Falling jet fuel prices and a revival in domestic traffic growth offer the new CMD a once in a lifetime opportunity.
It was during his tenure that Air India made its first operating profit of Rs 105 crore in FY17 since the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India in 2007.
Ashwani Lohani is presently working as Managing Director of Madhya Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation in Bhopal.
Lohani's job was to turn around the MP Tourism Development Corporation.
"For an airline, the most important asset are the pilots. They are a mature lot who understand that strikes will not help anyone, that planes have to fly; only then will the money come."
Air India's new chief Ashwani Lohani is a man of many parts. Here are 10 interesting facts about him.
Air India employees should adopt a "more determined approach" to ensure that the turnaround of the airline becomes a reality.
Ashwani Lohani said employees were wrongly blamed for woes of the organisation due to the merger that didn't happen
The average number of flights the Air India group, including subsidiaries Alliance Air and Air India Express, operates daily is 674.
In a freak accident, an aircraft technician died after being sucked into the engine of an AI aircraft during push back at the Mumbai airport on Wednesday evening.
The EoI and the share purchase agreement would be issued in January itself for the bidders. While Air India's net loss in 2018-19 was around Rs 8,556 crore, its current total debt is around Rs 80,000 crore.
National carrier Air India on Monday said it flew the "world's longest" all-women operated and supported flight from New Delhi to San Francisco.
Rohit Nandan will continue to work as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of national carrier Air India for one month or till Ashwani Lohani takes over from him.
A total of 11 flights have been delayed so far.
Air India is seeking government approval to raise a Rs 2,000 crore loan and refinance $819 million aircraft debt, which would help tide over the financial crisis.
As the majority of Pakistani airspace has remained closed for Indian airlines since the Balakot strike on February 26, the decision to avoid affected Iranian airspace on Saturday is going to further disturb the routes of their international flights towards middle-eastern and European countries, and the US.
A K Chopra, a retired DGCA official, had flagged concerns regarding engineering, flight safety, operations, and training standards in the airline and subsidiaries, thus warning the management of grave safety risk. He also called for the replacement of the chief of flight safety Harpreet A De Singh, who, he said, did not meet the regulatory requirements for holding the post.
'All Shatabdis and Rajdhanis should be converted to this type of high-speed train.' 'There should be a sleeper version of the train.' 'Right now, there is only a day version of the train.' 'Unless you develop a sleeper version, it will not be possible to replace the Rajdhani.' 'Work on the sleeper version was stopped for some reason. It should be revived now.'
The fare of second AC Rajdhani ticket for Delhi-Kolkata is Rs 2,890 and Rs 4,095 for Delhi-Bengaluru Rajdhani.
The country's first bullet train will run at a maximum speed of 350 km per hour, covering the stretch in under three hours from the usual seven.
Delta said the airline will operate a Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft with a three-class configuration on the route and will offer passengers wi-fi connectivity and free mobile messaging.
The senior pilot was suspended in May last year after being found guilty of sexual harassment by an internal committee of the airline. The committee imposed a 'major penalty' on Captain Sachin Gupta, who has now appealed to the next authority against the punishment.
While Bhasin will be getting provident fund money and gratuity, he would not be getting leave encashment for 420 days, medical reimbursement for himself and wife, free passes for himself and wife, and holiday home facilities.
Inactive crew members are employees who are on any kind of leave be it casual, medical or privilege.
Air India chairman said that the airline never served non-vegetarian meals on short duration flights.
The death toll in China's coronavirus rose sharply to 425 with 64 deaths on Monday and the number of those infected with the deadly disease rose to 20,438, Chinese health authorities said on Tuesday.
If such a replacement is done, for example, in the 50 Rajdhani trains, officials said, it will create around 14,400 additional berths for AC-III passengers.
Besides lining up Bali, Nairobi and Toronto flights, the airline is also planning flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong. The network expansion will help the national carrier grow its market share and capitalise on the capacity vaccum created by the collapse of Jet Airways.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the launch of the new flight at the SAP center cheering up thousands of Indians.
Air India, SpiceJet, IndiGo and AirAsia India ready to fill in the gap.
The ban on Gaikwad was revoked last Friday after a letter from the ministry of civil aviation "advised" it to do so.
Lohani orders staff to ensure maintenance and cleanliness of hi-lift catering trucks
The minister said drivers are given specific instructions on where to slow down the train.
Existing norms mandate 2/3rd of members of an airline's board must comprise Indian nationals
The ATR 72-600 aircraft was accorded water salute as it landed at the Jaffna airport, about 400-km from capital Colombo.
An Air India flight to Bhubaneswar from here was delayed by nearly eight hours allegedly due to some "VIPs" forcing the government-owned carrier to reassign the aircraft and its crew for Bhopal, a charge denied by the airline.
The pilot and co-pilot of an Air India plane involved in Wednesday night's freak accident at the Mumbai airport where a technician died after getting sucked into the engine have been grounded even as the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau launched a probe.
IndiGo's president and director Aditya Ghosh apologised for the incident and said stern action was taken against an airline staff for manhandling the passenger.
According to airline sources, the software, which is of Atlanta-based SITA company, was not functioning approximately from 3 am to 9 am on Saturday. Consequently, boarding passes could not be issued at major airports across the world and various flights were delayed.
With passengers flying Indian skies getting more and more unruly, day by day, airlines are forced to stock rope and handcuffs on board and use them as they did the other day on a Dubai-Delhi flight.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances