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Long before, DISINVESTMENT Council Recommended Strategeic Sell OFF for AIR INDIA. Aviation Industry OVERALL is Inflicted with sickness. But AIR INDIA is singled out for CLOSURE. Now, latest development indicate that AIR INDIA is predestined to be SOLD

Sunday, May 29, 2011


Long before, DISINVESTMENT Council Recommended Strategeic Sell  OFF for AIR INDIA. Aviation Industry OVERALL is Inflicted with sickness. But AIR INDIA  is singled out for CLOSURE. Now, latest development indicate that AIR INDIA is predestined to be SOLD Out! We have been persistently WARNING workers as well as TRADE UNIONS. But they NEVER Paid attention and DIVERTED themselves in SUICIDAL Indulgement! We have been writing and speaking on DISINVESTMENT and PRIVATATION for long but Failed to Mobilse either Workers orTrade Unions!After managing to survive the blow dealt to its fragile financial health by the recent 10-day pilots' strike, national carrier Air India is again finding itself in a tight spot.Govt eases eligibility criteria for appointment of CMDs for PSU banks!


Indian Holocaust My Father`s Life and Time - SIX HUNDRED FORTY NINE

Palash Biswas

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Fuel suppliers and airport operators threatened to halt operations of India's national carrier Air India on Friday if the cash-strapped airline did not clear their dues totalling over Rs 2600 crores.Air India's mounting woes have taken a new twist, as it has not only defaulted on staff salaries, but is also struggling to pay for fuel and airport usage charges. How long will the national carrier continue to bear the heavy losses?

Long before, DISINVESTMENT Council Recommended Strategeic Sell  OFF for AIR INDIA. Aviation Industry OVERALL is Inflicted with sickness. But AIR INDIA  is singled out for CLOSURE. Now, latest development indicate that AIR INDIA is predestined to be SOLD Out! We have been persistently WARNING workers as well as TRADE UNIONS. But they NEVER Paid attention and DIVERTED themselves in SUICIDAL Indulgement! We have been writing and speaking on DISINVESTMENT and PRIVATATION for long but Failed to Mobilse either Workers orTrade Unions!After managing to survive the blow dealt to its fragile financial health by the recent 10-day pilots' strike, national carrier Air India is again finding itself in a tight spot.

Meanwhile, Govt eases eligibility criteria for appointment of CMDs for PSU banks!

Faced with a twin attack from oil PSUs and operators of Delhi and Hyderabad airports asking it to clear their dues, Air India on Saturday drew up plans to combine 13 flights spread over a few sectors till the start of the lean season from mid-June.  Faced with a twin attack from oil PSUs and operators of Delhi and Hyderabad airports asking it to clear their dues, Air India on Saturday drew up plans to combine 13 flights spread over a few sectors till the start of the lean season from mid-June.

Cash-strapped Air India was forced to ground 20 flights on Friday after oil companies refused to supply jet fuel for non-payment of dues. The aviation ministry said they were trying to resolve the issue. Former Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain today blamed the government for the "sorry state of affairs" in the civil aviation sector, saying its policies were allowing private carriers to make profits out of a crisis like the Air India pilots' strike. "Wrong policies of the government have led to a situation where private airlines are making profits out of a crisis situation.Despite its many teething problems, civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi believes that all is not lost for Air India. A turnaround plan and unified efforts from employees will lift the airline out of its abyss, he tells Binoy Prabhakar. Excerpts. Since the time you assumed charge, what are your observations about Air India? Air India needs reforms and a sound turnaround plan.

Frustrated by the practice of doling out untimely salaries by Air India (AI), six senior commanders and co-pilots of the national carrier have resigned. What may be alarming for the airline is that 50 more resignations are in the offing. However, the authorities do not seem to be in a mood to retain them.

After fighting with the airline for pay parity, these pilots of erstwhile Indian — which merged with the AI — have decided to call it quits one by one. "In the past few months our salaries have not been regular and we are tired of waiting and even fighting for it every month," said a senior commander. "If this situation continues, 50 more pilots are likely to resign." DNA reports.

Out of the 850 pilots from the erstwhile Indian, 160 are executive pilots.

Since the past one year, AI has been struggling to pay salaries to its 30,000 employees, including all 1,600 pilots. "For the past two months, we have got only our basic salary which is just 30% of our pay packet. The rest is in the form of performance linked incentives which is based on the number of flying hours we log in," said a pilot.

In this year's budget the airline got Rs1,200 crore cash infusion from the Centre. Yet, the management is dilly dallying in paying our money. It seems like a deliberate plot to instigate mass exodus of employees," said another disgruntled pilot.

When contacted, Kamaljeet Rattan, spokesperson for AI, said, "If they leave, we will recruit more pilots from the open market."



The ministry says oil-marketing companies have flouted a cabinet secretariat directive by denying jet fuel to the national carrier at a pre-decided price.

"We are trying to resolve the issue and it has been happening almost every week, despite a directive by the cabinet secretariat to the fuel companies to supply ATF to Air India until May 31 in accordance with an agreement reached in April," a senior aviation ministry official said.

The Government today said it is closely watching the turnaround plan of national carrier Air India, which is saddled with a heavy debt of up to Rs 40,000 crore.

" Air India is passing through a difficult phase as a result of global recession and high cost of operation. Equity support of Rs 2,000 crore has been injected in 2010 & 2011. Turn-around plan of Air India is being closely monitored," the UPA Government said in its 'Report to the People'.

The airline is faced with a debt of about Rs 40,000 crore, of which Rs 18,000 crore is working capital loans taken from a consortium of banks, while the balance Rs 22,000 crore worth of loans is towards payment of new aircraft ordered.

In the latest Budget, the government has announced it would infuse Rs 1,200 crore in the next financial year. Till now, the government has injected Rs 1,200 crore and Rs 800 crore in two tranches in 2009-10, raising the national carrier's equity base to Rs 2,145 crore.

Further, the Congress-led UPA said, two mega projects are being undertaken at Chennai and Kolkata airports, whose work involves complete modernisation and development of these airports.

"With the completion of Phase-I work of IGI Airport at Delhi, a new integrated Terminal-3 became operational in July, 2010, with a capacity of handling 34 million passengers per annum, covering both international and domestic passengers. This achievement has created a new benchmark for airport infrastructure being developed in the country," it added.

