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Air India News -- Part 34
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iah87
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 8:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If there is an all economy version, it probably can accommodate 330 pax. But does AI have all economy version ?

Also who is paying for all these evacuations, GoI or the students. When USA evacuates their citizens, they have pay in installments later, otherwise the passport is put on hold, preventing travel.

All these students can afford Rs 30000 for the one way travel, India should collect from in a reasonable amount of time or put the passport on hold until they pay.
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2022 9:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
Former Turkish Airlines chairman Ilker Ayci to be Air India CEO and MD.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/former-turkish-airlines-chairman-ilker-ayci-to-be-air-india-ceo-md/articleshow/89567182.cms


Wow!
The man is supposedly close to Erdogan, the Turkish President. Erdogan, among other things, is Pakistan's 'friend', Imran Khan's 'brother',
the Chairman of the Kashmir Committee at the OIC,
and has also raised the Kashmir issue at the UN.

I wonder what the Government will have to say about this. Trust the likes of Subramaniam Swamy to come out howling.

But all that apart, if he can do to AI what he did to THY then we'll owe him a lot of gratitude.


https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/turkeys-ayci-declines-air-india-ceo-role-tata-spokesperson/articleshow/89918672.cms

Well he declined the offer rather than face this controversy. It may be the best for Tata too, should Ayci not perform well, it would not have gone well with many and they will say "I told you so - Ayci deliberately sabotaged AI".

There are always others with similar backgrounds and Tata being an international company can always attract and find the appropriate person.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 04, 2022 6:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

iah87 wrote:
If there is an all economy version, it probably can accommodate 330 pax. But does AI have all economy version ?

Also who is paying for all these evacuations, GoI or the students. When USA evacuates their citizens, they have pay in installments later, otherwise the passport is put on hold, preventing travel.

All these students can afford Rs 30000 for the one way travel, India should collect from in a reasonable amount of time or put the passport on hold until they pay.


The seating configs can be changed rather quickly. But they may have to pull an aircraft out from their schedule to change it.
But I still doubt a 787-8 can seat 330 all Y.

As for payment, I'm assuming that the GoI will charge the students once they reach India. These are not poor students, and they can afford to pay up.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 6:52 pm    Post subject: AI CCU-HKG service Reply with quote

AI has restarted service to HKG (twice weekly), but it is a strange route. CCU-HKG one way but the return HKG-DEL.

Initially I thought that it was because it was narrow body so they could fly the CCU-HKG route, but the aircraft appears to be 787.

Wonder why they chose HKG from CCU and not from DEL but only on the return. Connections wise DEL is far better than CCU.
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2022 3:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/114467-indias-alliance-air-adds-first-do-228

Alliance Air adds first Do-228

12.04.2022

Alliance Air (India) (9I, Mumbai Int'l) took delivery of its first Indian-made Do228-200 on April 6, 2022, with VT-KNP (msn 4130) having arrived at Delhi Int'l from the Hindustan Aeronautics assembly line at Kanpur. Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows the Indian carrier subsequently began deploying the turboprop on various proving routes on April 8.

The aircraft is the first of two Hindustan Aeronautics-built and -owned Do-228-200s that Alliance Air is planning to induct to improve its ability to serve thinner routes under the government-funded Regional Connectivity Scheme (UDAN). In a clear sign of the aircraft's target market, VT-KNP is adorned with UDAN-themed stickers on its fuselage. It can seat up to 17 passengers, which is significantly less than Alliance Air's only other aircraft type, the ATR72-600, which seats up to 70 passengers.

Alliance Air is also in the process of adding two ATR42-600s.

The airline was a subsidiary of Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) but was not subject to the same privatisation process. As such, it is now a standalone state-owned carrier, although it is also earmarked for sale. It operates under its own code but in commercial cooperation and under Air India's branding.





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PostPosted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 8:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/114912-air-india-loses-preferred-carrier-status-re-traffic-rights

Air India loses preferred carrier status re traffic rights

26.04.2022

The Indian government has stripped Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) of its preferential status insofar as the allocation of international traffic rights is concerned following the state-owned carrier's sale to Tata Sons earlier this year.

Airline executives told the Business Standard newspaper that following the move, the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has now dropped Clause 3.6 in its regulations - "due consideration shall be given to operational plans submitted by Air India before allocation of the traffic rights to other eligible applicants" - which had prioritised the former flag carrier's business plans over those of other airlines.

"The central government may, at its discretion, grant or deny [the] allocation of traffic rights to any air transport undertaking having regard to its preparedness to undertake such operations, viability of the operations on a particular route, overall interests of the civil aviation sector etc.," the revised version states.

As such, the playing field is now seen as being more level given Air India also no longer has access to the Indian government's seemingly depthless pockets.

Aside from Air India and its Air India Express low-cost subsidiary, the only other Indian carriers that operate international flights and that are therefore affected by the change in policy include IndiGo Airlines, Go First, SpiceJet, and Vistara.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/air-india-to-buy-airasia-india-as-tatas-kick-off-4-airline-consolidation/articleshow/91135912.cms

Air India to buy AirAsia India
Apr 28, 2022

In what will be its first M&A under new owner Tata Sons, Air India has proposed to buy low-cost carrier AirAsia India, according to an application with the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The move will see Malaysia's AirAsia exiting the airline venture nine years after it entered India with high hopes.

