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Air India News -- Part 29
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747-237
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/no-proposal-to-reserve-air-india-seats-for-last-minute-fliers-115073001437_1.html

No proposal to reserve Air India seats for last minute fliers

July 30, 2015

There is no proposal by the national carrier Air India to reserve adequate number of seats at an affordable fares for the last minute customers flying in some emergency situations, Government said today.

However, the carrier offers 50 per cent discount on normal economy class fares for a domestic travel to students travelling to their home towns from the city where they study in, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma told Rajya Sabha today.

"Seats are highly perishable commodities and lapses as soon as aircraft has departed. Hence no such policy for reserving seat for last minute bookings can be adopted as it would lead to revenue loss and seat spoilage, which Air India being a commercial entity cannot forego," the Minister said in response to a question.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.aviationpros.com/news/14050949/air-india-wants-union-minister-rudy-on-board-as-a-pilot

Air India Wants Union Minister Rudy on Board as a Pilot

Jul 30, 2015

Air India (AI) wants union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy on board as a pilot and has made an informal proposal to the senior Bharatiya Janta Party MP.

Rudy, a trained commercial pilot and a former aviation minister, confirmed the development to Hindustan Times.

Sources said AI wants Rudy to serve in an "honorary" capacity and bear all training and other related expenses as are applicable to other pilots. "Also, he won't get any remuneration and emoluments like free passage, accommodation, transport and layover allowance that is provided to other crew members," said a source.

"There is an informal proposal from AI. I am still considering it. It will not be at the cost of my work in the government," Rudy told HT. "It can only be with the limited purpose of my license being current," he said.

Rudy, a type-rated Airbus A320 pilot, has around 2000 hours of flying experience and was a captain with IndiGo before being inducted in the union cabinet in November last year. AI uses the narrow body A320 for domestic and short haul international operations.

Rudy, in fact, operated his last flight with the budget carrier on November 8, a day prior to his induction in the cabinet. A keen aviator, Rudy had to stop flying, as his working with a private airline would have resulted in a conflict of interest.

Getting a professional pilot license is a very long drawn and expensive process. A commercial pilot needs to ensure that his license remains "current" for which it is essential to fly a minimum number of hours in a year and a failure to do so would result in the license getting lapsed.

"If Rudy does indeed fly for AI, it will definitely enhance the branding of the airline," said an official.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 31, 2015 5:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Four-hours-into-journey-rat-grounds-Air-Indias-Milan-flight/articleshow/48288464.cms

Four hours into journey, rat grounds Air India's Milan flight

Jul 31, 2015

A single rat cut short an intercontinental flight of Air India on Thursday and the aircraft had to return to India after flying for almost four hours.

The latest rodent problem happened when AI-123 was winging its way from Delhi to Milan. Two hours into the flight when the Dreamliner with almost 200 people on board was in Pakistan airspace, some passengers and cabin crew members spotted a rat in the cabin, said sources.

Since an aircraft on which a rat has been spotted has to land at the earliest, the airline decided to return to Delhi. But being filled up for the long flight to Italy, the flight had to first jettison a large amount of fuel to be light enough for a safe landing.

An AI spokesperson said, "The Delhi-Milan flight on Thursday returned to Delhi due to a suspected rat sighting. Though the presence of the rodent was not confirmed, keeping passenger safety in mind, the aircraft was brought back. AI gives utmost importance to safety. Our engineering team is investigating the incident. However, the aircraft will be fumigated as per procedure."

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 02, 2015 12:50 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The 40th Anniversary of the start of the "Bombay Express" today.



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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 5:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
Air India's next A320SL, the future VT-EXC.


VT-EXC has been delivered to Air India today.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:


The 40th Anniversary of the start of the "Bombay Express" tod


Any idea why the stop at BEY on the LHR BOM leg?? I thought even the 747-100s had the range to fly LHR BOM non stop.


If I recollect the initial B747 services from BOM to LHR by AI all had an enroute stop somewhere in the Middle East. If my memory serves me right the first airline to fly non stop BOM LHR was QF with QF 1/2 (SYD-BOM-LHR) and not AI.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 9:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

TKMCE wrote:
Quote:


The 40th Anniversary of the start of the "Bombay Express" tod


Any idea why the stop at BEY on the LHR BOM leg?? I thought even the 747-100s had the range to fly LHR BOM non stop.


