Two aborted missions, three different ministers, multiple rule changes and two decades later, Indian taxpayers will no longer have to pay Rs 20 crore per day to keep the loss-making Air India flying. While opposition Congress expectedly attacked the decision as selling the family silver, DIPAM secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said what Tata is getting is not a cash cow but an airline which is bleeding where money needs to be pumped in to refurbish obsolete aircraft and dust up strangled ones while being unable to touch any employee for one year and only be able to resize staff after paying a VRS. "It won't be a very easy task there. Only advantage is they (new Air India owner) are paying the price which they think they can manage. "They are not taking the excessive debt accumulated to fund years of losses. We are continuing it as an ongoing concern.... This process has also saved huge amount of taxpayers money going forward," Pandey told PTI.
But selectively, with regulatory scrutiny and special approval, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The government is selling its entire 100 per cent stake in Air India but wants effective control to stay with Indian nationals.
Falling jet fuel prices and a revival in domestic traffic growth offer the new CMD a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Nine women Agniveer will be part of the Indian Air Force's band contingent that will march down the Kartavya Path during the 77th Republic Day Parade, marking a historic first. Flt Lt Akshita Dhankar will unfurl the national flag alongside President Droupadi Murmu.
The Pakistan Army has criticized recent remarks by Indian military officers and political leaders, warning that a future conflict between the two countries could lead to "cataclysmic devastation." The statement follows comments from Indian officials regarding India's ability to cross borders and the potential for military action against Pakistan.
What we are watching is something different: A fog manufactured and maintained by the people who started the war, so that the question of why it was started never has to be answered, observes Prem Panicker in his must read blog on the war in the Middle East.
With IndiGo cancelling over 1,000 flights on Friday owing to crew shortage as the second phase of the pilots flight duty and rest period norms kicked in, huge capacity was out of the market, leading to airfares tripling and quadrupling from over the normal range, a travel industry executive said.
The Indian Navy commissioned its second squadron of MH-60R (Romeo) anti-submarine helicopters, INAS 335 'Ospreys', at INS Hansa naval base. The commissioning ceremony was attended by Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Tripathi, who emphasized the importance of strengthening maritime security.
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.
India and Russia are set to expand their defence cooperation, with India expressing interest in procuring additional S-400 missile systems. Discussions took place ahead of the India-Russia annual summit.
Air India One is the call sign for the VVIP aircraft used by the president, vice president and prime minister.
This is a setback for the divestment process of Air India as no other Indian airline has the capability to fund the process
Divestment-bound Air India's pilot unions have rejected the paltry five per cent rollback in their salary cuts and warned of "industrial action" if there is no "substantial" reversal in their paycuts. In a joint letter to Air India chairman and managing director Rajiv Bansal on Thursday, the Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG) and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) said, "(The) pittance in the form of a five per cent decrease in the current wage cut is an outright insult, its sting magnified in light of our unwavering support and trust in this company." They said this "generosity" amounts to a reduction of about 3 per cent in the current gross pay cut for pilots. In April, Air India had reduced its pilots' salary by up to 70 per cent to partially offset the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on its finances.
Gagan Ajit Singh scored three minutes before the final whistle in a Super League match of the Nehru hockey tournament.
The DGCA has asked airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes after a preliminary probe report into the Air India crash found that the switches were cut off before the accident.
National carrier Air India will have two maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for its aircraft, one in Nagpur and the other in Delhi.
'I don't think I have any fan in the house.'
Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station, has been awarded the Ashoka Chakra, India's highest peacetime gallantry award. The award recognizes his contributions to the Axiom-4 mission and India's advancements in human space exploration.
The Air India and Indian Airlines combine, wearing the new Air India brand and livery, is set to give a snazzy new look for its cabin crew.
Personnel posted at places such as Washington, Toronto, Cairo despite not having direct connectivity.
Senuran Muthusamy and Marco Jansen made Indian finger spinners' look ordinary in good batting conditions with invaluable lower-order contributions as South Africa seized control of the second Test.