AirAsia owns 16.33% in the India unit and, according to the shareholders' agreement between the company and Tata Sons, the latter can acquire the former's stake directly or through an affiliate. Since Air India is now an affiliate of Tatas, the purchase of AirAsia's stake has been routed through it, sources said.

Air India will buy AirAsia's 16.3% in the airline venture for Rs 139 crore. The remaining stake of 83.7% in AirAsia India is held by Tata Sons. This too will be purchased by Air India. Tata Sons had acquired Air India through its 100% arm Talace in a Rs 18,000-crore equity and debt deal on January 27 this year.

The CCI application is the first step by Tata Sons to integrate its aviation business, which also includes low-cost carrier Air India Express. The proposed acquisition of AirAsia India by Air India "will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India", read the CCI application.

The Tata Sons's airline brands including Air India, AirAsia India and Vistara (which is a joint venture with Singapore Airlines) - have a domestic market share of 25%, while IndiGo remains the market leader with a share of almost 54%.

Air India Express is primarily an international budget carrier connecting south India to the Gulf and southeast Asia. Though AirAsia India started flying in 2014, a year before Vistara started operations, it still does not have rights to fly abroad. On the other hand, Vistara flies to several foreign locations such as the UK, Europe, Gulf and south east Asia. With AirAsia set to exit AirAsia India, Tata Sons will have to bring that business under one brand.

Meanwhile, Tata Sons is bringing its aviation units personnel under one roof in Gurgaon, where it will take on lease an office space of 70,000 square feet.

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 28, 2022 6:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/dgca-de-registers-four-jumbo-jets-of-air-india/articleshow/91132338.cms

DGCA de-registers four jumbo jets of Air India

Apr 27, 2022

A question mark hangs over whether the Maharaja’s “queen of the skies” — his four Boeing 747 jumbo jets — will fly passengers again. The nearly three decade old aircraft have been de-registered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Comments from sought from AI on the future of these planes — whether they will fly again or be retired — were sought from AI and awaited till the time of going to press.

“The four B747s of AI have been de-registered,” said senior DGCA officials. They add if and when AI plans to use them again for commercial flights, it will have to undergo a return to service program leading to the re-registration of the aircraft.

Given the age of these planes and shortage of spares, it remains to be seen if AI jumbo jets fly passengers again.
Till about two years ago fly top Indian dignitaries, president, PM and VP, used to fly the jumbo on medium to long haul flights. It used to fly one-stop to the Americas. The jumbos were used for regular passenger flights and get their seating reconfigured when being taken out for VVIP flights.

This duty ended when two refurbished B777s were inducted as dedicated VVIP aircraft about two years ago. These state-of-the-art planes with most sophisticated security and communication systems can fly direct to almost anywhere in the world, with no need for a stop while flying to the Americas.

Given the hit to air traffic delivered by the pandemic and then the subsequent rise in jet fuel prices due to Russia’s war on Ukraine, four-engine planes like the B747 have become financially unviable for airlines. They find twin engines like the Boeing 777/787 and Airbus A330/350 more viable.

Moreover these planes have a great range too and operate some of the longest nonstops in them world like Singapore-New York and Delhi-San Francisco.

The first B747, named Emperor Ashoka, had joined AI fleet in 1971. With the 747s, AI under JRD Tata had set new levels of inflight luxury. It introduced a new "Palace in the Sky" livery and for this aircraft. The tastefully decorated staircase to the upper deck; jharokha flight panels; dewans and bar were way ahead of their time when introduced onboard these beautiful machines in the 1970 by JRD himself.

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PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2022 10:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/114982-air-india-retires-all-b747-400s

Air India retires all B747-400s

02.05.2022

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has deregistered all four B747-400s formerly operated by Air India as the now privately-owned carrier seeks to roll over to a more efficient fleet, sources told the PTI news agency.

VT-ESO (msn 27165), VT-ESP (msn 27214), VT-EVA (ms 28094), and VT-EVB (msn 28095) were retired from commercial service in 2020 and 2021. Air India's last scheduled B747 flight was on March 10, 2021, when VT-EVA flew from Delhi Int'l to Mumbai Int'l as AI863. Since then, all four have been parked at Mumbai airport, although the airline denied plans to retire the type in 2021.

The Boeing quadjets had a dual role as passenger aircraft on Air India's scheduled network and as VIP transports for the government. At 26.9 years of age on average, the subfleet is by far the oldest in Air India's network. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that other widebody types operated by the airline are B777-200(LR)s (three units), B777-300(ER)s (thirteen), and B787-8s (twenty-seven).

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PostPosted: Mon May 02, 2022 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/114982-air-india-retires-all-b747-400s

Air India retires all B747-400s

02.05.2022

The Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has deregistered all four B747-400s formerly operated by Air India as the now privately-owned carrier seeks to roll over to a more efficient fleet, sources told the PTI news agency.

VT-ESO (msn 27165), VT-ESP (msn 27214), VT-EVA (ms 28094), and VT-EVB (msn 28095) were retired from commercial service in 2020 and 2021. Air India's last scheduled B747 flight was on March 10, 2021, when VT-EVA flew from Delhi Int'l to Mumbai Int'l as AI863. Since then, all four have been parked at Mumbai airport, although the airline denied plans to retire the type in 2021.

The Boeing quadjets had a dual role as passenger aircraft on Air India's scheduled network and as VIP transports for the government. At 26.9 years of age on average, the subfleet is by far the oldest in Air India's network. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that other widebody types operated by the airline are B777-200(LR)s (three units), B777-300(ER)s (thirteen), and B787-8s (twenty-seven).


What are they going to do these 4 aircraft? My opinion would be after selling the engine either as scrap or in the used parts market, they can convert the planes into a museum in couple of cities and make some money on admission fees.
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PostPosted: Tue May 03, 2022 2:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

iah87 wrote:

What are they going to do these 4 aircraft? My opinion would be after selling the engine either as scrap or in the used parts market, they can convert the planes into a museum in couple of cities and make some money on admission fees.


Sadly that has never happened, and never will happen in India.

I was hoping they would have done that with the -200s and -300s that my Dad flew. AI had no interest in the same. The forward section of the fuselage of one of the -200s was saved by a technical school, while the flight deck of another -200 was bought by a private collector in Bombay. I was fortunate enough to have visited both of them.
Unless something like that happens to the -400s, they will be scrapped for parts / metal, just as the -300s were.
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PostPosted: Thu May 12, 2022 7:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Campbell Wilson of Scoot to be Air India's new CEO

The new owner of Air India, Tata Sons, has tapped Campbell Wilson to become the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the recently acquired airline. Wilson brings over a quarter of a century of experience in the aviation industry and leaves his current position that he first took up in 2011 as the head of Singapore's low-cost carrier Scoot to accept the post at Air India. On June 15, he will replace Ashwani Lohani, CEO of India's national carrier since 2015.

https://simpleflying.com/air-india-new-ceo-from-scoot/

Good luck to him. He has his task cut out. [/i]
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PostPosted: Mon May 16, 2022 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Air India and Vistara could merge by 2023 - report

Tata Sons has held exploratory talks with Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint-venture partner in Vistara, for a potential merger of the airline with Air India, multiple sources told The Indian Express.
https://indianexpress.com/article/business/aviation/vistara-could-merge-with-air-india-decision-likely-by-end-of-2023-7919104/[/i]
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PostPosted: Thu May 19, 2022 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
Air India and Vistara could merge by 2023 - report

Tata Sons has held exploratory talks with Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint-venture partner in Vistara, for a potential merger of the airline with Air India, multiple sources told The Indian Express.
https://indianexpress.com/article/business/aviation/vistara-could-merge-with-air-india-decision-likely-by-end-of-2023-7919104/[/i]


Before that could happen, they should start code sharing and also staggering the flights as some of the flights depart almost at the same time.

I dont know if they approvals from SQ for code sharing. And GoI will not place too many obstacles for code sharing considering that they have a common owner.

A simple thing to do is to place all Vistara flights for sale on AI website and vice-versa.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 01, 2022 1:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

So the good news is that AI's booking site has improved by leaps and bounds. It actually works, and works very well.

The bad news is that every damn flight seems to send you either via Delhi or Mumbai, to a level of absurdity. For example, if you wish to fly to fly from Bangalore to Hyderabad, they route you via Delhi, and a Chennai -Hyderabad flight is routed via Mumbai.

Flying Air India domestic seems to be the best way to both waste your time and increase your carbon footprint to astronomical levels.

At the very best, it looks like a ploy to send passengers to IndiGo, and at the worst, the famed Tata brain hasn't quite made its impact at AI.

I hope they live up to their name, and not live the life of Air Delhi under the garb of Air India.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 02, 2022 6:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/after-51-years-maharaja-retires-his-queens-of-the-skies/articleshow/91947953.cms

After 51 years, Maharaja 'retires' his 'queens of the skies'

Jun 1, 2022

Air India’s iconic Boeing 747s may have finally reached the end of the road after colouring international skies in the tricolour for over half a century. The Tata Group recently revamped the airline’s website and the jumbo jets are not shown as part of the fleet.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had this April deregistered the Maharaja’s last remaining four queen of the skies. If and when AI plans to use them again for commercial flights, it will have to undergo a return to service program leading to their re-registration. So technically AI can use these nearly 30-year-old planes again after going through this process. But given their age, shortage of spares, condition of cabin and most importantly investment required, it remains to be seen if that happens.

Comments were sought from AI on the issue and the response is awaited.

The revamped AI website shows these planes as part of its fleet — single aisle Airbus A320 family (319, 320 and 321) and wide body B777 and B787s.

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 03, 2022 1:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

cargo conversion, IMHO!

VT-ASJ
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 04, 2022 2:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Aseem wrote:
cargo conversion, IMHO!

VT-ASJ


Won't be economical to do so, sir.