The airline might have to ground more flights, both long-haul international and domestic, over the weekend, if the issue drags on, the official added.

Oil marketing firms Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum had put the carrier on cash-and-carry sales model in December. They stopped fuel supply to the airline after sending it a notice to clear dues. This comes in the backdrop of a rise in the price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF).

The oil firms had sought a payment plan from Air India for its over Rs 2,400-crore fuel bill, and had asked the carrier to make upfront payment for future purchases.

According to ministry officials, the cabinet secretariat had directed the petroleum ministry last month to give fuel worth Rs 18.5 crore to the ailing carrier for 16 crore until May-end. "As per that, there is no reason why the oil companies should do this. All big private carriers also owe money to these companies. Why is only AI a target?" the official said.

Air India uses 130 kilolitre of jet fuel each day. On Friday, it was given 13-14 kilolitre less. The national carrier has a debt of Rs 40,000 crore and accumulated losses of Rs 13,000 crore.
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Keep up to date with these results:


Airlines face turbulence as aviation turbine fuel prices rise
Cuckoo Paul, TNN, Oct 17, 2002, 06.04am IST
MUMBAI: Rising fuel prices may lead to turbulence in the skies for the airline industry as fixed costs zoom in tandem with aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices. During October, the price of ATF has jumped by over 10 per cent compared to last month.

Prices have been firming up for the past six months, moving up by close to 30 per cent in the April to October period this year.

The increase in ATF prices is likely to be another nail in the coffin for airlines which have been battling recessionary trends to fill planes. Passenger load factors are down and domestic airlines have begun discounting through advance purchase schemes and other promotions to attract passengers.

Cheaper aviation turbine fuel hopes crash at North Block
Nirbhay Kumar, TNN, Feb 25, 2008, 04.43am IST
NEW DELHI: The Budget is unlikely to lift the spirits of the aviation industry. The finance ministry has decided against according declared good status to aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, in the Budget. The move would have reduced sales tax on jet fuel to a uniform 4% across the country.

Sales tax on the fuel varies in each state and in certain cases, it is as high as 24%. Domestic carriers are incurring losses due to high fuel bills, which constitute about 40% of airlines' total operating cost.

In a recent communication to the civil aviation ministry, a finance ministry official said jet fuel could not be added to the list of declared goods without building a consensus among state governments. It said the empowered committee of state finance ministers has said states would strongly object to any such move of the Centre.

The IGI airport was adjudged the fourth best in the world in the 15-25 million passengers per annum category, the report added.

Also, it said that Pawan Hans has introduced sea plane operations in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, as a pilot project to connect Port Blair and Havelock and other islands in North Andaman.

Besides, in 2010, Civil aviation India participated in the Assembly Session of the International Civil Aviation Organisation ( ICAO )), and was successfully re-elected to its Council, the report said.

Privatise Air India, says top Lufthansa official

SAN FRANCISCO: A top global airline official has suggested privatisation of Air India saying government involvement in running airline business does not help.

Maintaining that "a lot of time" has already been lost, Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr said there was a lot of government involvement in India which "does not always help" as airline business needs quick decisions.

Referring to the privatisation experience of the premier German carrier, he said Lufthansa was partly privatised in 1992 and fully five years later.

"Our stocks were put on the market through public stock exchange and we don't have a single shareholding. The employees' unions are also our shareholders", Spohr told a team of visiting Indian journalists here.

"Coming from German history of government involvement in Lufthansa a few decades ago, we know it doesn't always help to make an airline more flexible and cash rich", he said.

Maintaining that Air India should remain a national carrier but not owned by the government, he said, "it does help to have a national attribute to the carrier. We call ourselves Lufthansa German Airlines but we are fully privatised. We can change our name tomorrow. But we don't do it. Because we believe that 'German' is something which helps Lufthansa.

"So is it the strength of an airline to be Indian? Yes. But should it be owned necessarily by government? I think the example has been proved round the world, probably its more of an advantage to have that beneficiary not to be owned by the government. But it's a question every government and every airline has to answer. In Germany , we have found an answer".

Lufthansa has been Air India's mentor, helping and guiding it complete all formalities for joining the Star Alliance, which has given July 31 as the deadline for the Indian carrier to join the global airline grouping.

About its India plans, Spohr said Lufthansa was pushing hard to launch its superjumbo A-380 flights soon from Delhi where it wants develop a hub in cooperation with Indian carriers. The German carrier has already applied to the Indian government for allowing it to operate the superjumbo.

Lufthansa is also mulling a new connection from Delhi to Dusseldorf in Germany, but details are yet to be finalised.

Spohr said "we would have put Delhi as one of the destinations when we received our seventh A-380, but could not do so. With the eighth aircraft being delivered later this year, we hope to fly it to Delhi where the new Terminal-3 is waiting to receive the superjumbo".

As soon as India gives it permission, Lufthansa could pull out one of the A-380s from the existing sectors and start operations to Delhi, the CEO said, adding that Air India "will have access to this aircraft as we have a codeshare agreement".

At a time when State-owned Air India is struggling to recover from the losses incurred during the recent 10-day pilots' strike, the ailing national carrier finds itself grappling with demands of the public sector oil marketing companies as well as GMR-led airports in Delhi and Hyderabad to clear their dues.VINAY KUMAR reports for The HINDU.

GMR Airports has refused to allow Air India to operate smoothly, until it clears the long unpaid dues. Air India owes " about Rs 255 crore for both the Hyderabad and Delhi Airports," says the GMR's CFO, Sidharth Kapur. Speaking exclusively to CNBC-TV18.

The Delhi and Hyderabad airports have put loss-making carriers Kingfisher Airlines and state-run Air India on "cash-and-carry" mode from June 1, which means the two firms would have to pay oustanding dues to the airports to continue operating flights.

The Delhi and Hyderabad airports took the step "after continued deliberations with these airline companies failed to yield payments of outstanding dues from these airlines", GMR Group, operator of the two airports, said.

Air India owes the two airports around 2.8 billion rupees ($62 million) while Kingfisher has outstanding payments worth about 880 million rupees, a GMR spokesman said.

Hurt mainly by high cost of aviation turbine fuel, both carriers have been posting losses.

