Tata Group-owned Air India on Wednesday announced the launch of new flights connecting Mumbai with New York, Paris and Frankfurt, starting February next year. Besides, the full-service carrier also announced the resumption of non-stop flights connecting Delhi with Copenhagen, Milan and Vienna. The Mumbai-New York (JFK International Airport) daily service will commence from February 14 next year, Air India said.
While the government is working on final contours for a strategic divestment of its stake in loss-making Air India, the airline is ready with plans to fly to more overseas destinations.
The AI-111 flight departed from the Delhi airport at around 5.20 pm instead of its scheduled departure time of 2 pm, they said.
This is the third instance in the last three days when the aviation regulator grounded a plane after an incident.
The maiden flight, which is part of a comprehensive flight-test programme leading to its certification and delivery in mid-2014, was for over five hours with a Boeing spokesperson saying here that it was successful.
A part of the proceeds will also be used for operational requirements, sources said in Mumbai. The carrier has already taken the delivery of 11 Dreamliners and three more are expected to join the fleet by March of next year.
Air India shelves plan to acquire Boeing 787-9 aircraft.
With better utilisation of slots, foreign flying rights, and greater international connections, the operator of India's largest airport feels a privatised Air India will bring commercial benefit to Delhi airport and help it revive quicker from the pandemic shock. Delhi is the largest hub for Air India, with most of its long-haul flights to the US and Europe being operated from here. The airport plans to give its most modern terminal 3 (T3) exclusively to the Tata Group.
The Boeing 787-8, which costs $185.2 million is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner.
Air India has put all its newly-acquired Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner planes for sale and leaseback and invited bids from prospective lessors by February first week, even as all of these aircraft remained grounded across the world.
The earlier aircraft did not have a first class
Jet Airways on Tuesday said it will buy 10 aircraft from US-based aerospace major Boeing to expand its international operations.
In its bid to grab Air India orders, US aircraft manufacturer Boeing on Tuesday said it had offered a "comprehensive competitive pricing" to the public sector carrier, whose decision to purchase 50 aircraft of different makes was yet to get governmen
The flight will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. While the inaugural flight AI 139 left at 6 pm (Indian time) on Thursday, the scheduled departure will be 4.50 pm (Indian time) from March 25 when the summer schedule comes into operation.
Air India's decision to buy five Boeing 787-9 is illogical.
5 AI's Dreamliner pilots left the airline to join other carriers without serving the mandatory six-month notice period
'Indian diplomacy in West Asia under the present government has been a success story -- and with Saudi Arabia in particular,' says Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