AI's 744s are about 25 years old. They are most likely due for D-checks and need a ton of ADs to be implemented. Add the price of conversion to that, and they are probably better off placing an order for some new B777Fs.
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 06, 2022 9:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Winter 22 Schedule Highlights

BOM-FRA non-stop service reinstated between 30 Oct 22 & 24 Mar 23:

Days 25, BOMFRA AI 125 1205 1650
Days 37, FRABOM AI 124 1820 0645+1

Other non-stop wide body service from BOM includes:
EWR = 3 x week, no change from Summer 22
LHR = 4 x week, down from the current 7 x week.
DXB = 10 x week
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 7:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
Winter 22 Schedule Highlights

BOM-FRA non-stop service reinstated between 30 Oct 22 & 24 Mar 23:

Days 25, BOMFRA AI 125 1205 1650
Days 37, FRABOM AI 124 1820 0645+1

Other non-stop wide body service from BOM includes:
EWR = 3 x week, no change from Summer 22
LHR = 4 x week, down from the current 7 x week.
DXB = 10 x week


Why is AI not taking advantage of United's absence on the BOM-EWR market? Pre pandemic they were flying daily along with United. No they can only manage 3 times a week !!!

Pandemic is almost over and the flights are full wonder what is the reason for still sticking to 3 times a week on this very lucrative route (at least it was pre pandemic).
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 07, 2022 8:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HAL said it was also evaluating acquiring B747-400s retired by Air India and converting them into freighters. The Indian flag carrier owns four of the Boeing quadjets which were retired in 2020 and 2021 and eventually deregistered as of May 1, 2022. They remain parked at Mumbai Int'l airport.


https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/116174-indias-hal-to-buy-b767s-for-tankers-eyes-b747-conversion
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 09, 2022 1:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

iah87 wrote:


Why is AI not taking advantage of United's absence on the BOM-EWR market? Pre pandemic they were flying daily along with United. No they can only manage 3 times a week !!!

Pandemic is almost over and the flights are full wonder what is the reason for still sticking to 3 times a week on this very lucrative route (at least it was pre pandemic).


Because they don't have the aircraft. About five of their 77Ws and a few of their 787s are grounded for lack of spares. They have also suspended BLR-SFO, BLR-LHR and the HYD extension of DEL-ORD for the same reason.

The Tatas have made it a priority to reactivate all the grounded aircraft, according to a report I read recently. So we should find all these routes coming back soon.
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2022 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/tata-airlines-consolidation-begins-cci-approves-air-india-acquiring-entire-stake-in-airasia-india/articleshow/92206234.cms

Tata airlines' consolidation begins: CCI approves Air India acquiring entire stake in AirAsia India

Jun 14, 2022

Paving way for consolidation among the four Tata Group airlines, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) approved acquisition of entire shareholding in Air Asia India by Air India.

The Group plans to have AI, which it took over this January, as its flagship carrier and merge the low cost airlines AirAsia India and AI Express. Vistara, Tata’s JV with Singapore Airlines, will continue as a separate carrier for now along with AI.

“CCI approves acquisition of entire shareholding in AirAsia India by Air India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons,” the CCI tweeted on Tuesday.

“The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AAIPL by AI, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited (TSPL). At present, TSPL holds 83.67% of the equity share capital of AAIPL. The proposed combination is notifiable under… the Competition Act, 2002,” the notification to CCI this April says. AAIPL is a joint venture in which Tatas have 83.67% stake and the remaining 16.33% switch AirAsia.

“The proposed combination will not lead to any change in the competitive landscape or cause any appreciable adverse effect on competition in India, irrespective of the manner in which the relevant markets are defined,” the April notification had said.
Tata Sons have begun the task of consolidating its four airlines through a proposed merger — of AirAsia India Pvt Ltd (AAIPL) with Air India (AI) — and bringing them together under one roof at a seven-lakh-square-feet mega office in Gurgaon.

While IndiGo remains the domestic market leader with a share of almost 54%, AI-AAIPL combine will become the second largest individual airline with a domestic share of almost 16%.

Along with Vistara (where 49% stakeholder Singapore Airlines is yet to agree to a merger with AI), Tata airlines’ combined domestic share will rise to almost 25%.

The group’s fourth airline, AI Express, is primarily an international budget carrier connecting south India to the Gulf and southeast Asia. AAIPL started operating in 2014, a year before the second Tata JV Vistara, and still does not have rights to fly abroad.

The Tata Group has begun move to have greater synergy between its four airlines by shifting them to one mega office at Delhi’s suburb of Gurgaon. Working with Tata Realty, the group is finalising its office requirement and plans to start the transition at the earliest.

“Considering the existing 4 (airlines) and one JV (AI-SATS) as part of the Tata fold, it has been decided that to optimise resources, increase team work and have higher synergies at work, the various entities will move together into a complex in Gurgaon to start with as far as possible in a phased manner. A new office space on NH8 has already been identified where we have an option to lease up to 700,000 sq ft immediately,” a communication sent to the heads of these five Tata aviation entities earlier this year said.