If I recollect the initial B747 services from BOM to LHR by AI all had an enroute stop somewhere in the Middle East. If my memory serves me right the first airline to fly non stop BOM LHR was QF with QF 1/2 (SYD-BOM-LHR) and not AI.


Air India did not own / operate the 747-100. They were 747-200 series, with the 3 windowed upper deck lounge (later converted to regular upper deck windows). Later aircraft were delivered with regular upper deck windows and seats, no lounge.
BEY was an AI "hub", so as to speak, flight crew had regular postings there in the early / mid 70s. My father was posted in Beirut there when the civil war broke out. Later postings were in London and Perth as I recall.
And yes, later 747 flights were BOM-DXB-LHR.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 04, 2015 11:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the mid to late 70s after BEY went offline due to the war, AI's mideast stop was Kuwait. In each direction they went BOM (or BOM-DEL)-KWI - (FCO-ORY OR FCO-FRA OR FRA-ORY)-LHR-JFK. Then in about 1978-1980 (somewhere in that timeframe), they dropped KWI and had only one stop in Europe (I remember taking a BOM-DEL-FCO-LHR-JFK flight). Essentially, they only substituted KWI for BEY. Those flights were long and tiring, but AI trotted out full meal services on every sector (and not the ghastly plastic wrapped badly presented rubbish they do today - the food even in Y was beautifully presented).

In the early 80s, they delinked Europe from the JFK routes, and those flights went BOM-DXB-LHR-JFK or BOM-DEL-DXB-LHR-JFK. I believe the Dubai stop had something to do with pilot's contracts that limited flying time to just under the time it took to fly India-LHR nonstop, or because the heavy loads to the UK and US and the headwinds would have warranted a payload restriction.

The return flights, however, did not stop in Dubai. They were all nonstop to either DEL or BOM. I'm not sure when they went nonstop in both directions and dropped the DXB flight, but it was either in the late 80s or in 1991 when the 744s arrived.
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 05, 2015 12:04 am    Post subject: Reply with quote


He (minister of state for civil aviation Mahesh Sharma) also said Air India, which currently operates flight services to Newark, New York and Chicago in the United States, has not finalised any new destination in that country.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/Air-India-inducts-534-cabin-crew-till-May-1-Sharma/articleshow/48346649.cms
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 5:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/AI-Express-to-connect-Delhi-central-Asia/articleshow/48397742.cms


AI Express to connect Delhi, central Asia


Aug 8, 2015

"We are going to launch flights from Delhi to Central Asian destinations like Tehran, Tashkent, Almaty, Kuwait, Doha and Abu Dhabi next year. Currently, AI flies to Abu Dhabi and they will stop once we start our flights there. Delhi will be a new station for us and we plan to have at least four international flights out of here by early next year," AI Express CEO K Shyam Sundar told TOI.

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 08, 2015 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DGCA orders removal of Air India flight safety chief: reports
News
3-Aug-2015 4:34 AM
India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has reportedly withdrawn approval of Air India's flight safety department chief A S Soman following his failure to preserve flight monitoring data for a period of six months (Asian Age/TNN/The Statesman/financialexpress.com, 01-Aug-2015). The DGCA had sought data for all Air India services to Leh between 23-May-2015 and 25-Jun-2015 and Bengaluru-Hyderabad service on 28-Jun-2015. DGCA appoints a chief of flight safety in every airline who is responsible for ensuring that all the safety guidelines outlined by the regulator are followed. Mr Soman, however, will continue in Air India, which will decide on his next assignment. He was appointed to the post in Jan-2015. Meanwhile, Air India may request DGCA to reconsider its order removing Mr Soman from the post after discussing the issue on 03-Aug-2015
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 3:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-plans-to-replace-ageing-a320s-on-gulf-routes/articleshow/48411310.cms

Air India plans to replace ageing A320s on Gulf routes

9 Aug, 2015

Air India plans to deploy new fuel-efficient planes on the Gulf routes, replacing A320 classic aircraft after questions were raised about safety of passengers flying its ageing fleet, sources said.

The airline currently has 15 Airbus A320 classic, including one on lease, in its fleet of 103 aircraft.

"We have decided to move away the old classic A320 fleet from the Gulf routes and replace it with the new leased A320s current engine option ( ceo) from the coming winter," airline sources told PTI.

The state-run airline has already announced its plans to replace 19 A320 planes as part of its ageing A320s replacement programme.

