It offers a real opportunity for the flag carrier to compete on the world stage, backed by a leading conglomerate with deep pockets like the Tatas, observes Indrajit Gupta.
Singapore Airlines on Tuesday said Vistara will be merged with Tata group-owned Air India. Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Vistara, and the remaining 49 per cent shareholding is with Singapore Airlines (SIA). As part of the transaction, SIA will also invest Rs 2,058.5 crore in Air India.
Air India has been a subject of its passengers' ire this week as more than half of its flights have been delayed, primarily because of an old crew rostering system. Due to the existing system, the airline has not been able to handle the disruption created by cyclone 'Biparjoy' on India's western coast. The sudden grounding of two planes also added to the carrier's woes.
The assailants soon arrived at the spot and one of them opened fire in the air while another shot at Mann.
Air India on Tuesday signed agreements with Airbus and Boeing for acquiring 470 planes for an estimated $70 billion at list prices. The Tata Group-owned airline had announced that it will buy 470 aircraft, including wide-body planes, in February this year. The "firm orders include 34 A350-1000, 6 A350-900, 20 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 10 Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, as well as 140 Airbus A320neo, 70 Airbus A321neo and 190 Boeing 737MAX narrow-body aircraft," the airline said in a release.
In a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, February 15, night, Nipun Aggarwal had said Air India, in addition to the order of 470 planes, had the option to purchase 370 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran on Thursday said the best of artificial intelligence and machine learning will be deployed at Air India and emphasised that the airline is not just another business for the group but a passion and a national mission. As Tata Group steers the transformation of loss-making Air India since taking control in January last year, Chandrasekaran said that he most of the time receives "caring criticism" about the airline that also further strengthens the commitment. Speaking at an event in the national capital where Air India's new brand identity and aircraft livery were unveiled, he said the focus is on upgrading all human resources aspects in the airline.
Despite the physical assault, Air India cabin crew did not use restraining devices to contain the unruly passenger, the source alleged.
Starting November 12, Vistara aircraft will be operated under the Air India banner, to be identified by a special four-digit flight code beginning with "2".
The FIR further stated that this misconduct was spotted by the cabin crew and, subsequently, a verbal warning was issued by the cabin supervisor of the flight.
Tata Group-owned Air India will buy 250 aircraft, including 40 wide-body planes, from Airbus as the airline expands its fleet and operations. This is the first time in more than 17 years that Air India has placed an aircraft order. It is also the first order placed by the carrier under the ownership of Tata Group. On Tuesday, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said Air India has signed a letter of intent to acquire 250 aircraft from Airbus.
An Air India Express flight cabin crew has been arrested by the Customs for allegedly smuggling over 1.4 kg gold through Cochin International Airport near Kochi, official sources said.
A joint forum of Air India unions on Friday sought the labour department's 'urgent' intervention and initiation of conciliation proceedings in the matter of their passage policy and service conditions. On December 24, the forum comprising IPG, ACEU, AIEU and AICCA, in its demand notice to Air India managing director and chief executive officer Campbell Wilson, had protested against the changes in their service conditions. Tata Group took control of the then government-led Air India in January this year.
The Tatas have collectively increased their aggregate airlines seat capacity across domestic and international markets by an impressive 20 per cent, going from 64.03 million in calendar year (CY) 2023 to 76.72 million in the current CY, according to data shared by the group that controls Air India in which Vistara has been merged recently. The Tatas also run Air India Express in which Air Asia India has been merged.
Air India will provide 26 weeks of maternity leave to women employees as well as daycare support under its revamped policies. Besides, the airline will give women pilots the choice to opt for quicker turnaround flights till the child reaches the age of one year. The option will be subject to request and availability, according to an internal communication.
According to the revised policy, guests should not be permitted to drink alcohol unless served by the cabin crew and that the cabin crew be attentive to identifying guests that might be consuming their own alcohol.
A cabin crew member of the flight had filed a complaint with the DGCA about the pilot allowing a female friend into the cockpit.
The top court also sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was present in the case, in formulating the standard operating procedure (SOP) and fixed the plea for hearing after the summer vacation in July.
Rhe unruly passenger was handed over to the security personnel after landing at the Delhi airport.
IndiGo on Wednesday said it was exploring an earlier introduction of wide-body planes in its fleet to meet the growing demand for international travel. Industry sources said the airline was in talks with Norse Atlantic Airways to wet-lease six B787 planes in its fleet.
Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday owing to an engine glitch, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement.
An Air India pilots' grouping has raised fatigue concerns in the wake of flight crew rosters generated using a new rostering tool, saying that extended waiting periods between duty time will jeopardise crew alertness and performance. "Extended waiting periods, occurring before active flight duties, run counter to enhancing crew readiness and, in fact, contribute to the accumulation of fatigue over time," the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) has said. In a letter to Air India head of safety Henry Donohoe last week, IPG said it has been recently observed that the relentless pursuit of operational efficiency and economic gains has led to an unintended overshadowing of the primary intent behind Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) regulations.