In a bid to face the fresh financial crisis, the ailing national carrier sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry urging the government to clear an estimated Rs 1,150 crore worth of dues on account of VVIP movements and evacuation flights including those to Libya.

It also wanted the government to take an expeditious decision on releasing Rs 1,200 crore worth of equity infusion, the provision for which has been made in the 2011-12 budget. This would enable the national carrier to face the crisis which has started adversely hitting its operations, sources said.

Three oil PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation , Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation , decided to slash supply of about 500 kilolitres of jet fuel per day to the airline, sources said.

To meet this situation, Air India has decided to fill the tanks of its aircraft from Dubai, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Bangkok where the prices are much cheaper than in India.

According to latest figures, Air India owes a total of Rs 2,250 crore to the three oil PSUs. The airline's daily fuel bill was Rs 13.5 crore in December when the oil firms stopped the credit line. It has now risen to Rs 18.5 crore due to the global crude price hike, from $70 to $120 a barrel.

To meet the fuel restrictions, the airline decided to curtail 13 of its services by combining flights on certain sectors, including Delhi-Mumbai and Chhattisgarh, they said.

During the lean season from June 15 till September, number of flights would in any case be curtailed due to low traffic and, therefore, there would be less fuel uplift.

Air India, which cancelled six flights yesterday, did not cancel any flight today, they said.

The oil PSUs and airline have reached an understanding that ATF supply would not be curtailed at all airports but at select major metros to give the airline the leeway to combine flights and adjust its loads and daily flight schedules.

On top of this crisis, the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) have also stopped their credit line and asked the national carrier to pay the landing, parking and navigation charges upfront or face restrictions on these services from June one.

Air India owes Rs 217.08 crore to DIAL and Rs 35.89 crore to GHIAL on account of these airport charges.

DIAL and GHIAL have also placed similar restrictions on Kingfisher Airlines which owes Rs 67.98 crore and Rs 21.98 crore respectively to DIAL and GHIAL.

The airport operators said Air India and Kingfisher would be allowed to operate their flights "only on cash and carry basis" from midnight of June one and had "significant amount of dues".


Kingfisher posted a net loss of 10.27 billion rupees for the year ending March.

Air India, which witnessed a pilots' strike recently, has not yet disclosed its latest annual results. It posted a net loss of 55.5 billion rupees in 2009/10.
In a bid to face the fresh financial crisis, the ailing national carrier sent a letter to the Civil Aviation Ministry urging the government to clear an estimated Rs 1,150 crore worth of dues on account of VVIP movements and evacuation flights including those to Libya.

It also wanted the government to take an expeditious decision on releasing Rs 1,200 crore worth of equity infusion, the provision for which has been made in the 2011-12 budget. This would enable the national carrier to face the crisis which has started adversely hitting its operations, sources said.

Three oil PSUs, Indian Oil Corporation , Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation , decided to slash supply of about 500 kilolitres of jet fuel per day to the airline, sources said.

To meet this situation, Air India has decided to fill the tanks of its aircraft from Dubai, London, Paris, Frankfurt and Bangkok where the prices are much cheaper than in India.

According to latest figures, Air India owes a total of Rs 2,250 crore to the three oil PSUs. The airline's daily fuel bill was Rs 13.5 crore in December when the oil firms stopped the credit line. It has now risen to Rs 18.5 crore due to the global crude price hike, from $70 to $120 a barrel.

To meet the fuel restrictions, the airline decided to curtail 13 of its services by combining flights on certain sectors, including Delhi-Mumbai and Chhattisgarh, they said.

During the lean season from June 15 till September, number of flights would in any case be curtailed due to low traffic and, therefore, there would be less fuel uplift.

Air India, which cancelled six flights yesterday, did not cancel any flight today, they said.

The oil PSUs and airline have reached an understanding that ATF supply would not be curtailed at all airports but at select major metros to give the airline the leeway to combine flights and adjust its loads and daily flight schedules.

On top of this crisis, the GMR-led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) have also stopped their credit line and asked the national carrier to pay the landing, parking and navigation charges upfront or face restrictions on these services from June one.

Air India owes Rs 217.08 crore to DIAL and Rs 35.89 crore to GHIAL on account of these airport charges.

DIAL and GHIAL have also placed similar restrictions on Kingfisher Airlines which owes Rs 67.98 crore and Rs 21.98 crore respectively to DIAL and GHIAL.

The airport operators said Air India and Kingfisher would be allowed to operate their flights "only on cash and carry basis" from midnight of June one and had "significant amount of dues".

The year 2001 was only the second year in the history of modern civil aviation in which international traffic declined but at 5.7 per cent of total traffic, the fall was uniquely large. The fall combined with a negligible drop in capacity, a moderate decline in yield, but a relatively large increase in unit cost, produced the largest loss, in aviation history, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The airlines collectively lost, after interest, almost as much as they had made in profits over the previous four years, mainly due to post September 11. While the total revenue of 273 member airlines was $144 billion, the loss was $12 billion. Last year, IATA member airlines paid $7.8 billion in airport landing and related charges and $7.4 US dollars in air navigation charges for their scheduled international operations, an increase of 300 million US dollars and 400 million US dollars respectively, compared with the year 2000. On the outlook, IATA expects total international traffic growth at an average of 3.5 per cent between 2001 and 2005, including the effect of record 2.1 per cent fall in passengers numbers in 2001. Growth at that level would result in 637 million international passengers carried in 2005, IATA said. The highest average growth percentage is expected on routes within the far east and the lowest on trans-pacific routes.



BPCL sues Kingfisher Airlines
Dev Chatterjee, ET Now, Jun 25, 2009, 10.42am IST
Oil refiner, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd has sued Vijay Mallya promoted Kingfisher Airlines in the Bombay High Court to get back its dues worth Rs 300 crore. The oil company filed an arbitration petition in the Bombay High Court last week after all its attempts to get KFA to repay its dues failed, a source in the oil company said. The oil company has also asked KFA to lift fuel only after it pays cash at the time of delivery and withdrawn the credit facility, the source said.

When contacted, a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson denied any legal battle is on with BPCL. "We are in compliance with the credit arrangements with the OMCs from whom we lift fuel as agreed from time to time," the spokesperson said. But sources in the oil refining company say the oil company had to hire law firm Udwadia and Udeshi to make the airline cough up its dues. The petition was filed on June 19th, court documents show.