“We now need to finalise our exact space requirement and start planning the transition to this new space immediately. We are targeting to move in the next 2-3 months. For this purpose, to develop the strategy plan, the task has been entrusted to Harpreet A De Singh, ED headquarters, along with the Consultants from Ernst and Young,” it had added.


The entities have been asked to give information about their required office space to this team “in a timely manner, to facilitate this strategic transformation and consolidation at the earliest.” This shift will consolidate Gurgaon’s pre-eminence in Indian aviation as it already houses IndiGo and SpiceJet. Mumbai, one the hub of airline headquarters, now houses few relatively big airlines like GoAir.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 6:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/air-india-begins-entry-into-service-for-airbus-a350-new-ceo-to-take-over-next-week/articleshow/92237932.cms

Air India begins 'entry into service' for Airbus A350

Jun 15, 2022

The “wings of change” promised by Tata Group for Air India will soon start becoming visible with new aircraft and a professional domain-specific management. The airline is learnt to have started work on “entry into service” for the state-of-the-art Airbus A350 aircraft that may start joining the fleet early next year. And a veteran from Tata’s trusted airline partner Singapore Airlines (SIA), Campbell Wilson, will take over as MD-CEO on Monday — just days after his last day at SIA budget arm Scoot as CEO on June 15.

This shows the urgency AI’s new owners have shown in getting an aviation pro to run the Maharaja. To be sure the Tatas have not downplayed the legacy issues at AI and say a complete turnaround will take some time.

“Russian Aeroflot had ordered about a dozen A350s whose delivery was scheduled to begin now in a phased manner. This won’t happen now for obvious reasons (sanctions on Russia). Qatar Airways, which is in the midst of a spat with the European aircraft major, also had some A350s on order. Some of these birds are nearly ready for delivery and can be given to alternate customer/s. Talks are on between Tatas and Airbus,” say people in the know.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2022 6:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/france-s-airbus-close-to-clinching-air-india-deal-for-50-a350-aircraft-122061501262_1.html

Airbus close to clinching Air India deal for 50 A350 aircraft

June 15, 2022

Air India is close to signing an agreement with French aerospace major Airbus for an order of up to 50 Airbus A350-900 aircraft. Additionally, the airline is also in talks to order more than 100 A321 neo aircraft- a popular version of Airbus’ single aisle version.

The airline on Wednesday asked its pilots to prepare for training on the aircraft. “Air India is in the process of augmenting its existing fleet with the A350 type of aircraft with the Entry into Service. You are requested to give your acceptance of your willingness to be taken up for Conversion training on the A350 aircraft,” a memo to pilots reviewed by Business Standard said.

Transition training from A320 to A350 will require only around six months as Airbus has ensured cockpit commonality in the two aircraft.

Airbus and Air India didn’t reply to queries sent on the topic.

Sources said that the airline was looking to induct the A350 aircraft as early as the first half of 2023.

Such an early delivery of the aircraft is possible because the airline is eyeing aircraft already built for Russian airline AeroFlot, which Airbus couldn’t deliver due to the sanctions placed by the company on Russia.

Aeroflot had a total of 22 A350-900 aircraft on order. Out of those, only one has been delivered to Aerflot while six aircraft are being taken by Turkish Airlines, which will be delivered in 2022 and 2023.

The Russia-Ukraine war has led to Western nations taking swift action against Russia, imposing sanctions and airspace bans. The actions restricted plane makers like Airbus and Boeing from selling and delivering aircraft to their Russian customers.

Multiple delays by Boeing for commercial launch of its competing product like the 777X due to regulatory issues also contributed to the order swaying in Airbus’ favour. Plans of Vistara, the group’s joint venture with Singapore, have been hit due to the delay in delivery of 787 aircraft.

A team of top executives of Tata Sons, which includes the conglomerate’s Chief Financial Officer Saurabh Agrawal and Air India’s Chief Commercial officer Nipun Aggarwal, is in Hamburg to finalise details on the seating layout and interiors.

Airbus had earlier showcased a more advanced version of the aircraft A350-1000 to Tata Sons executives including group patriarch Ratan Tata.

The airline is simultaneously working to restore its grounded aircraft. Around 30 of Air India’s 113 aircraft have been grounded for varying periods due to lack of engine overhaul or non-availability of components and spares. This includes aircraft from both the Airbus and Boeing fleet such as Airbus A320, Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft.

While Air India has a fleet of 141 aircraft, a mix of narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft, the airline has agreed to hand over only 118 of them in fly-worthy condition to the Tatas.

Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran who is also the chairman of Air India had earlier said that the group will need to order new aircraft inorder to augment the fleet of the airline.

“We will address it with utmost urgency. We’ll upgrade our fleet, we’ll bring modernity in our fleet, we’ll bring a new fleet,” he had said in a video address to employees.

Air India’s last aircraft order was in 2006 when it had placed orders for purchasing 111 aircraft -- 68 from US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing and 43 from European aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 01, 2022 7:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/117052-air-india-express-eyes-more-b737s-as-demand-rebuilds

Air India Express eyes more B737s as demand rebuilds

01.07.2022

Air India Express (IX, Mumbai Int'l) is planning to add four additional B737s to its fleet of twenty-four B737-800s in response to the rapidly recovering demand, an inside source told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency.

