There had been sufficient warnings on Air India's state but the government failed to take action, former executive director Jitender Bhargava said.
In about a fortnight, Vistara - known for its premium service - will take off on its final flight before merging into the legacy of Air India. Set for November 12, the merger has sparked discussions on how these two distinct brands will blend.
Year after year, the people in charge and the airline's multiple stakeholders spoke about the need to transform the national carrier into a premier airline. But their plans, instead of taking Air India to the promised heights, brought it down.
India's first escalator, its shortest elevator, a terror attack, a rescue operation -- the building's seen a lot.
Air-India on Tuesday derecognised the Indian Pilots Guild with immediate effect.
More than 150 pilots of Air-India have formed a new union following the derecognition of Indian Pilots Guild in April.\n\n\n\n
Air India had placed an order for 68 aircraft, including Boeing 737s, 777s and 787s, all valued at $11 billion in Dec 2005.
Air-India, India's flagship international carrier, on Thursday launched its first flight to the Chinese metropolis of Shanghai, marking the burgeoning trade and economic exchanges between the two neighbouring countries.
More than 35 Air-India pilots, owing allegiance to the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild, have reported for duty, the airline said on Thursday.
Air India is planning to add more flights connecting India and US. Immediate plans include non-stop flight from Bangalore to San Francisco.
The carrier will now revise its flight schedule and operate additional services to the Gulf and restore the Chennai-Singapore flights from Sunday.
State-run Air-India said on Sunday it will suspend more pilots for refusing to fly to SARS-affected countries.
Air-India board to mull craft purchase on Jan 24
The board of state-run international flag carrier Air-India Ltd on Saturday deferred a key multi-billion-dollar plan to buy up to 17 planes from either Boeing or Airbus, a spokesman said.\n\n\n\n
The board of international flag carrier Air-India will take a final decision on April 9 on a multi-billion-dollar plan to buy up to 17 planes from either Boeing or Airbus, a spokesman said.
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Former Air India Executive Director Jitender Bhargava filed the appeal challenging the decision of the Competition Commission of India to clear the Jet-Etihad deal without carrying out a detailed assessment.
Air India's former executive director Jitender Bhargava feels the airline should oppose the Tata-Singapore Airline plan to set up a hub in Delhi.
Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava comes out with a book detailing what went wrong with the national carrier. According to him, India does not have a civil aviation policy, and that's just the beginning.
'All they need is proper leadership.'
In the previous decade, the government, with Praful Patel as the civil aviation minister, saw the introduction of an irrational 5/20 policy.
Two weeks' time given to CBI for filing a fresh status report.
Over 600 slots at three major airports - Heathrow, Dubai and New York's JFK International - could be at stake.
When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.
This was achieved despite falling tourist arrivals post Babri Masjid demolition in December 1992.
The deal, involving Abu Dhabi carrier Etihad's purchase of 24 per cent stake in Naresh Goyal-led Jet Airways, was approved last month by the Competition Commission of India.
'The airline business is very dynamic. If you are unable to keep up and lead, you end up last.' 'This is what has happened to Jet.'
'It was incredibly heart-wrenching to see people waiting to be evacuated -- children, parents and grandparents. Many families did not get to leave together. An order of priority was drawn up, and the first ones to be evacuated were pregnant women, single and/or older women and dialysis patients. Most were happy to be on the plane but also very distressed to have left behind family and friends.'
'Whether it is the unions or the politicians, they don't have to do politics over Air India, but be guided by a solitary factor -- that we don't want Air India to fly into oblivion.'
There were many who had reposed faith in the Narendra Modi government for expeditious action but are today beginning to feel disillusioned, notes Jitender Bhargava.
It is imperative that the government first decides who should assume ownership of running Air India.
Air India must tighten costs to comes out of the red or it wil perish in no time, says experts.
Enormous debt isn't the only thing afflicting Air India. Its work culture is an equal culprit in its downfall.
A public blacklist that bars you from flying for a certain period -- based on the severity of your offence -- could in fact deter others from behaving badly, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Over two years since the Nirbhaya rape shook the nation women in New Delhi feel no safer than they did before. With safety apps to self-defence classes on the rise, Ritika Bhatia takes a look at what working women in Delhi are doing to keep themselves safe.
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