Besides, Air India is also mulling to service some of tier-II/III cities with narrow-body A319s and A320s, which are currently being catered to by smaller aircraft, they said adding, "these cities have a huge traffic potential and could be tapped in a big way with such planes."

"As far as capacity deployment for the winter schedule is concerned we have not added too many new flights. This time, however, we have departed from the conventional schedule and instead opted for a flexible one," the sources said.

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PostPosted: Sun Aug 09, 2015 4:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-plans-to-replace-ageing-a320s-on-gulf-routes/articleshow/48411310.cms

Air India plans to replace ageing A320s on Gulf routes

9 Aug, 2015

Air India plans to deploy new fuel-efficient planes on the Gulf routes, replacing A320 classic aircraft after questions were raised about safety of passengers flying its ageing fleet, sources said.

The airline currently has 15 Airbus A320 classic, including one on lease, in its fleet of 103 aircraft.

"We have decided to move away the old classic A320 fleet from the Gulf routes and replace it with the new leased A320s current engine option ( ceo) from the coming winter," airline sources told PTI.

The state-run airline has already announced its plans to replace 19 A320 planes as part of its ageing A320s replacement programme.

Besides, Air India is also mulling to service some of tier-II/III cities with narrow-body A319s and A320s, which are currently being catered to by smaller aircraft, they said adding, "these cities have a huge traffic potential and could be tapped in a big way with such planes."

"As far as capacity deployment for the winter schedule is concerned we have not added too many new flights. This time, however, we have departed from the conventional schedule and instead opted for a flexible one," the sources said.


Excellent news, should drastically reduce AI's fleet age, and give them more room to expand!
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-goair-to-shift-to-mumbai-airport-t2-from-september-115071701141_1.html

Air India, GoAir to shift to Mumbai airport T2 from September

July 17, 2015

GVK group run Mumbai International Airport Limited has asked Air India and GoAir to shift from terminal 1A to its Terminal 2 from September 1. At present amongst the domestic airlines only Vistara operates from T2.

Air India could not be immediately reached for comment.

Mumbai's airport has three domestic terminals 1A, 1B and 1C (which has an access from 1B). While Air India and GoAir operate from terminal 1A, other private airlines – IndiGo, Jet Airways and SpiceJet function from terminal 1B. Jet Airways is expected to move to T2 next year.




http://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/air-india-and-goair-ready-for-take-off-from-swanky-t2-in-mumbai/article1-1378645.aspx

Air India, GoAir ready for take-off from T2 at Mumbai airport

Aug 10, 2015

More passengers taking domestic flights from Mumbai will be able to use the swanky T2, with two airlines set to move there next month.

According to Mumbai airport officials, national carrier Air India and budget airline GoAir are scheduled to move operations into a new section of the two-year-old terminal from September.

At present, Vistara, which started operations in January, is the only domestic airline to function out of T2. The other three domestic airlines operating from old domestic terminal are likely to move in by January 2016, said airport sources.

“The last round of talks comprising allotment of space, facilities and the terminal rents are on. The shifting will happen soon, but the dates are yet to be decided,” said an airport official.

The spokespersons for the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), Air India and GoAir refused to comment on the relocation.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 6:21 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/air-india-may-fly-dreamliners-on-all-domestic-routes/article1-1378676.aspx

Air India may fly Dreamliners on all domestic routes

Aug 11, 2015

In a move that may completely stump its rivals, Air India (AI) is considering a proposal to deploy two of its brand new state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners jets for exclusive use on domestic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai.

AI, which has received 21 of the 27 Dreamliners it had ordered in 2005, is the only Indian carrier to have a B787 in its fleet.

Indian airlines mostly operate narrow body jets such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 on domestic routes. These planes have a seating capacity of around 180.

“It could prove to be a gamechanger for the airline. At present, there are no dedicated B787 flights on the domestic sector. They are used only for add-on flights like London-Delhi-Kolkata during the spare time.

Besides Kolkata, the 787s are also deployed for add-on flights to Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai,” an AI official said.

Passenger response, the official added, to the Dreamliner on domestic routes has been stupendous. “On an average, flights are 85% full. More importantly, the business class is mostly sold out and hence the yields are higher. The aircraft offers a lot of comfort to passengers and saves fuel. This is the reason why we are thinking of deploying two 787s exclusively on domestic routes,” another official said.

“This is an initial proposal that is being talked about,” an AI spokesperson said.