"In the short-term, the airline might take four aircraft on dry lease to increase capacity for the interim period. These planes will only be used for increasing frequency and consolidation of the existing routes," the source said.

The source did not specify whether the aircraft would be B737-800s or another variant. The timeline for the induction is also unclear.

Air India Express operates domestic and short-haul international routes under its own code, despite being a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l). The source indicated that Air India Express has a business plan to grow to 50 aircraft by 2025, adopted in 2018, but was subsequently thwarted as the government privatised its parent. Now, however, as Air India has returned to the private ownership of Tata Sons, Air India Express is poised to finally grow. The carrier sees the need to increase the fleet to recapture some of the market share lost to rapidly expanding low-cost carriers.

"The competition is growing every day, and we have to keep up with that," the source said.

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PostPosted: Wed Jul 27, 2022 6:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/govt-starts-work-on-sale-of-alliance-air-other-ex-ai-cos/articleshow/93148121.cms

Govt starts work on sale of Alliance Air, other ex-AI cos

Jul 27, 2022

After Air India, the Centre has now begun work on privatising its erstwhile subsidiaries - regional carrier Alliance Air Aviation, AI Engineering Services and AI Airport Services.The civil aviation ministry has begun a clean-up exercise, involving government guarantees that were given to Alliance Air. Additionally, it will look at the infrastructure available with the other two subsidiaries and the HR issues, including manpower deployment, which will pave the way for seeking expression of interest over the next few months, officials told TOI.

The sale of the entities will help the government garner some resources and recover some of the money it had pumped into Air India before it was sold. Of them, the engineering arm could see the maximum interest from potential buyers as the Tata Group has major fleet expansion plans, said people in the know. A few renowned international airlines with large engineering subsidiaries are keen to forge alliances with Tatas to jointly run the maintenance shop here.

Alliance Air currently has a fleet of 19 turboprops - 18 ATRs and a made-in-India Dornier of HAL - and operates 115 daily departures on a network of 50 domestic destinations mainly in north and Northeast India. The 800-employee-strong airline will induct two more ATRs by September and another HAL-made Dornier. The regional carrier plans to start an international route - Chennai-Jaffna - soon, depending on the situation in Sri Lanka.

IndiGo is the only financially stable operator of regional flights using turboprops in India. Industry insiders said that apart from IndiGo and Tata-owned AI, no other Indian operator as of now has the required financial muscle to successfully bid for Alliance Air.

AI Airport Services (AIASL), the ground handling arm providing services at airports, is facing its own issues right now. Citing a deterioration in its services that is causing flight delays, AI had recently warned AIASL that it may opt for other service providers at some airports. AIASL may see some interest from ground handlers already working at Indian airports.

Last October, the government had carved four subsidiaries out of AI, while making the final preparations to return the Maharaja to founder Tata Group along with AI Express. They were transferred to an SPV, Air India Assets Holding (AIAHL), at book value. The government retained Rs 44,679 crore of AI's debt in this SPV which also got the subsidiaries, land and buildings. These will gradually be sold to pay off the debt.

The fourth subsidiary, Hotel Corporation of India (HCI) runs Centaur in Delhi and Srinagar. While the dilapidated Centaur Delhi is set to be demolished, Kashmir administration had sealed the Srinagar property last month for violation of lease terms. So there is nothing in HCI to be sold off for the government.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2022 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/air-india-issues-tender-to-sell-three-b777-200lr-aircraft/articleshow/93169928.cms?from=mdr

Air India issues tender to sell three B777-200LR aircraft

29 July, 2022

Air India on Wednesday issued a tender to sell its three B777-200LR wide-bodied aircraft, which were manufactured in 2009.

The Tata Group, which took charge of Air India on January 27, is currently in talks with Airbus and Boeing to place a sizeable aircraft order.

The tender said that the bids for three wide-bodied aircraft, which are powered by GE90-110 engines, will have to be submitted by August 16.

Wide-bodied aircraft have bigger fuel tanks that allows them to travel on long-haul international routes like between India and the US.

According to its website, Air India currently has a feet of 128 aircraft, including the aforementioned three B777-200LR planes.

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2022 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/117866-air-india-puts-b777-200lrs-up-for-sale

Air India puts B777-200(LR)s up for sale

29.07.2022

Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the sale of its last three B777-200(LR)s, according to the Indian media.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Air India owns and operates VT-ALF (msn 36305), VT-ALG (msn 36306), and VT-ALH (msn 36307) all of which 2009 builds and have been operated by Air India since new. They are deployed on a single scheduled route - from Delhi Int'l to San Francisco, CA.

Bids for the aircraft are due by August 16, 2022. The RFP has not been published on the carrier's website. Air India did not respond to ch-aviation's request for more information.

Air India is one of just ten remaining scheduled passenger operators of the B777-200(LR). Its fleet of the type once numbered eight, but five were retired in 2014, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. The world's largest operator of the type is Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l) with ten aircraft. Only sixty-one B777-200(LR)s were ever built by Boeing.