The pilot of Air India AI-915 Delhi-Dubai flight on February 27 allowed a woman friend to enter the cockpit, according to a complaint filed by a cabin crew member on the same flight.
Air India has ordered 470 aircraft to serve the Indian economy and is set to receive a new aircraft every six days over the next 18 months, CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said on Friday. He was speaking at the 67th Assembly of Presidents of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines here. "We have new aircraft, we are recruiting many, many new crew and staff, improving the training regime and there is more work to do and we are making good progress," he said.
Security agencies went into a tizzy after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats on Monday with one of them, a New York-bound Air India aircraft, getting diverted to New Delhi as travel plans of some 500 passengers went for a toss.
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.
The threats via microblogging platform X came a day after three international flights originating from Mumbai received bomb threats, causing trouble to hundreds of passengers and airline crew.
The flight, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew, landed safely, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement Tuesday evening.
As many as 19 flights have received bomb threats in three days and a Riyadh-bound IndiGo flight was diverted to Muscat due to the threat, according to officials.
"Heartbroken by the loss of Shri @RNTata2000 Ji, whose visionary leadership not only transformed India's industry but also played a pivotal role in shaping our aviation sector," Naidu said in a post on X.
A pilots' grouping of Tata group-owned Air India has approached the labour department to initiate conciliation proceedings with the airline's management to sort out various issues, including concerns over possible changes in service conditions of its members. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which claims to represent around 900 pilots flying narrow-body planes of Air India, has written to the Chief Labour Commissioner (CLC) as well as Deputy CLC and Assistant Labour Commissioner in New Delhi earlier this week. Apart from service condition issues, the association has flagged that the airline's plans to hire captains for its A320 fleet on a fixed-term contract may result in an anomalous situation for the existing pilots at Air India.
Air India has given more time to pilots to accept the revised compensation structure, which has been opposed by two pilot unions, according to a source. The decision to provide more time to pilots who are yet to sign the new contracts also comes days after Air India organised a town hall meeting with many pilots to discuss their concerns. The source said the airline has given time till the end of this week for signing the new contracts apparently due to requests from people who had not earlier accepted the revised compensation structure.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is engaged in confidential talks with Tata Sons for merging Vistara with Air India, the flagship carrier of the Republic of Singapore informed the stock exchange in the Southeast Asian nation on Thursday in a first acknowledgement of a possible integration of the two airlines. "In line with its multi-hub strategy, SIA is currently in confidential discussions with the Tatas to explore a potential transaction in relation to the securities of Vistara and Air India. "The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tatas and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India," SIA said in a notification to the Singapore stock exchange. SIA owns 49 per cent stake in Vistara and is among the four airlines run by Tata Group.
Vistara will operate the last flight under its brand on November 11 and the full-service carrier's operations will be unified with Air India from November 12. The government has given its nod for the foreign direct investment by Singapore Airlines as part of the Air India-Vistara merger. Vistara is a joint venture between Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
Pilots working with Air India have warned of non-co-operation if restoration of pre-Covid overtime allowance is delayed, and if other practices they say are 'discriminatory' continues. "We cannot assure that our members will undertake flying duties exceeding 70 hours a month. Any coercive action by the management will lead to industrial action to safeguard flight safety and well-being of our members," the Indian Commercial Pilots Association and the Indian Pilots Guild said in a joint letter to Air India's management on Tuesday.
Air India on Monday announced a new compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, with a guaranteed flying allowance of 40 hours per month for both categories of staff. While the flying allowance has been doubled for pilots, it has been introduced for flight attendants as part of the new compensation structure. Pilots will earn an additional amount as a reward based on the number of years of service with the airline and get an allowance while undergoing training for command or conversion to another aircraft type.
Out of the 14 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 to Dehradun, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3 pm.
A pilots' union of Air India on Wednesday sought the response of the airline management on various issues, including alleged violation of the roster system and career progression policy. The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) also said that if there is no response in three days, it will be constrained to seek appropriate remedies in accordance with applicable law. In its letter on Wednesday, the grouping said, "we understand the management of Air India is contemplating certain changes to the conditions of service of the pilots".
In a December 2012 interview, Ratan Tata, then preparing to step down as chairman of Tata Sons, expressed doubts about the Tata group re-entering the aviation sector, calling it a space plagued by "destructive competition". But beneath that frustration lay nearly two decades of failed attempts to conquer the Indian skies. In 1994, Tata, along with Singapore Airlines, had plans to launch a joint venture (JV) airline in India.
Air India pilots, who are up in arms against the airline's management's decision to unilaterally alter their salary structure and services conditions, on Tuesday sought Ratan Tata's intervention in resolving the issue. In a petition, signed by a little over 1,500 Air India pilots, the community alleged that the "pilots' concerns are not being heard or addressed by the current HR team". On April 17, Air India rolled out a revamped compensation structure for its pilots and cabin crew, which has since been rejected by the two pilot unions - Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) - on the grounds that the airline, in alleged violation of the labour practices, did not consult them before finalising the new contracts.
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