“The Dreamliner is an ace up AI’s sleeve. It’s a product that would draw passengers on its own and could turn out to be a big money spinner for the airline,” said aviation expert Rajji Rai.

“One reason why AI might decide against using the 787 on domestic routes is that the maintenance cost of the plane would go up but the higher revenue so generated should balance it out,” Rai added.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 1:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Air India issues advisory to all pilots to make turbulence announcements
News
11-Aug-2015 11:09 AM
Air India issued an advisory to all its pilots to make turbulence announcements when seat belt signs are put 'on' to keep flight staff informed on board the aircraft (PTI, 10-Aug-2015). An advisory has also been issued to cabin crew to follow the Captain's pre-flight briefing and remain seated during turbulence and when seat belt signs are put 'on'. The advisory comes in the wake of an investigation report on a recent incident in which the pilots on a Air India service forgot to alert the crew to take their seats prior to landing, leading to injury to one crew member. All pilots have also been advised to make entry of such occurrences in the sector page of the Tech Log as part of the recommendation/corrective action, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said.
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
Air India may fly Dreamliners on all domestic routes
In a move that may completely stump its rivals, Air India (AI) is considering a proposal to deploy two of its brand new state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners jets for exclusive use on domestic routes such as Delhi-Mumbai.


I hope its not a case of "What should we do with so many 787s"
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 11, 2015 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-increases-free-baggage-limit-to-25-kg-in-domestic-sector/articleshow/48438597.cms

Air India increases free baggage limit to 25 kg in domestic sector

11 Aug, 2015

Air India has announced an enhanced free check-in baggage allowance of 25 kgs for passengers travelling in the Economy Class in the domestic sectors. All other airlines offer 15 kg free bagage.

Air India is the only airline to have done so. "This offer is valid from Aug 12, 2015 to Feb 7, 2016, across all fare levels of Economy Class. Passengers who have booked before Aug 12, 2015, will also get the benefit of the increased allowance. Additionally, infants will now get a free baggage allowance of 10 kgs," said a release from the airline.

Passengers travelling on Alliance Air flights and connecting to Air India flights and vice versa, will also be eligible for this offer. "However, this offer will not be available for passengers travelling exclusively on Alliance Air flights," added the release.

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PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Boeing confirms Air India cancelled plans to convert 787-8s to 787-9s, notes permissions required
News
14-Aug-2015 10:34 AM
Boeing senior VP sales for Asia-Pacific and India Dinesh A Keskar confirmed Air India will not upgrade the remaining 787-8 deliveries to 787-9s, explaining: "The airline looked at upgrading the order after we showed them the benefits of the new aircraft. But they decided not to go for it for several reasons. They needed a lot of permissions and approvals to get the upgrade done, which was finally shelved — Air India can best answer the reason. From our side we gave them all the reasons why 787-9 is a better airplane" (financialexpress.com, 14-Aug-2015).
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Breaking news: Air India Regional has regular food, no BoB
I am at Jabalpur right now, and had some lovely snacks on board AI 9617 (9I 617) with a hot beverage (no guesses, what). It was my first time at least: I was flying AI-R after quite a while, and have experienced something better than the pre-cost-cutting era snacks on this short 01:15 hour flight.
Trust the glutton of the forum to come up with this food-related news, which gladdens his heart (and a close-by important massive part of his body as well).
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 4:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
Breaking news: Air India Regional has regular food, no BoB
I am at Jabalpur right now, and had some lovely snacks on board AI 9617 (9I 617) with a hot beverage (no guesses, what). It was my first time at least: I was flying AI-R after quite a while, and have experienced something better than the pre-cost-cutting era snacks on this short 01:15 hour flight.
Trust the glutton of the forum to come up with this food-related news, which gladdens his heart (and a close-by important massive part of his body as well).
Cheers, Sumantra.


This is interesting. When did the change happen? Surprised you were not aware !! Very Happy
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 14, 2015 5:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

ameya wrote:
This is interesting. When did the change happen? Surprised you were not aware!!Very Happy
Sir, I guess this was in typical Air India style. The website and booking engine all scream BoB. Hence, I am hopeful to see B789s in AI colours soon Smile
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 6:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Air-India-flies-Mumbai-to-Newark-non-stop-but-without-baggage/articleshow/48488342.cms?

Air India flies Mumbai to Newark non-stop, but without baggage!

