'Air India's privatisation is acceptable as long as its control does not pass on to a foreign entity,' says A K Bhattacharya.
Airbus on Tuesday said it will deliver the first A350 aircraft to Air India by the end of this year and that the deal with the airline also marks the European aviation major's "emphatic return" to the wide-body segment in India, which is the fastest growing aviation market. As it looks to expand the fleet as well as operations, Tata Group-owned Air India on Tuesday announced that it will buy 250 planes from Airbus -- 210 from the A320 neo family and 40 A350. Remi Maillard, president and managing director of Airbus India and South Asia, said the company was very proud that the Tata Group has chosen A350 and A320 planes for Air India, adding that the magnitude of the order shows the appetite for growth in the Indian aviation industry, which is the fastest growing aviation market.
Hit by the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and soaring fuel prices, airlines are flying towards record losses with a likely loss of a whopping Rs 20,000 crore for the full fiscal year, warns a report. The airlines are flying towards their steepest-ever net loss of over Rs 20,000 crore this fiscal, which will be 44 per cent more than Rs 13,853 crore they bled last fiscal, Crisil said in a report. This will push back the industry's recovery beyond fiscal 2023, the report based on three large listed airlines--Indigo, Spicejet, and Air India--which together command 75 per cent of the domestic traffic, warned.
A court in Canada has ordered the seizure of amounts collected by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) on behalf of Air India and the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Separate orders were passed on November 24 and December 21 on pleas by shareholders of Devas Multimedia Private Limited who have filed multiple petitions to enforce arbitration awards against the Indian government. According to a Devas spokesperson, more than $30 million has been seized to date under the IATA action.
The Air India management has reached an agreement with pilots from the erstwhile Indian Airlines on the contentious issue of pay parity. Fearing another agitation from the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), the airline's management has agreed to the union's demands for fixed allowances each month.
Highly placed sources said Oil Minister Murli Deora took exception to Menon's proposals during a meeting of the Federation of Indian Airlines and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel to resolve the crisis arising out of mounting fuel bill arrears. "There should not be any layoffs. Why are you raising it now," sources quoted Deora as telling Menon.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
Air India has started three flights per week - on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
The government is considering several routes like enacting a law or getting a court order or simply issuing an ordinance for merging the two state-owned carriers -- Indian and Air-India, official sources said on Tuesday.
The total revenue increased from Rs 14,713.81 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 20,606.27 crore in 2014-15.
Kamra allegedly heckled Goswami, the editor of Republic TV, on IndiGo's Mumbai-Lucknow (6E5317) flight on Tuesday.
The Mumbai police have registered a case against an unidentified person after three airlines received bomb threats on their X handle, an official said on Tuesday.
Costlier fuel, fall in yields make things increasingly tough; analysts say focus on ending red ink a must.
Air India has asked a New York court to dismiss a petition filed by Britain's Cairn Energy for seizure of its assets to enforce $1.2 billion arbitral awards against the Indian government, saying the litigation was premature as an appeal against the arbitration award was still pending. The petition by the airline, which is separate to Indian government's plea in a Washington court seeking dismissal of Cairn's lawsuit to seek confirmation of the arbitral award, said the New York district court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a "mere hypothetical question" or one that depends upon contingent future events that may or may not occur. Cairn first moved a court in the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeking confirmation of the arbitration award and then filed a petition in the New York court to seek declaration of Air India as "alter ego" of the Indian government and so it should be made liable to pay the $1.26 billion arbitral award.
Aviation regulator DGCA on Tuesday said it has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on Air India for denying boarding to passengers holding valid tickets and thereafter not providing the mandatory compensation to them.
Reddy, who represents Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur seat in the Lok Sabha, reported late for the flight and therefore, was not allowed to board it, a source said.
'That refresh programme -- because they are big aircraft and we cannot ground them all at the same time -- will last well into 2027.'
IndiGo has delivered impressive operating performance in the past six quarters as it navigated cost and capacity challenges. It has managed to mitigate the impact of faulty engine-related groundings. The airline has also managed costs related to grounding, expensive secondary leasing, increasing airport charges, and pilot compensation inflation and delivered stronger yields and spreads.
The visuals show the BrahMos anti-ship and anti-surface cruise missiles being launched from a fleet of warships, including Kolkata-class destroyers and Nilgiri and Krivak-class frigates, reaffirming the Navys operational prowess.
The truth about what triggered the fatal crash of the Dreamliner should not only help bring the guilty to book, but also outline the future course of action in aviation safety, notes Nivedita Mookerji.
China had raised concerns about Taiwan being described as a separate region by various airlines worldwide.
The Indian stock market in the October-November period sees high trading activity due to increased consumer spending, festive demand, upbeat sentiment, renewed investor confidence, and the auspicious Muhurat trading session. This impacts many stocks and sectors in the festive season.
With recession eroding profits of the global airline industry, Indian national carrier Air India on Monday said it is taking a "hard look" at its operations and would submit a paper to the government for the revival of the airline.
Air India's website, which went down two days ago after the airline offered a special fare of Rs 100, was apparently blocked by a few sites in India and abroad for a considerable time.
The government on Wednesday permitted NRIs to invest up to 100 per cent stake in disinvestment-bound Air India. The decision comes at a time when the government has sought preliminary bids for 100 per cent stake sale in the national carrier. "Today's decision on Air India is one milestone decision where NRIs... will get permission to invest 100 per cent in the airline," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters at a briefing about the Union Cabinet's decision.
The 26-year-old shuttler said despite filing a complain with the airline, he has not got any reimbursement for the broken baggage.
Air travel penetration in India remains small in global terms, with 0.04 annual trips per capita against 0.3 in China and more than two in the United States.
If the government is asking a maximum price for Air India but asks to keep old personnel, it will not match.
Air India pilot unions IPG and ICPA on Monday sought Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri's intervention on the wage cut issue and also requested for an "urgent" meeting with him on several other issues. "In our meetings in September, you had given us an assurance to look into our grievances positively. "While other airlines are rolling back the austerity pay cuts for their pilots, the wage cut for Air India pilots further increased from October.
Indian carriers transported 12.8 million domestic passengers in March 2023, a year-on-year growth of 21.41 per cent. India's largest carrier IndiGo shored up its domestic market share from 53.8 per cent in Q4 of FY22 to 55.7 per cent in Q4 of FY23, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data released on Monday.
The claims will include three kinds of liabilities: Damage to the aircraft; loss of lives who were aboard the aircraft; including the crew members; and third-party liability because of loss of lives where the aircraft crashed; and cargo liability.
Malik was shot dead in Surrey, British Columbia on Thursday. Malik and co-accused Ajaib Singh Bagri were acquitted in 2005 of mass murder and conspiracy charges related to the two bombings in 1985 that killed 331 people, the CBC News said.
They alleged that while the salaries and perks of other employees are paid in full albeit with a delay, the same for the pilots and cabin crew are ignored
The 16-hour flight will be the first direct one from India to the US west coast.
Why not stream all the data in real time to multiple recipients? It would make the investigation of aviation incidents much easier and far more transparent, recommends Devangshu Datta.
This was achieved despite falling tourist arrivals post Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992.
A 1985-batch Karnataka cadre officer, Kharola would be steering the national airline at a time when the government has started the process for its strategic divestment.
Following a significant power outage, operations at the London Heathrow (LHR) have been suspended till 2359 hours (local time) on March 21 (05.30 am March 22, IST).
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