Air India's B777 fleet also comprises thirteen B777-300(ER)s. The recently privatised carrier is in talks with manufacturers about a wide-ranging fleet renewal plan.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 01, 2022 5:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alliance Air has added a new ATR72-600 to the fleet today, as VT-UDA.
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Last edited by 747-237 on Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:12 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Mon Aug 01, 2022 7:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/air-india-to-allow-pilots-to-fly-until-65-years-of-age-8930231.html

Air India to allow pilots to fly until 65 years of age

Aug 01, 2022

Air India has issued a new policy on post-retirement engagement of pilots, which would allow some of them to continue flying till the age of 65, CNBC TV18 reported on August 1.

Pilots of the erstwhile national carrier currently retire at the age of 58.
As per the new policy, Air India will retain select-retiring pilots on a contractual basis for 5 years, extendable till they reach the age of 65, the news channel reported.

A committee will be formed by the airline to screen pilots retiring in the next two years for the extended engagement, it added.

One year before they are scheduled to retire, the selected pilots will receive a letter of intent for post-retirement engagement, CNBC TV18 further reported.

Air India's post-retirement engagement plan is not expected to face any regulatory hurdle as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allows pilots to fly till the age of 65.

The decision also comes amid the airline's plan to expand its fleet as the aviation sector is witnessing a swift recovery in the post-pandemic era.

The Tata Group, which took over Air India's reigns from the Government of India in January, will look to infuse $75-100 million in the carrier as part of its expansion plans, multiple sources aware of the matter told Moneycontrol last month.

"The investment will mostly be to add more aircraft in the near future to Air India Express' current fleet of 24 Boeing 737-800s," one of the sources, mentioned above, said.

Air India Express is looking at around 30 countries, including Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey, and Vietnam to expand its international operations in the next few years, the airline's chief of commercial operations Tara Naidu had said in June.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 03, 2022 3:10 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The tender for sale of the last 3 Worldliners is now up on AI's Website :

https://www.airindia.in/images/pdf/Tender-for-Sale-of-B777-FINAL-27Jul22.pdf
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PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2022 8:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/will-bring-back-10-grounded-wide-body-aircraft-to-service-by-early-2023-air-india-8972551.html

Will bring back 10 grounded wide-body aircraft to service by early 2023: Air India

07 Aug 2022

Air India on Sunday said it will bring back its 10 grounded wide-body aircraft to service by early 2023. A wide-body aircraft has a bigger fuel tank that allows it to travel on long-haul international routes like India-US and India-Canada.

"Air India's wide-body fleet currently stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. This is a significant improvement from 28 aircraft that the airline was operating till recently," its statement said. The remaining aircraft will be progressively returned to service by early 2023, it added.

The carrier on Sunday announced that it will operate daily flight between Delhi in India and Vancouver in Canada from August 31 onwards. Currently, it operates Delhi-Vancouver service three times per week.

This enhancement in frequency on Delhi-Vancouver route caters to growing traffic between India and Canada, and has been enabled by the return to service of the wide-body Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, the carrier noted.

It said Boeing has been working closely with Air India following its acquisition by Tata Group to restore aircraft that had been grounded for prolonged periods due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other reasons. "The progressive restoration of these aircraft has already allowed Air India to increase schedule resilience and will allow further frequency and network increases over the coming months," it added. "

The Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27 after successfully winning the bid for the airline on October 8 last year.

Air India's newly appointed CMD Campbell Wilson had in the last week of July asked the airline's integrated operations control centre (IOCC), which is the "nerve centre" of any carrier, to report directly to him and give recommendations on how to improve the on-time performance.

On Sunday, Wilson said in a statement that the increase of frequency on Delhi-Vancouver route marks the first step in restoring Air India's fleet and international network.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 9:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/air-india-to-lease-six-aircraft-as-poor-interiors-delay-flights-to-north-america-101659931113369.html

Air India to lease six aircraft as poor interiors delay flights to North America

Aug 08, 2022

Air India is planning to lease six B777 aircraft for the first time in at least 10 years, officials aware of the matter said and added this was being done largely as poor interiors were delaying flights to North America.

An official said flights to the US and Canada, specifically to Vancouver, have been delayed due to faulty seats recently. “Taking into account the impact on the airline operations, it has been decided that the airline will lease six B777 to operate its ultra-long-haul flights [lasting over 16 hours),” an airline official said, requesting anonymity. “The [existing] aircraft have no other issues.”
According to Flightradar24, which provides real-time information about aircraft globally, Air India’s Delhi-Vancouver flight was repeatedly delayed including by 11 hours on July 10.

A second official cited the current demand and added the airline plans to either increase the frequency of flights or add destinations. “The six leased aircraft will not replace the previous ones but will be additions to the fleet.”

The aircraft will be leased for two years and be used for flight operations within three months. “The aircraft are set to arrive by October and will be operated in addition to the current aircraft...” the official said.

