"We are meeting the chairman on Thursday to express our view point on his recent directive, barring Air India staff from travelling in business-class/first-class," an Indian Pilots Guild member said. The IGP is opposed to the move on the ground that it would not fetch any financial benefits to the national carrier, the pilot said, adding, "During the meet, IPG would offer alternative strategies which will result in effective means of controlling costs and boosting revenue."
The months of April and May are favourable for airlines, a good time to recover their losses.
Sanjay Nirupam, Congress Member of Parliament from North Mumbai constituency, raked up the issue in the Lok Sabha on Friday, saying that the gag order was wrong as it infringed upon the rights of the airline's employees.
In just the last quarter, the airline's market share has fallen from 17.8 per cent to 16.9 per cent.
Civil aviation ministry has also reached a consensus to give a five-year term to the next CMD of the ailing state-owned airline.
Even though air passenger traffic picked up last month, the overall long-term sentiment for airlines is poor, Air India chief Arvind Jadhav said on Friday.
The CBI has closed a case against former Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and others over alleged corruption in the appointments of general managers after the central government refused to grant its sanction to prosecute him, officials said. The agency had booked Jadhav, then general manager L P Nakhwa (now retired), and then additional general managers A Kathpalia, Amitabh Singh and Rohit Bhasin after a year-long preliminary enquiry, they said. It was alleged that Jadhav had constituted illegal/irregular promotion panel to recommend suitable candidates for promotion to the post of general manager (operations), they said.
Arvind Jadhav, a senior IAS officer and the current CMD of Air India, was sent back to parent Karnataka cadre.
On the issue of unionism, he said that problems at hand were not being duly dealt with.
In an open letter to the employees, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav said, "Our issues are complex and can only be resolved through sustained dialogue. Any ad hoc decision would only complicate the matter further. You should understand that at this juncture, demands of one category of employees cannot be addressed in isolation."
While the responses of the candidates were predictable, depending on which side they belonged to, an interesting point slipped through when Rahul Shewale cited the Dharavi Redevelopment Project as a scheme that would add to Mumbai's importance. No big infrastructural project in Mumbai, he said, could be successful without the Centre's nod.
In the 18 months that Arvind Jadhav has been the chairman of state-owned Air India, he has faced more than one crisis.
These views were expressed by Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav at his meetings with leaders of 14 unions, where he is understood to have articulated various scenarios which could arise if costs were not managed well.
The government has not taken any decision on the communications ministry's proposal for appointing the next chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
Air India Chairman and Managing Director Arvind Jadhav, has finally looked towards his employees for suggestions after trying many consultants in the past for reviving the debt-ridden state-run carrier.
Rohit Nandan, an Indian Administrative Service officer, and currently a joint secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation is set to become the new chairman and managing director of Air India. He will be replacing Arvind Jadhav, who is being shown the door for poor management and the galloping losses the national carrier has suffered.
The plan for 2010-14 envisages revenue enhancement and expenditure reduction over different phases, airline sources said.
With Arvind Jadhav, principal secretary, in the department of infrastructure development of the Karnataka government, emerging as the frontrunner in the race to replace Raghu Menon as the chairman and managing director of the state-owned National Aviation Company of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, informed sources said Menon lost the coveted job because of his opposition to the airline's proposed joint venture with Singapore Airport Terminal Services (SATS).
In early-December, Air India had appointed global consultancy firm Deloitte to vet the SBI Caps-prepared financial restructuring plan.
Kochi will be the new headquarters of Air India Express, while Thiruvananthapuram will be the main engineering centre of the airline.
Even as the Air India Board meets on Wednesday to discuss productivity-linked incentives (PLI) and other issues, the Joint Action Committee of various trade unions has warned against imposing any decision on the employees unilaterally.
The hangar will be capable of accommodating two A320 family aircraft simultaneously or one B777/B747 aircraft. The facility will cost Air India Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million). Air India already has major engineering units in Mumbai and Delhi for maintenance of aircraft and engines.
The National Aviation Company Ltd, which runs Air India, today named Gustav Baldauf as its chief operating officer.
AI's chairman and managing director, Arvind Jadhav, and the ministry's joint secretary and airline board member Prashant Sukul, along with other senior officials, met half the unions today in Delhi. The meeting will continue on Friday and they will also meet the rest of the 14 unions.
The Air India board has decided to reduce by 50 per cent the productivity-linked incentives or flying allowance payable to its employees.
Some of the operational goals the carrier has set for itself are 25 million domestic and 15 million international passengers by 2015.
The board meeting of the state-owned airlines was also attended by Arvind Jadhav, for the first time since he took over as Nacil CMD after the sudden exit of erstwhile chairman Raghu Menon from the company. However, sources in the company said no final decision could be taken as the issue would be discussed with the new government and the civil aviation ministry.
Air India's top brass will now travel like kings with the austerity drive having been given a quiet burial. The airline issued an order on November 27 saying that the airline's chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav and his spouse can travel first class on its flights, whether on work or on vacation. Not only that, parents and children of the serving chief executive can travel business class during vacation on Air India flights.
The airline had made a three-year turnaround plan in 2009-10.
'The margin of victory or loss would make both camps rethink their strategies for the 2024 assembly election in Maharashtra.'
'With each ED, CBI raid on us the BJP thinks we will soften down.' 'But every such raid has strengthened the resolve of Shiv Sena leaders.'
The statement came a day after the state-run carrier asked all executives in the rank of general managers and above to voluntarily forego salary and productivity-linked incentive payable in the month of July 2009.
Bharatiya Janata Party Rajya Sabha MP Nitin Gadkari, late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan's daughter Poonam, former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Vijaysinh Mohite Patil are a few of the 29 new entrants to the 16th Lok Sabha among the 48 MPs from Maharashtra.
Desperate to break their title jinx, Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore will be hoping for a positive start to their campaign in the ninth edition of the Indian Premier League, when they take on Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Bengaluru, on Tuesday.
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