Last year, the government had given 6-months to airlines to pay up their dues in time. While other airlines managed to repay part of their dues to BPCL, Kingfisher failed to repay its dues in time. Apart from BPCL, Indian Oil has also asked Kingfisher to pay for its fuel on cash and carry basis. Indian Oil had also encashed Kingfisher's bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore after the latter's cheque had bounced.

ET reported on June 22 that Airports Authority of India (AAI) has decided to disallow credit to the airline and put the airline on cash-and-carry mode (no credit, needs to pay in cash immediately for using airport facilities after the airline's current dues with AAI exceeded its bank guarantee of Rs 100 crore by Rs 53 crore. AAI has decided to put an airline for the first time on cash-and-carry.
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-06-25/news/28385851_1_kingfisher-airlines-indian-oil-kfa


Now, Kingfisher Airlines to delay salaries
Mithun Roy, ET Bureau, Jul 30, 2009, 12.21am IST
MUMBAI: Kingfisher Airlines has warned its 6,000 employees of a delay in salary payment. In an email, its executive vice-president Hitesh Patel has asked its employees to be prepared for delayed salaries and embarrassing dealings with unpaid vendors in the coming days. Mr Patel said the company was in a tight situation regarding finances and it had trimmed its fleet to 69 from 89 to cut costs.

"Along with all other airlines, we are in a tight situation regarding finances. You can expect to be in embarrassing situations with our vendors; your salaries may be delayed, but never beyond the seventh (day of the month). Please remember, even as you read this mail, the chairman is out there, fighting a lonely and difficult battle to manage funds so that the salaries can be paid on time," the mail read.

Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya this evening clarified in a statement that a delay in salary payment till seventh day was "as per law". He said the move was aimed at aligning salary remittance dates to revenue collection dates. "If we pay salaries before the legally due date what's the problem?" he asked.

Kingfisher Airlines' outstanding to oil marketing companies namely Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum stood at Rs 950 crore on May 31. It has a total debt of Rs 8,000 crore.

The company's quarterly loss widened, hit by falling passenger demand due to the global slowdown. Its net loss in April-June increased to Rs 240 crore from Rs 158 crore a year ago.

The airline also said it plans to raise Rs 500 crore through a rights issue, a follow on public offering or a placement of depository receipts.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2009-07-30/news/28394807_1_salaries-kingfisher-airlines-delay


"The issue relating to the oil companies has been sorted out with the intervention of the government," airline officials said here on Saturday. "Air India has assured the oil companies that all their arrears will be cleared. The issue with Delhi and Hyderabad airports on account of airport handling charges and aeronautical charges is also being resolved.''

After completing the process of integration of passenger ticketing systems in the post-merger scenario, Air India is also working to complete other formalities over the next month in order to join the global "Star Alliance'' network. Air India, after its merger with Indian Airlines, now has a single code "AI'' for its flights, providing seamless connections on its network by having an integrated passenger booking system for all its flights, be it international or domestic. "Air India should be able to join Star Alliance by July-end. This itself is expected to boost our revenues roughly by nine to 15 per cent,'' airline officials said.

Though there is a demand in many quarters that the Union government should stop putting money in Air India as the cash-strapped carrier was destined to make losses, Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi has ruled out that possibility, asserting that the national carrier would not be allowed to wither away. "The government has no intention of closing down Air India or privatising it,'' the Minister had stated during the period of pilots' strike.

After a review of Air India's financial health by the brass of the Civil Aviation Ministry this week, it was pointed out that its bill of Rs.450 crore in VVIP expenses and on evacuation operations from 2006 onwards was pending with the government: Rs.344 crore dues from the Prime Minister's Office, the External Affairs Ministry and the Defence Ministry and Rs.106 crore for carrying out evacuation operations.

During 2010-11 alone, the Maharaja dedicated Boeing 747-400 fleet of five aircraft for VVIP operations and the total bill, including the cost of maintenance, came to about Rs.1,200 crore. Sources in the Civil Aviation Ministry indicated that a compensation of Rs.800 crore on account of VVIP operations would be cleared. The national carrier also has Rs.157 crore as dues pending with private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher for various services.

A detailed cash flow analysis, relating to the 2010-11 daily average, shows that Air India earns Rs.22 crore from its domestic operations daily and another Rs.14 crore from its operations on the international sector, taking the total to Rs.36 crore.

However, daily average expenses during 2010-11 show that the national carrier has to pay Rs.18 crore daily for its fuel bills in India and Rs.5 crore for fuel bills abroad. Besides, the airline has to shell out Rs.9 crore daily on account of pay and allowances and Rs.12 crore for other expenses. The interest on working capital comes to Rs.6 crore, while interest on aircraft loans comes to Rs.3 crore daily. Foreign station expenses hover around Rs 3 crore and another Rs.5 crore is meant for aircraft principal repayments. The analysis indicates that the current net shortfall per day comes to about Rs. 26 crore. On an average, Air India's loss during 2010-11 has been to the tune of Rs.5,800 crore and the accumulated losses run into much more.

Airline officials point out that the carrier has no control over 85 per cent of the cost incurred on operations. The major component is the cost of aviation turbine fuel that alone accounts for nearly 45 per cent. Other essential expenses on airport and aeronautical charges, ground handling and maintenance make up the rest.

Air India has already received an equity infusion of Rs.2,000 crore in two instalments from the government. It is likely to get another tranche of Rs.1,200 crore next month. It has already received in-principle approval to this effect from the Planning Commission.

A note for the Union Cabinet is also being prepared for creating specialised business units by separating its engineering MRO (maintenance-repair-overhaul) wing and ground handling facilities. The separate business units, on the lines of Air India Express, will remain subsidiaries of Air India, but try to earn for themselves and be self-sufficient. "Air India will transfer nearly 20,000 employees to these two business units on deputation. All employees will get protection for their salaries in MRO and ground handling units,'' airline officials said.

They said Air India would then have about 20,000 employees on its rolls which will include pilots, cabin crew and managerial and other staff. Air India runs up a wage bill of Rs. 3,500 crore annually and, since November-December last year, has not been able to register any operating profit. "But we hope to show operating profit in September-October this year,'' officials said.

