food is around), these pain me in no small measure. Just as it gladdens me beyond words to see a member of the Air India cabin crew go beyond the call of duty, to help a passenger in need, to give that bit of extra personal touch to their dealings with passengers, to help in having a well-maintained and clean cabin. I've seen the latter also (I write about these in my TRs), and that is precisely what gives me hope.
Cheers, Sumantra. |
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avbuff Member
Joined: 22 Dec 2006 Posts: 5031
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 11:20 am Post subject: |
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Caliguy wrote: | Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
So?
He may entitled for an upgrade to business class subject to availibility. So nothing sensational here. Mostly pilots and senior managers in an airline are entitled to travel in business class on duty and leisure travel. |
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ryder1650 Member
Joined: 17 Jul 2007 Posts: 554
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Posted: Mon Oct 20, 2014 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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avbuff wrote: | Caliguy wrote: | Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
So?
He may entitled for an upgrade to business class subject to availibility. So nothing sensational here. Mostly pilots and senior managers in an airline are entitled to travel in business class on duty and leisure travel. |
I think you missed the point, it is the family friend getting the upgrades, not the pilot... |
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 12:06 am Post subject: |
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http://www.livemint.com/Companies/f6sfXkXNHOwxuptso56TFJ/Air-India-to-use-Twitter-mobile-app-to-address-customer-que.html
Air India to use Twitter, mobile app to address customer queries
Air India has created a back-end team dedicated to handling its microblogging account
Oct 20 2014
Air India Ltd will start tweeting soon in a bid to modernize the way it addresses queries from customers and try and attract younger travellers. The airline, which already has a Facebook page, will also introduce a mobile app within the coming fortnight to try and extend its reach and boost revenue.
“We will be launching our Twitter account in the next few days,” said Rohit Nandan, chairman and managing director of Air India. “I know it’s a tough task for us to be there, but we have to improve our customer services and I think this is the step in that direction.”
“This will keep us on our toes. We would try to do our best so we can solve customer queries in real time. And gradually scale up our efforts,” Nandan said.
Air India will also launch a mobile app allowing users to book flights. It will be introduced for Android phones initially, followed by iOS (used by Apple Inc.) which the airline believes will makes up for 80% of the traffic. A Blackberry app will follow thereafter.
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justbala Member
Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1898 Location: Bangalore
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Posted: Tue Oct 21, 2014 11:47 am Post subject: |
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ryder1650 wrote: | avbuff wrote: | Caliguy wrote: | Oh a family friend that just KNOWS a pilot (not related) still gets upgraded to business class on every flight they take EWR-BOM. How is this even still possible??? Its like its 1978 when connections got you wonders on almost any airline out of india. |
So?
He may entitled for an upgrade to business class subject to availibility. So nothing sensational here. Mostly pilots and senior managers in an airline are entitled to travel in business class on duty and leisure travel. |
I think you missed the point, it is the family friend getting the upgrades, not the pilot... |
Sigh!! What a difference a comma can make To be fair, even I read that as the pilot getting upgraded |
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Wed Oct 22, 2014 7:17 pm Post subject: |
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Saw this last night - the latest cheapoair.com TV commercial has the Air India logo displayed.
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Jeh Member
Joined: 06 Apr 2010 Posts: 669 Location: Delhi, India
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 3:30 pm Post subject: |
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Saw an AI 747 idling at BOM yesterday and wondered what the utilisation is currently like - so I looked it up. FR24 doesn't show any movement in the last few weeks for VT-ESN and VT-EVB (Tanjore and Velha Goa). EVA is usually on the VIP runs, and ESO and ESP and trundling around on the South India-Gulf routes.
Could anyone here tell me why AI doesn't phase out these aircraft, or at least what they plan to do with them? How does AI make these little domestic (BOM/HYD, CCJ-COK etc.) and onward Gulf routes (HYD-JED, CCJ-JED etc.) work with a long-haul airliner that has 12 F seats? Or is it the case that since the 747s are owned by AI and mostly fully paid for and there are few buyers for used 747s now, that it's somehow cheaper to use them? In any case, what are AI's plans? |
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747-237 Member
Joined: 11 Jun 2007 Posts: 11359 Location: Gordon Gekko's Boardroom
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:07 pm Post subject: |
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http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-air-india-evaluating-leasing-fuel-efficient-airplanes-report-684297
Air India Evaluating Leasing Fuel-efficient Airplanes: Report
October 26, 2014
Air India is evaluating leasing fuel- efficient airplanes like Airbus A-320 neos for itself and Boeing 737 Max for its subsidiary Air India Express over the next three to six years.
While the national carrier would be getting its 18th Boeing 787 Dreamliners in December, it has already started exploring options to lease A-320 neos (New Engine Option) aircraft into its fleet after 2017.
Airline officials said they were looking at leasing the neos by 2017 onwards.
The officials said Air India was also considering leasing Boeing 737 Max, the new generation fuel-saving aircraft, for its subsidiary Air India Express.
The airline plans to lease them by 2020, though the first of these aircraft is scheduled for delivery in 2017.
