Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh tells Kavita Chowdhury that he is focused on passenger comfort and not on favouring private airlines, as many have alleged.
Some airlines, says Anjuli Bhargava, are convinced there's a conspiracy to malign them.
Enormous debt isn't the only thing afflicting Air India. Its work culture is an equal culprit in its downfall.
The flight, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew, landed safely, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement Tuesday evening.
However, Federation of Indian Airlines will continue to function and its other members are not pulling the plug yet, industry sources said.
Full-service airline Tata-SIA, submitted its application for the grant of Air Operator's Permit (AOP or flying license) in April.
Billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani group on Monday said it has reached an agreement to acquire GVK group's shareholding and control of Mumbai airport.
They say better late than never. For the Tatas, the original owners of Air India, bringing back the airline to its fold is worth the wait even if the attempt to privatise the bleeding national carrier by successive governments has taken over two decades. While many airlines have come and gone from the Indian skies since the time when the first move was made to privatise Air India to date, the salt-to-software conglomerate has never let the love affair with aviation, more so with Air India that its former chairman Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (JRD) had, to go off the radar. It is said that Tata group executives used to complain in private that JRD -- the pioneer of the Indian aviation industry -- spent more time worrying about Air India than the Tata group when he was heading both the entities.
Starting the process of incorporating a new company for its proposed aviation venture with Singapore Airlines, Tata group has sought to register this entity as 'Tata SIA Airlines Limited'.
Watch Opposition vs Government duel in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha LIVE.
Jet, Kingfisher rebuff Praful Patel, budget carriers reduce fares. As of now, though, the two private airlines remain steadfast in their refusal to cut fares even as Patel's pleas acquire a hint of aggression.
'The India which was all about glamour and razzmatazz through which he could earn the trust of people of the other India, which was Bharat.'
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.
ED has submitted a chart of total $60.54 million received by the firms directly or indirectly owned by Talwar between April 23, 2008 to February 6, 2009.
Tata group-owned AirAsia India's inability to get approval for international flights is hurting UDAN, the Indian government's regional air connectivity project that also aims to link cities in Northeast India and Odisha to places abroad. Sources said the civil aviation ministry is waiting for the low-cost airline to come under the full ownership of Tata Sons and become part of Air India, the former state-owned carrier now owned by the private conglomerate, before allowing it to operate international flights. Tata owns 84 per cent stake in AirAsia India and it is understood that the group will complete the process of buying rest of the stake by July's end.
A free and open aviation market, where the government keeps the interest of consumers higher than saving any airline.
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday said it has attached in London, Dubai and India assets worth Rs 538 crore of Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, his family members and companies as part of a money laundering investigation linked to an alleged bank loan fraud. The attached properties include 17 residential flats, bungalows and commercial premises. Located in London, Dubai and various cities in India, these properties are in the name of various companies like Jetair Private Limited and Jet Enterprises Private Limited, Goyal, his wife Anita, and son Nivaan, the central agency said in a statement.
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on the decisions of airlines banning stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra for his alleged heckling television journalist Arnab Goswami aboard a flight on Tuesday.
Airbus Industrie is setting its eye on India for selling its brand new, most modern and spacious A-380 aircraft.
A Dubai-based NRI businessman is planning to start a new airline in India. Aniyan Kutty, managing director of Dubai-based Clarion Shipping Services, said initially the airline will connect smaller cities, followed by operations all over India.
Jet has been operating on international routes since 2004, being the first private airline to do so in decades, after it launched a Chennai-Colombo service in March that year.
Over 70 per cent of Jet's fleet has been grounded, leading to massive cancellations.
The government on Tuesday said the major private domestic airlines owed over Rs 274 crore (Rs 2.74 billion) to the Airports Authority of India for availing its services.
As a member of Parliament, I am aware of the number of complaints raised against Air India's crew, Gaikwad said.
After more than two decades and three attempts, the government has finally sold its flagship national carrier Air India, and it is deja vu for Maharaja as it returned home to its founding father the Tata group. Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy (JRD) Tata founded the airline in 1932 and named it Tata Airlines. In 1946, the aviation division of Tata Sons was listed as Air India, and in 1948, the Air India International was launched with flights to Europe. The international service was among the first public-private partnerships in India, with the government holding 49 per cent, the Tatas keeping 25 per cent and the public owning the rest. In 1953, Air India was nationalised and for the next over four decades it remained the prized possession for India controlling the majority of the domestic airspace.
'How long can you lead a life like this?'
According to sources in the aviation ministry, only State-owned Air India and private carrier AirAsia India have agreed to pay the surcharge.
Domestic private carrier Kingfisher Airlines, impatient to launch international services, will in the next six to eight weeks apply for launching an airline in the US that would enable it operate flights into India.
Govt has no plan to divest stake in Air India.
The CVC had asked the CBI to probe the 'irregularities in the tendering process and award of contract and undue benefit caused to the SAP/IBM'.
As the Tata group inches closer to taking over Air India in January 2022, the $242-billion conglomerate will also inherit a stake in Kerala's Cochin airport. The Tatas would become the only airline to have an operational stake in a major Indian airport. The airport is a strategic hub connecting India to Middle East nations - home to the largest share of Indian migrant workers. In addition to Air India and Air India Express, private carrier Indigo also uses Cochin to ferry the lucrative 'Malayali Gulf traffic' to multiple locations like Jeddah, Riyadh, Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, among others. According to regulatory filings, Air India has a three per cent stake in Cochin International Airport.
Indian fliers regularly face issues like lost baggage, refund on cancellation and harassment by staff at airports
Ratan Tata on Friday welcomed the government accepting Tata Sons' bid of Rs 18,000 crore for the takeover of Air India, saying the airline provides a very strong market opportunity to the group even through it will take considerable effort to rebuild the debt-laden carrier. "Welcome Back, Air India," he said. "The Tata Group winning the bid for Air India is great news," he said in a statement.
After Air India and IndiGo, SpiceJet is the third carrier to cancel the ticket of the Lok Sabha member.
The Delhi high court on Thursday dismissed BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking to set aside the Air India divestment process on the allegation that the methodology adopted by the government in the valuation of the national carrier was "arbitrary, illegal and against public interest". The order was passed by a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh. The court said a detailed order will be uploaded. "Dr. Subramanian Swamy, sir we are dismissing this matter...," the bench said.
Crisis-hit Go First has sought various interim directions from the National Company Law Tribunal, including restraining lessors from taking back aircraft and regulator DGCA from taking any adverse action against the airline. The Wadia group-owned airline, which has liabilities worth Rs 11,463 crore, has sought voluntary insolvency resolution proceedings and the plea is set to be heard by the Delhi bench of the NCLT on Thursday. Go First has cancelled all its flights for three days starting from May 3.
Kingfisher, Jet and state-owned Air owe Rs 4,000 crore to oil companies and airports. Dues to the Airports Authority of India, private airports and oil companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL were to have been cleared by March 31, under the government's mandate. Industry figures show that the three airlines are collectively projected to make operating losses of Rs 5,000 crore.
Gaikwad booked a seat on flight AI 806 from Mumbai to Delhi for Wednesday earlier on Tuesday through his staff which was promptly cancelled by the airline. This was followed by another attempt to book a seat on AI 551 from Hyderabad to Delhi, again for on Wednesday, which was cancelled, too.
Jet Airways launched direct flights to the Kuwait and Bahrain, thereby meeting the rising demand for connectivity with Gulf. It is the first private airline to fly to Gulf.
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