"All steps are being taken in accordance with the turnaround plan which has been approved by the government. If everything goes well, Air India may be in black by 2015,'' airline officials said.

But for this to happen, aviation experts say, Air India will need to shed flab, be a lean and mean carrier, go for financial restructuring, take informed business decisions, get professional managers and say "no'' to political interference. They cited the example of "Garuda,'' Indonesia's flag carrier, which was beset with mounting losses and an unreliable and ageing fleet, but has managed to turn around profitably.

This time round, State-run oil marketing companies — the Indian Oil Corporation, the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. and the Hindustan Petroleum Corporation — have put the ailing carrier on notice to get its daily fuel on cash-and-carry sales model.

Battling huge financial losses and mounting dues to the oil marketing companies, Air India will be left with no choice but to slash its daily flights if the cash-and-carry sales model comes into operation. Sources in Air India confirmed on Thursday night that the oil marketing companies have conveyed to it that the airline would be sold its daily requirement of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) on the basis of cash which it is able to pay the oil companies. Air India operates nearly 320 flights on domestic and international sectors daily.

"Air India pays about Rs. 22 crore daily to oil marketing companies. It came down substantially to about Rs. 9 crore during the pilots' strike. After the strike was over, the carrier is able to shell out about Rs. 18 crore daily to oil marketing companies," the sources said.

However, Air India spokesperson said the airline had already approached the Civil Aviation Ministry and expressed the hope that the matter would be resolved amicably with the intervention of the government.


Govt eases eligibility criteria for appointment of CMDs for PSU banks

Facing shortage of experienced hand, the government has relaxed the criteria for selection of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of public sector banks , a decision that would make several executive directors eligible for elevation as CMD.

Under the new criteria, a bank executive director (ED) with a minimum experience of 6 months would also be eligible to become CMDs.

Earlier, an ED had to serve a minimum of one year to become eligible for the bank's top post.

The government has eased the experience clause to 6 months from earlier requirement of at least 12 months, official sources said.

The notification in this regard was issued earlier this month, sources said.

This would enable the government to overcome the dearth of experienced hand for elevation to the position of bank's chief.

The government has already initiated the process for empanelment of CMDs for the current fiscal. There would be 8 vacancies during the fiscal.

The first vacancy would come up on May 31 when the Central Bank India Chairman and Managing Director S Sridhar is scheduled to retire.

It is expected that the list of about 8 new CMDs would be out soon who would subsequently starting taking charge as and when the incumbent of the particular bank retires during the course of the year.

On similar lines, the government had announced names of 8 CMDs in September last year.

Pay cash or no fuel, says oil companies to Air India

With Air India defaulting on payment of jet fuel bills, state-run oil firms have restricted supplies of fuel to the extent of the national air carrier's ability to make payment in cash, but supplies have not been stopped.

At no airport have supplies to Air India been stopped, officials at the three oil marketing companies said. "Air India is being supplied aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to the extent it is able to pay," an official said.

Air India was put on cash-and-carry from December, but the airline continued to get fuel for more than its daily purchase capacity. However, oil companies are now supplying fuel on a strict sale only if cash is paid basis.

Oil companies last week sent a notice for stopping aviation turbine fuel (ATF) supplies to Air India at some airports like Calicut and Jaipur, officials said here.

Air India owes Indian Oil Corp (IOC) about Rs 1,900 crore. IOC meets 63 per cent of Air India's jet fuel needs. The national carrier has run up an outstanding bill of over Rs 300 crore with Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd ( BPCL )), while its dues to Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd ( HPCL )) are relatively small.

Officials said during peak demand, Air India buys jet fuel worth Rs 18.5 crore per day from the three state oil firms, but it pays only Rs 13.5 crore. Its current requirement is worth about Rs 16 crore.

"Oil companies already incur huge losses on selling diesel, domestic LPG and kerosene way below their production cost and to expect them to sell ATF at subsidised rates is not acceptable," an official said.

To tide over its cash woes, Air India has sought discounts similar to the ones given to private airlines.

Oil companies give a Rs 1,600-1,800 per kilolitre discount to private airlines on promise of assured payment. After adding finance charges for a 90-day credit period, the discount comes to Rs 3,600 per kl.

"Even if this discount is stretched to Rs 5,000 per kl, the Rs 18.5 crore per day fuel bill will not become Rs 13.5 crore. After including some more concessions, the fuel bill at best will come down to Rs 17 crore a day, a far cry from the Rs 13.5 crore paying capacity of Air India," he said.

Officials said Air India was discussing only the payments for future ATF purchases and there was no word on how the state carrier will clear the past outstanding.

"Air India talks of getting the same discounts as private airlines, but does it know that ATF purchases by airlines such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are covered by a bank guarantee in case of default?", an official asked.

Both Jet Airways and Kingfisher have brought down their outstanding dues to manageable levels and have provided bank guarantees to cover against any default.

27 MAY, 2011, 05.27AM IST, ANINDYA UPADHYAY,ET BUREAU
Boeing offers Air India $500 million for Dreamliner delay

NEW DELHI: US aircraft maker Boeing has offered to pay $500 million to Air India as compensation for the delay in deliveries of new-age B-787 Dreamliner aircraft. The package is more than three times what Boeing was willing to pay earlier, but the civil aviation ministry says it is still inadequate.

"It appears now that Boeing intends to offer half-a-billion dollars as compensation to Air India," a senior civil aviation ministry official told ET. "But this is too less and we are trying to ensure better compensation." Boeing India President Dinesh Keskar refused to give details.

" Air India is our valued customer and we will not discuss the issue of compensation in media," he said. Air India had ordered 27 Dreamliner jets in 2006, which were to be delivered by September 2008. But Boeing says it can hand over the first of these planes only in the quarter beginning July. 

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AI Claims $1-Billion Loss

Dreamliner is a 250-seater aircraft made of composite materials and is considered very fuel-efficient. The multi-version aircraft has a list price between $140 million and $200 million. Air India says the delay in handing over the jets has caused the airline both opportunity and operational losses amounting to over $1 billion. The official quoted above said the compensation Boeing plans to offer includes $145 million in liquidated damages, which are part of the contract and should not be included in the compensation value.