_________________ 11000 posts (and counting) on Airliners-India.
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The_Goat Member
Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 3260 Location: South of France
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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747-237 wrote: | http://profit.ndtv.com/news/corporates/article-air-india-evaluating-leasing-fuel-efficient-airplanes-report-684297
Air India Evaluating Leasing Fuel-efficient Airplanes: Report
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but they will all metamorphosize into gaz guzzlers when they join the AI fleet. What then? _________________ I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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Spiderguy252 Member
Joined: 10 Aug 2007 Posts: 4259 Location: Indian Ocean
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Jeh wrote: | Saw an AI 747 idling at BOM yesterday and wondered what the utilisation is currently like - so I looked it up. FR24 doesn't show any movement in the last few weeks for VT-ESN and VT-EVB (Tanjore and Velha Goa). EVA is usually on the VIP runs, and ESO and ESP and trundling around on the South India-Gulf routes.
Could anyone here tell me why AI doesn't phase out these aircraft, or at least what they plan to do with them? How does AI make these little domestic (BOM/HYD, CCJ-COK etc.) and onward Gulf routes (HYD-JED, CCJ-JED etc.) work with a long-haul airliner that has 12 F seats? Or is it the case that since the 747s are owned by AI and mostly fully paid for and there are few buyers for used 747s now, that it's somehow cheaper to use them? In any case, what are AI's plans? |
A good question, one I'd like to know the answer of as well. _________________ Yeah. |
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TKMCE Member
Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Posts: 957
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 6:26 pm Post subject: |
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The answer atleast to my inexpert eye seems to be in the bilaterals. DGCA started updating bilaterals for a brief period in their website and later probably changed their mind about disclosing "state secrets" But a google search throwing up a CAPA news item (and the DGCA information circa 2007 in their website) shows that the average seat per flight works out to around 270.
Now this is because (at least to an oridinary folk like me and I am glad to be corrected by the pundits) the India Saudi Arabia bilateral has limitations on BOTH the number of flights and the number of seats. Saudia has always been a fan of big toys from Tristars to the 747s and the 777s and Air India was forced to follow suit thanks to the way the bilaterals are . They have to basically operate the 777s and the 744s to Saudi points except DMM.And to be fair, Saudi Arabia leads in the number of Indian expats based there compared to the other ME countries by a big way.
Why then DMM alone is seeing a lot of A320s/B737s from all over India?. From what I can make out, DMM alone has "open skies" The entitlements to DMM do not count towards the other entitlements to JED/RUH/MED.
AI ofcourse needs the 747s for the VIP junkets and I guess the only place they can get operate the 747s economically nowadays is to JED and RUH so that the aircraft need not be kept idle most of the time. AFAIK the aircraft rotation is like this
Tue BOM HYD JED - Yes you heard right
Wed JED CCJ JED
Thu JED CCJ COK CCJ JED
Fri JED HYD BOM (AI loves to reinvent georgraphy)
Fri BOM HYD JED
Sat JED CCJ JED
Sun JED CCJ COK CCJ JED
Mon JED CCJ JED
Tue JED HYD BOM
Basically 2 weekly BOM HYD JED and 5 weekly BOM CCJ JED of which twice a week the flight continues to COK.
As for the domestic hops. well let us not complain that AI does not do things in style. For one of their shortest (not the shortest though) hops COK CCJ they deploy their biggest aircraft. |
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abhijith16 Member
Joined: 14 Sep 2010 Posts: 1575 Location: DOH/IXE/MEL
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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TKMCE wrote: |
Why then DMM alone is seeing a lot of A320s/B737s from all over India?. From what I can make out, DMM alone has "open skies" The entitlements to DMM do not count towards the other entitlements to JED/RUH/MED.
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Don't forget, DMM serves nearly entire Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, a catchment area of 4,100,000 people of which 29% are Indians (nevertheless huge). _________________ <a><img></a> |
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jbalonso777 Member
Joined: 05 Jul 2012 Posts: 1501 Location: Never, never land
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The_Goat Member
Joined: 03 Mar 2007 Posts: 3260 Location: South of France
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 10:07 pm Post subject: |
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TKMCE wrote: |
AI ofcourse needs the 747s for the VIP junkets and I guess the only place they can get operate the 747s economically nowadays is to JED and RUH so that the aircraft need not be kept idle most of the time. AFAIK the aircraft rotation is like this
Tue BOM HYD JED - Yes you heard right
Wed JED CCJ JED
Thu JED CCJ COK CCJ JED
Fri JED HYD BOM (AI loves to reinvent georgraphy)
Fri BOM HYD JED
Sat JED CCJ JED
Sun JED CCJ COK CCJ JED
Mon JED CCJ JED
Tue JED HYD BOM
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How many aircraft are used for this rotation? one or two?
jbalonso777 wrote: |
*A logo seems to be peeling off already....
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In addition, it also does look like AI is getting its exteriors maintained by Air France. _________________ I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
-Jasepl |
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sumantra Member
Joined: 28 Oct 2007 Posts: 4685 Location: New Delhi
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Posted: Sun Oct 26, 2014 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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The_Goat wrote: | jbalonso777 wrote: |
*A logo seems to be peeling off already.... | In addition, it also does look like AI is getting its exteriors maintained by Air France. | Ha ha, that is a good one! Talk of the quality of the decals used by AI. Most of this damage is due to aero-bridges, and the R1 door specifically sees use at MAA, more than at any other station in India (though in this case, the L1 is in use in the picture). I guess the deep cleaning' has taken a back-seat at AI, which has seen quite a few narrow-bodies gone tech in a short span: an unfortunate coincidence, leading to an unexpected bonus of a wide-body on a longish popular domestic routes. AI Engg is working hard to get them back in operation, from what I hear.
Cheers, Sumantra. |
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