Aug 15, 2015

For the past six days, Air India's Boeing 777 aircraft that travels 12,500km from here to Newark in the US non-stop in over 15 hours has been forced to fly lighter because the monsoon weather conditions and obstacles near the airport would have otherwise made the takeoff roll and subsequent climb of this super heavy plane unsafe.

Unknown to passengers, AI has been leaving behind a large number of checked-in bags to lighten the aircraft. In a week, 84 tonnes of luggage had been left behind. On Friday's Mumbai-Newark flight 191, the airline carried 50 tonnes of such bags by reducing the quantity of fuel. A stopover had to be scheduled at Frankfurt, where the plane refuelled, and continued onwards to Newark.

"Since the last one week, there's been a crowd of disgruntled AI passengers in the customs area in Newark arguing with the airline staff, waiting to file missing baggage complaints,'' said an airline official. As per the norms, AI has to deliver each of these bags to the passengers' addresses in the US, apart from paying them a financial compensation for purchase of basic clothing and toiletries. The airline might end up spending Rs 16,000 to Rs 32,000 per passenger, estimated an official. The loss-making national carrier is in the midst of a bailout programme after the government approved a Rs 30,000-crore package to rescue the airline in April 2012.

"Due payload restrictions on account of weather issues, the baggage was left behind. Around 85% of the baggage has been sent and the balance is being sent in a day or two," the airline said.

On Friday, out of the 35 containers of bags left behind at Mumbai airport, 26 containers, amounting to about 50 tonnes, were carried onboard the Mumbai-Frankfurt-Newark flight, said an official.

Because of the quantity of fuel that needs to be carried, the AI's ultra-long haul flight 191 is arguably the heaviest passenger aircraft that lifts out of Mumbai airport. Mumbai-Newark is the twenty-third longest, non-stop flight operated in the world, but unlike AI 191, the ultra-long haul flights operated by airlines like Qantas, Etihad, Emirates, etc which lift off runways in Sydney, Doha, Dubai do not suffer payload restrictions. And here's why.

To operate the non-stop Mumbai-Newark flight, the 342-seater AI Boeing 777-300 ER carries over 130 tonnes of fuel, the approximate weight of 26 Asian elephants. For the AI Boeing 777, the maximum permissible take-off weight (MTOW) is 351 tonnes. MTOW calculations ensure that an aircraft is not too heavy and will be able to turn and make a safe landing soon after take-off in case of an emergency. "Due to weather conditions, obstacles around the airport, the comparatively shorter length of its runway, for a safe takeoff from Mumbai airport, the MTOW gets capped at 340-345 tonnes,'' said a senior Boeing 777 commander.

In August, flights to the US fly full and that's where the offloading of bags, passengers come in. Among the weather conditions that decide MTOW are wind direction and velocity, atmospheric pressure, temperature and runway surface condition. That's why during the monsoon and winter months, when tailwinds (wind blowing from behind the aircraft. Headwinds are ideal for takeoff) lash runway 27 of Mumbai airport, every night, the AI officials sit down to calculate how many passengers or bags should be offloaded to keep within MTOW limits. "For every one millibar drop in atmospheric pressure, the MTOW goes down by about 400 kg. Similarly, if tailwinds go up to 9.2 kmph, the aircraft has to lose up to 5,000 kg of weight if it has to operate from a wet runway,'' the commander added.

All these effects would have been negated had the Mumbai airport runway been longer like the ones in Singapore, Sydney, etc. The heavier an aircraft, the longer the length of runway it needs to be airborne. It also climbs slowly and so needs a fairly obstacle-free course beyond the runway, all of which are not provided by the 12,008-feet runway 27 of the space-starved Mumbai airport.

But then again, United Airlines too operates Mumbai-Newark direct flights using Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft and they have not had such severe payload restrictions. "Unlike AI which allows two free check-in bags of 23 kg each for economy class, United only allows one free bag. United has lesser seats than AI, it does not carry as much cargo too and so flies a lighter aircraft. AI carries about 30 tonnes of cargo per flight. AI won't offload cargo, as it contains perishables, but more importantly, the airline makes its money there,'' said an airline official.