Liquidated damages on account of delay are usually 0.5% of the total contract value and they are to be paid on a weekly or monthly basis for a specified time as mentioned in the contract.

"Air India is not only eligible for liquidated damages, but also for the loss in revenue it suffered because its expansion plans were impacted due to the long delay," the official said. Air India says it had planned to fly new routes to Australia and Africa, besides expanding services to the US with the B-787s.

In January 2009, the airline had sought $710 million from Boeing as compensation for the delays in deliveries of B-787s. The carrier raised this figure to $840 million in August last year. The airline argues the compensation is on the grounds of loss of opportunities, business & market share, inability to use more fuel-efficient aircraft, leasing of jets at high cost, and additional interest burden on pre-delivery payments it made for the planes.

Air India, which has a fleet size of 133 aircraft, is under a colossal debt of Rs 40,000 crore and accumulated losses of Rs 13,000 crore. The airline had placed a $15-billion order for 111 aircraft in 2006. Of this, 68 aircraft were to be purchased from Boeing and the remaining from Airbus . Of the Boeing order, 50 aircraft were for Air India's own fleet and 18 for its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express , which flies on short-haul international routes.

Apart from the 27 B-787 s, the other aircraft include a mix of B-777 s and B-737s. In India, Boeing also has an order from Jet Airways for 10 Dreamliners. Boeing's order book for the B-787 worldwide currently stands at nearly 900 aircraft.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/boeing-offers-air-india-500-million-for-dreamliner-delay/articleshow/8596503.cms

Out of fuel money, AI grounded

Hindustan Times - ‎May 27, 2011‎
Bleeding national carrier Air India was in for a major shock on Friday. State-owned oil firms Indian Oil, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum cut off supplies of jet fuel to the carrier. AI is getting fuel for which it has paid for. ...

AI flights hit as ATF supply cut

Business Standard - ‎May 27, 2011‎
State oil companies have refused to extend credit for aviation turbine fuel (ATF) supplies to Air Indiaforcing it to cancel 10 flights on Friday. The decision to stop extending credit and sell strictly on a 'cash-and-carry basis' was taken by Bharat ...

Vendors threaten to pull AI, Kingfisher credit

Livemint - Tarun Shukla - ‎May 27, 2011‎
New Delhi: State-run Air India Ltd and Vijay Mallya-controlled Kingfisher Airlines Ltd have been asked by fuel vendors and some airports to pay dues or risk losing their credit facility. Air India will curtail some operations starting this month-end ...

Delhi,Hyderabad airports to allow Air India, Kingfisher flights on'cash and ...

India Infoline.com - ‎May 27, 2011‎
Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd., (DIAL), and GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited, (GHIAL), in order to control the significant amount of dues recoverable from two airline companies, being Kingfisher Airlines Limited andAir India Limited, ...

2 airports put Air India, Kingfisher on cash-and-carry from June 1

Hindu Business Line - ‎May 27, 2011‎
The burden of unpaid bills again caught up with Air India on Friday and could catch up with Kingfisher Airlines by the coming Wednesday. In a late evening development, GMR operated Delhi and Hyderabad airport announced that Air India and Kingfisher ...

Air India runs out of fuel, cancels 10 flights

Daily News & Analysis - Naveeta Singh - ‎May 27, 2011‎
The cash crunch faced by the national carrier, Air India (AI), has cancelled 10 flights on Friday morning as the oil companies refused to refuel the aircraft unless the airline paid them cash on the spot ...

Clear dues or halt operations: GMR to Air India, Kingfisher

NDTV.com - ‎May 27, 2011‎
New Delhi: After five of its Kerala flights were grounded when oil companies refused to supply fuel unless it pays its bills, there is more trouble brewing for Air India. Delhi and Hyderabad airport operator GMR has given an ultimatum to Air India to ...

Air India grounds flights amid jet fuel woes

AFP - ‎May 27, 2011‎
NEW DELHI — Cash-strapped Air India was forced to cancel some flights Friday after oil companies refused to give the state-run carrier fuel because of a failure to pay bills. The flagship carrier cancelled at least four flights in southern India after ...

Air India cancels 6 flights as oil PSUs restrict ATF supply

Economic Times - ‎May 27, 2011‎
NEW DELHI: Air India today faced a crisis situation with oil PSUs restricting the supply of jet fuel on account of dues, forcing the carrier to cancel six flights from Thiruvananthapuram and prepare a contingency plan to combine flights from tomorrow. ...

Oil companies resume fuel supplies, Air India operations normal

Economic Times - ‎May 27, 2011‎
MUMBAI/THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Oil companies resumed supply of jet fuel to national carrier Air India on Friday after huge unpaid bills led to the cancellation of four flights earlier in the day. "We have reached an understanding on the issue. ...

Four Air India flights cancelled due to unpaid oil bills

Economic Times - ‎May 27, 2011‎
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Four Air India flights were cancelled Friday as oil companies refused to give the national carrier fuel following huge outstanding bills, an official said here. An Air India spokesperson said two flights from Kochi and one each from ...

Fuel crisis hits Air India, 6 flights cancelled

NewsX - ‎May 27, 2011‎
Air India flights have been cancelled in the latest crisis that has hit the ailing national carrier. After surviving a financial crunch till the recent 10-day pilot strike, State-run oil companies - the Indian Oil Corporation, the Bharat Petroleum 

Air India in more trouble as GMR clips its wings

IBNLive.com - ‎May 27, 2011‎
New Delhi: National carrier Air India, which is neck-deep in debt, is now in more trouble as GMR has refused to letAir India function until it pays off its dues. GMR, the company that operates the Delhi and Hyderabad airports has handed Air India a ...

Oil PSUs restrict supplies to Air India

Times of India - ‎May 27, 2011‎
NEW DELHI: Cash-strapped Air India suffered a double whammy on Friday with oil marketing companies deciding to supply it only as much aviation turbine fuel on a daily basis as it pays for and the GMR Group putting the Maharaja, along with Vijay ...

Fuel curbs hit Air India flights

The Hindu - ‎May 27, 2011‎
NEW DELHI: With state-owned oil marketing companies refusing to supply aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to Air Indiaand Air India Express till they start paying for it upfront, the airlines cancelled four flights, domestic and international, ...