The airline separately plans to buy around 50 Airbus A350-900 and 100 A321neo aircraft and induct them by the middle of next year. Last month, the airline asked its pilots to prepare for training on the A350-900 aircraft.
Air India has a fleet of 141 narrow and wide-body Airbus and Boeing aircraft.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 08, 2022 11:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

747-237 wrote:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/air-india-to-lease-six-aircraft-as-poor-interiors-delay-flights-to-north-america-101659931113369.html

[i]Air India to lease six aircraft as poor interiors delay flights to North America


They should lease those five Jet Airways 777-300ERs that are still cooling their wheels on the tarmac in BOM and DEL? Jet's inflight product wasn't too bad.
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PostPosted: Fri Aug 12, 2022 12:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The_Goat wrote:
747-237 wrote:
https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/air-india-to-lease-six-aircraft-as-poor-interiors-delay-flights-to-north-america-101659931113369.html

[i]Air India to lease six aircraft as poor interiors delay flights to North America


They should lease those five Jet Airways 777-300ERs that are still cooling their wheels on the tarmac in BOM and DEL? Jet's inflight product wasn't too bad.


Werent the Jet 77Ws too heavy to do a non-stop India-NA sector without load restrictions?
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 25, 2022 10:58 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/118706-air-india-to-lease-second-hand-b777s-a320neo

Air India to lease second hand B777s, A320neo

24.08.2022

Air India is planning to add six second-hand B777-200s and twenty-five A320-200Ns by the first quarter of 2023 to renew its fleet in the short-term before it can take deliveries of new aircraft, the Economic Times has reported.

The widebodies will be ex-Delta Air Lines aircraft and are expected to deliver to Air India by October 2022. They will be used on the carrier's most lucrative US routes.

The ch-aviation fleets history module shows that Delta Air Lines retired ten B777-200(LR)s and eight B777-200(ER)s during the COVID-19 pandemic. Three -200(LR)s are due to be converted into freighters for Cargojet Airways, while one -200(ER) has been acquired by the Arizona Cardinals football franchise and is operated by Jet Aviation Flight Services (Teterboro). The remaining aircraft are in storage.

Air India did not clarify which of the two variants it would add, and did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment. It currently operates three -200(LR)s but is planning to sell them.

According to earlier reports, the dry-lease of the B777s will be for two years.

The A320neo will be sourced from the open market, and their identity has yet to be confirmed. They are scheduled to start delivering in early 2023 and will be used primarily on domestic routes.

The carrier's regional unit, Air India Express will, in turn, add five B737-800s currently operated by Vistara. The full-service sister carrier, which is a joint venture between Air India's parent Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines Group, took nine Boeing widebodies after the collapse of Jet Airways, despite being hitherto an A320 Family operator. Four of these aircraft have since been returned to the lessors, but the other five leases were extended by Tata Sons and will soon be transferred to Air India Express. Vistara will then no longer operate any B737s.

Air India Express currently operates twenty-four B737-800s, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module.

Air India is in the final stages of negotiating an order for at least 200 aircraft, including both narrow- and wide-bodies. However, the airline does not expect to take any of these aircraft before 2024 due to limited delivery slots.

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 12, 2022 2:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/air-india-leases-30-planes-to-boost-operations-offer-premium-class-122091200508_1.html

Air India leases 30 planes to boost operations, offer premium economy class

September 12, 2022

Air India said on Monday it has leased 25 Airbus narrow-body aircraft and five Boeing wide-body planes, which will enter service from December.

“The aircraft being leased include twenty-one Airbus A320neos, four Airbus A321neos and five Boeing B777-200LRs,” Air India said. The lessors will deliver the planes by 2023-end, helping the airline increase its fleet size to 143 aircraft.

Changing its business model, Air India will offer premium economy class too. The five B777-200LRs will have premium economy class.

The airline said that the leased B777-200LRs will join the fleet between December 2022 and March 2023, and they will be deployed on routes from Indian metro cities to the USA.

Mumbai will see the addition of flights to San Francisco as well as to both of the New York area’s international airports, Newark Liberty and John F Kennedy, while Bangalore will receive a 3x weekly service to San Francisco,” it said.

The four A321neo aircraft are expected to join the Air India fleet in the first quarter of the calendar year 2023, while the 21 A320neo planes will be inducted in the second half of 2023, it said.

These narrow-body planes will be deployed in domestic sectors as well as to short-haul international destinations.



EDIT: The 5 x 77Ls are likely ex DL airframes.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 5:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/119328-air-india-inks-leases-for-5-b777-200lrs-25-a3201neo

The B777-200(LR)s are ex-Delta Air Lines stock and are expected to deliver between October 2022 and March 2023. Air India plans to deploy them on its routes to the United States and will use them to add services from Mumbai Int'l to San Francisco, CA, New York Newark, and New York JFK, and from Bangalore Int'l to San Francisco.

It said it would keep the premium economy seats outfitted by Delta, making these five aircraft the only in its fleet to offer this class. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that all of Delta's B777-200(LR)s are configured for 122 passengers in the economy class, 90 in economy plus, 48 in economy premium, and 28 in business.

The aircraft will complement three B777-200(LR)s currently operated by Air India, but which have been slated for sale.

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PostPosted: Sat Sep 17, 2022 1:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alliance Air has added a new ATR72-600 to the fleet today, as VT-UDB.
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