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iah87
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 9:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So they would rather lose upto Rs. 32000 per passenger than cut down the cargo. And in addition, the PR nightmare and many of these passengers will not fly AI again. And what other obstacles do they face. Can they get the airport and the city to remove it.
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 11:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

iah87 wrote:
Can they get the airport and the city to remove it.
We know about this issue since the last 4 years, at least. AI's biggest cash cow, even in AI's dark days (when it was a one-stop via CDG), is crippled just because of a few billboards at the end of the runway, which due to influential elements, has been just impossible to remove. This is a part of AI's tragedy.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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PlaneLover
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PostPosted: Sat Aug 15, 2015 7:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

"Billboards at the end of the runway"?

Why doesn't the public protest and get rid of it if it affects aircraft performance? We need to go all the way to the supreme court if necessary to get rid of such nuisance. Enough already.
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747-237
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/air-india-plans-to-operate-230-special-haj-flights-to-jeddah/

Air India plans to operate 230 special Haj flights to Jeddah

17/08/2015

Air India has deployed 340-seater B777-300ER planes to fly the pilgrims to/from Jeddah, it said adding it has offered exclusive pre-boarding facilities besides providing special meals to all the pilgrims.

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747-237
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/following-resignations-ai-wants-dreamliner-pilots-to-sign-bonds/article1-1380795.aspx

Following resignations, AI wants Dreamliner pilots to sign bonds

Aug 16, 2015

Stunned by the resignations of several Dreamliner pilots, Air India (AI) wants its 787-trained cockpit crew to sign a bond, which will make them liable to reimburse the training cost to the airline, if they leave the company without spending five years on the fleet.“A pilot should stay on the fleet for at least 5-7 years to justify the expenses involved,” an AI official said. “It should be that way since we spend nearly Rs 40 lakh on training,” an AI spokesperson said.

“AI is surviving on a bailout funded by the government. It cannot afford to see pilots trained at such high costs on taxpayers money leave the company within a couple of years.

“The bond should have been there from the very beginning or adequate changes should have been made to the service terms to ensure that the airline recovers the money,” a ministry official said.

With no contractual obligation, B787 pilots are at the liberty to leave whenever they wish to.

“All those who have resigned are co-pilots but had an average 4,000 hours of flying experience. You can become a captain with half that experience in a private airline. So, it’s no surprise why these pilots have resigned,” another airline official said.

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747-237
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-to-face-delay-in-getting-boeing-dreamliners/articleshow/48507072.cms

Air India to face delay in getting Boeing Dreamliners

17 Aug, 2015

Air India (AI) will face delay in getting delivery of its remaining Boeing Dreamliner planes, as it lost slots while deciding on whether to switch to a stretched version of the aircraft family, said three people aware of the matter.

The airline will now get its next delivery only in the next financial year, instead of March when it was supposed to get two more planes, said one of the persons cited above. It currently has 21 Dreamliners in its fleet, and will get six more. "AI's original order was for 787-8 planes. It was planning to switch the remaining orders to 787-9s, but didn't get a board approval. In the meantime, it has lost slots for the original order," said the second among the persons cited above.

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Nimish
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 5:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

^^ Good - that should (hopefully) give AI time to plan it's staff and route network properly.
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megatop747
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 5:20 pm    Post subject: Air India flight stranded for three hours Reply with quote

A Port Blair-bound Air India flight (AI-549) was delayed after one of its tyres burst, moments before it took off from the Chennai airport, on Monday.

The plane with 75 passengers on board was being taxied to the runway for takeoff at 10.20 a.m. when the right tyre on the rear burst.

The plane was stranded for close to 40 minutes and brought back to its bay. The flight, originally scheduled to leave at 5 a.m, was rescheduled to leave at 10.20 a.m. due to non-availability of aircraft and the tyre burst delayed it by another three hours. Alternative arrangements

“The plane was grounded and technical staff attended the flight. Passengers were accommodated in another aircraft that left at 1.35 p.m.,” an Air India official said.

S. Prabhuraman, a passenger, said that aircraft crew managed to return the aircraft to the bay without creating panic.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/air-india-flight-stranded-for-three-hours/article7551985.ece?ref=tpnews
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TKMCE
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

1335 Dep from MAA.... Isnt it too late for IXZ ???
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The_Goat
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
because of a few billboards at the end of the runway, which due to influential elements, has been just impossible to remove. This is a part of AI's tragedy.
Cheers, Sumantra.


How big are these billboards? They must be pretty huge if they can come in the way of an airplane taking off.