Air India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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It has been suggested that Tata Airlines be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
Air India

एअर इंडिया
IATA
AI
ICAO
AIC
Callsign
AIRINDIA
FoundedJuly 1932 (as Tata Airlines)
Commenced operations15 October 1932
HubsIndira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)
Secondary hubsChhatrapati Shivaji International Airport(Mumbai)
Frequent-flyer programFlying Returns
Airport loungeMaharaja Lounge
AllianceStar Alliance (Summer 2011)
Subsidiaries
Fleet size103 (+30 orders)(excl. subsidiaries)
Destinations75 (excl. subsidiaries)
Company sloganYour Palace in the Sky
Parent companyAir India Limited
HeadquartersAir India Building,
Nariman PointMumbai,MaharashtraIndia
Key peopleJ. R. D. TataFounder
Arvind Jadhav, CMD
Websitewww.airindia.com

Air India (Hindiएअर इंडिया) is a state-owned flag carrier, the oldest and the largest airline of India. It is a part of the Indian government-owned Air India Limited (AIL) which is renamed as Air India Ltd. The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving AsiaAustralia,Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia[dubious – discuss]. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. A international hub at Dubai International Airport is currently being planned.[1]

Star Alliance announced on 13 December 2007 that it had invited Air India to join as a member and it is expected to become a member sometime in 2011.[2][3]

Contents

 [hide]

[edit]History

Tata Air Services
1940s-2007 Air India logo
Air India Boeing 707-320B in 1976
The Maharaja is Air India's official Mascot

[edit]Early years

Main article: Tata Airlines

Air India was founded by J. R. D. Tata in July 1932 as Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group). On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a single-engined De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperial Airways) from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome toBombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by former Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vintcent. In 1932 Air India was based out of a hut with a palm thatched roof at Juhu Aerodrome and had 1 pilot and 2 apprentice mechanics along with 2 piston engined aircraft, one Puss Moth and one Leopard Moth aircraft.[4][5]

[edit]Post-war expansion

Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on 29 July 1946 under the name Air India. In 1948, after the independence of India, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India, with an option to purchase an additional 2%. In return, the airline was granted status to operate international services from India as the designated flag carrier under the name Air India International. On 8 June 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess(registered VT-CQP) took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first long-haul international flight, soon followed by service in 1950 to Nairobi via Aden.

On 25 August 1953, the Government of India exercised its option to purchase a majority stake in the carrier and Air India International Limited was born as one of the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry. At the same time all domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines (now renamed as Indian). In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to BangkokHong KongTokyo andSingapore.

[edit]The jet age

Air India International entered the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707-420, named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), was delivered. Jet services to New York City via London were inaugurated that same year on 14 May 1960. On 8 June 1962, the airline's name was officially truncated to Air India. On 11 June 1962, Air India became the world's first all-jet airline.

In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD). This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace In The Sky' livery and branding. A feature of this livery is the paintwork around each aircraft window, in the cusped arch style of windows in Indian palaces. In 1986 Air India took delivery of the Airbus A310-300; the airline is the largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India took delivery of two Boeing 747-300Ms in mixed passenger-cargo configuration.

[edit]Early 1990s

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 namedKonark (registered VT-ESM) made history by operating the first non-stop flight between New York City and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at the renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport inMumbai.

[edit]2000 – present

In 2000, Air India introduced services to Shanghai and to its third US gateway at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark. In May 2004, Air India launched a wholly owned low cost airlinecalled Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles (which has since been terminated) and expanded its international routes to include flights from AhmedabadAmritsarBangalore andHyderabad.

On 1 December 2009, Air India introduced services to its fifth US gateway at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., accessed via a stopover at JFK Airport in New York City. This service has been terminated indefinitely without further notifications.

Re-privatisation plans

In 2001, Air India was put up for sale by the then NDA government.[6] One of the bids was by a consortium of Tata Group-Singapore Airlines. However the re-privatisation plans were shelved after Singapore Airlines pulled out and the global economy slumped.[7]

Merger with Indian

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Air India would be merged with Indian. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along with Air India Express) and Indian(along with Alliance Air) will be merged.

On 27 February 2011, Air India and Indian Airlines merged along with their subsidiaries to form Air India Limited.

Financial crisis

Around 2006–2007, the airlines began showing signs of financial distress. The combined losses for Air India and Indian in 2006-07 were Indian Rupee symbol.svg 770crores (Indian Rupee symbol.svg 7.7 billion). After the merger of the airlines, this went up to Indian Rupee symbol.svg 7,200 crores (Indian Rupee symbol.svg 72 billion) by March 2009.[8] This was followed by restructuring plans which are still in progress.[9] In July 2009, SBI Capital Markets Ltd was appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of the airline.[10] The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747-300M in March 2009 for $18.75 million to survive the financial crunch.[11]

Air India's corporate headquarters is located at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. The airline moved there in 1970. TheAir India Building also serves as a regional office for Indian.

Delhi Hub

On 1 March 2009, Air India had made Frankfurt Airport at Frankfurt am Main as its international hub for onward connections to United Statesfrom India; however, the airline shut down the Frankfurt hub on 30 October 2010. However on July 14, 2010 Air India chief, Arvind Jadhav announced their intention to make the new terminal 3 at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport the hub for international and domestic operations with the plans of starting new direct flights to Chicago and Toronto and also taking almost all international long haul flights away from its former Primary hub at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport due to lack of space.[12] This would also provide greater convenience for transit passengers who before had to transfer between the international and domestic terminals which were located on completely different sides of the airport. They will now be able to catch their connecting flights within the same terminal.

Return to profitability plans

The new Chairman and Managing director wants to change the order of some of the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrow-body aircraft instead of the wide-body aircraft.[13]

[edit]Corporate affairs and identity

the Air India Building, Nariman Point,Mumbai
Organization

Air India has three subsidiaries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express and Air India Regional form the Air India Limited.

[edit]Subsidiaries

Air India Cargo
Air India Cargo Airbus A310-300F.
Main article: Air India Cargo

In 1954, Air India Cargo started its freighter operations with a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft, giving Air India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate freighters. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.

A member of IATA, Air India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and IATA Live Animals Regulations.

At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed a system of inventory management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire management of cargo, supportsElectronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs, Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.