Can someone get us some pictures of them?
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
How big are these billboards? They must be pretty huge if they can come in the way of an airplane taking off.
From what I know Sir, they are high and large enough for the worst-case scenario of a fully loaded plane experiencing an engine-out condition in a hot and humid take-off: it comes dangerously close to the margins.
The_Goat wrote:
Can someone get us some pictures of them?
Mumbai spotters will have lots of pictures of the place...
Forget relocating the slums, and removing the airport land encroachment. If billboards cannot be removed/relocated, I think this is very, very disappointing, more so for what was at one time, perhaps Air India's only cash cow, in its darkest days.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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sri_bom
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 2:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Air India has reportedly appointed Capt A S Soman, who was removed from the position of Air India executive director (flight safety) earlier in Aug-2015 on orders from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), as Air India executive director (training) (TNN, 20-Aug-2015). The DGCA ordered the removal of Capt Soman from the post of chief of flight safety following an investigation into a hard-landing incident, which found him guilty of dereliction of duty. As previously reported by CAPA, Air India appointed executive director Harpreet A D Singh as the new flight safety chief, with the appointment reportedly resulting in some oppositions from pilots. While Ms Singh, who is executive director of customer services department in the airline and in charge of inflight services, holds a commercial pilot’s licence, she has not been involved in active flying duties. The post has previously always been held by a pilot on active flying duty. Air India commented: "Singh has an exceptional track record. She is a medically grounded pilot whose services have been used by AI in various capacities on issues relating to safety".
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The_Goat
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 4:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Railway-officer-Ashwani-Lohani-to-be-next-AI-chief/articleshow/48555018.cms

Railway officer Ashwani Lohani to be next AI chief


NEW DELHI: Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation MD Ashwani Lohani is set to be the next chief of Air India.

An Indian Railway Service officer of 1980 batch, Lohani is likely to succeed Rohit Nandan whose three-year term ended last year and who was on a one-year extension till the government was able to find a new chief for Air India.

Nandan's one-year extension was ending on Thursday night and the government is likely to make the announcement by the evening.

Sources say the government has given a month's extension to Nandan, who will be posted as a secretary in this time. Lohani will take over next month.

A qualified mechanical engineer, Lohani is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport. He is the founder member of the Indian Steam Railway Society and member of CII National Council on Tourism.




Steam engine to Boeing 787 is quite a jump, no matter how you look at it.

Whatever he does, I sincerely hope this guy doesn't bring the safety and cleanliness standards of the Indian Railways to AI Shocked
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Jaysit
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

sumantra wrote:
The_Goat wrote:
How big are these billboards? They must be pretty huge if they can come in the way of an airplane taking off.
From what I know Sir, they are high and large enough for the worst-case scenario of a fully loaded plane experiencing an engine-out condition in a hot and humid take-off: it comes dangerously close to the margins.


I believe that this is a regulatory requirement that given BOM's location in a densely packed urban environment doesn't make much sense.

The billboards (if I have this right), are situated along the Western Express Highway that abuts the very end of Runway, and is smack dab in the middle of densely packed neighborhoods. Should a departing aircraft not be able to clear these billboards, it's got bigger problems. In fact, it's likely to slam into buildings, the railway track and scores of cars.

None of this makes any sense.
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jasepl
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
Steam engine to Boeing 787 is quite a jump, no matter how you look at it.

But Indian Railways to Air India isn't Smile
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sumantra
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Jaysit wrote:
None of this makes any sense.
Sanjay, I think you have put the gist of the sad story, very nicely. I feel that the buildings and other structures at the 09 end of the main runway are still within bounds, but still the billboards are not. An engine-out will result in a sluggish take-off and a sluggish angle-of-attack, which the other structures are still safe because of their increasing distance from the runway. Forget the airport encroachment, forget the vote bank slums close to the 27 end at Jari Mari. If these billboards cannot be taken out, we are looking at serious issues, which in this case, affect Air India alone, given the large aircraft otherwise packed to the rafters with passengers and cargo in the monsoons, is dangerous, forcing Air India to offload weight, and bleed the taxpayer more, even on a route that has actually given them profits even in their dark years. Sad. Very sad.
Cheers, Sumantra.
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The_Goat
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

jasepl wrote:
The_Goat wrote:
Steam engine to Boeing 787 is quite a jump, no matter how you look at it.

But Indian Railways to Air India isn't Smile


Not according to the GoI. They are capable of anything

AI should consider itself lucky that it does not have the ex-MD of Hindustan Latex leading it.
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