Air India Express
Main article: Air India Express

Air India Express is the airline's low-cost subsidiary which was established in 2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates scheduled passenger services primarily to the Persian Gulf andSouth East Asia. Air India Express is currently the only airline in Air India Limited which posts profits. It operates a fleet of Next Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft.Cochin International Airport is the main hub of the airline from which it has connections to almost all the Gulf countries.

Air India Regional
Main article: Air India Regional

Air India Regional (formerly known as Alliance Air) serves mainly on regional routes. Its main hub is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

[edit]Livery

Boeing 747-400 in 1970–2007 Palace In The Sky livery
The present Air India Livery on the Boeing 777-300ER
1970–2007 livery

Air India's livery was mostly painted in red and white colours. The bottoms of the aircraft remain metal and unpainted but the upper portion is given a white background along with the airline's name written in red. The name is in Hindi on one side and in English on the other. The painted on red palace style carvings on the outside of the windows refer to their slogan "your palace in the sky" which is written on the back of the aircraft. Near the noses of Air India aircraft, the air plane is given a name. Most planes are named after powerful Indian kings or landmarks. Finally, the tail is mostly red with again, the carrier's name written in Hindi on one side and English on the other.

In 1989, to supplement its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new "sun" livery that was mostly white with a golden sun on a red tail. Only applied to around a half of Air India's fleet, the new livery did not succeed, as the Indian flying public complained about the phasing out of the classic colours. The livery was dropped after two years and the old scheme was returned.

Pre-merger livery

On 15 May 2007, Air India refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylised cheatline from the vertical tail of the aircraft to the nose, and painting a small portion of the underbelly red. Additionally, engine nacelles are now deep red, and a gold-coloured version of the airline's stylized Konark trademark now adorns both the vertical tail and engine nacelles.

Post-merger livery

On May 22, 2007, Air India and Indian unveiled their new livery. The logo of the new airline is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air India's characteristic logo, 'The Centaur' whereas the 'Konark Chakra' is reminiscent of Indian's logo.

The new logo features prominently on the tail of the aircraft. Individually the Konark Chakra also features on all the engines of the aircraft. The choice of colours namely red for "Flying Swan" and orange for "Konark Chakra" are meant to signify vigour and advancement. Further the colours also have a strong association with two carriers thereby retaining the earlier imagery of traditional hospitality and service.

While the aircraft is ivory in colour, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other is the Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name 'Air India' runs across the tail of the aircraft in hindi.

[edit]Destinations

Main article: Air India destinations

Air India serves 49 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations in 19 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

Short-haul routes

Air India's short-haul routes mainly include domestic cities and cities in South East Asia and South West Asia. For short-haul routes itsAirbus A310Airbus A330, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-200LR are used apart from Airbus A320 family aircraft of Indian which are operated with Air India callsign and code.

Long-haul routes

The airline has long-haul destinations in East Asia, Europe and North America which are served using Boeing 777-200LR and -300ER aircraft.

[edit]Codeshare agreements

Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:[14][15]

* SkyTeam member
^^ Star Alliance members

With Air India's own entry into the Star Alliance (SA) expected in June 2011,[2][17] all other codeshare agreements with non-Star Alliance partners may be terminated.[18]

[edit]Fleet

An erstwhile Indian Airlines Airbus A321-200
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 777-200LR
First Class seats on board the Boeing 777-200LR
Business Class seats on board theBoeing 777-300ER
See also: Air India fleet

Air India fleet as of 27 February 2011:[19]

Air India Fleet[20]
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
FJY
Total
Airbus A310-3004020181201To be phased out
Airbus A31920141061205 dry leased
1908114122
300144144
Airbus A320-200280201261465 dry leased
Airbus A321-20020020152172
Airbus A330-2002024255279Both dry leased
Boeing 747-40051226385423Includes 3 under sale
Boeing 777-200LR8835195238All owned
Boeing 777-300ER123435303342All owned
Boeing 787-827TBAEIS: October 2011[21]
Total10330
Fleet info

The Boeing customer code for Air India is 37, meaning a model name of, for example, a 747-437 (an Air India 747-400). As of May 2010, the average age of the Air India fleet is 9.5 years.

New aircraft orders
  • On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for fifty eight jets - eight Boeing 777-200LR Worldliners, twenty-three Boeing 777-300ER and twenty seven Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners
  • The airlines received its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007 and Boeing 777-300ER on 10 October 2007.
  • In April 2010, the airline has orderd three Boeing 777-300ERs.[citation needed]
  • Air India expects to get its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in June 2011.[22]

[edit]Services

[edit]Frequent flyer programme

Tob band3.png Flying Returns is Air India's frequent flyer programme. The programme is also shared by all other Air India Limited carriers.

[edit]Premium lounges

The Maharaja Lounge (English: "Emperor's Lounge") is offered to First and Business class passengers. Air India shares lounges with other international airlines at international airports that do not have a Maharaja Lounge available.[23] There are five[24] Maharaja Lounges, one at each of the five major destinations of Air India, which are as following:

International
Air India's Maharaja Lounge at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
India

[edit]In-flight entertainment

Air India's Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER as well as some refurbished Boeing 747-400 aircraft use theThales TopSeries IFE systems[25] for onboard in-flight entertainment. Airbus A310s do not have personal LCD screens. Airbus A330s have widescreen displays in Business and Economy classes but no personal IFEs.

[edit]Awards and recognitions

  • Preferred International Airline award for travel and hospitality from Awaz Consumer Awards 2006 [26]
  • Best International West Bound Airline out of India for three successive years by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award
  • Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award [27]
  • Best Short-Haul International Airline by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award 2008[27]
  • The Mercury Award for the years 1994 and 2003, from the International Flight Catering Association, for finest in-flight catering services.
  • Amity Corporate Excellence Award instituted by the Amity International Business School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh to honour Corporates with distinct vision, innovation, competitiveness and sustenance.[27]
  • Reader's Digest Trusted Brand Award[27]
  • Dun and Bradstreet Award(D&B)- first in terms of revenue out of the top airline companies out of India[27]
  • Best South Asian Airline award by readers of TTG Asia, TTG China, TTG Mice and TTG-BT Mice China, all renowned Mice and business travel publications.[27]
  • Cargo Airline of the Year at the 26th Cargo Airline of the Year Awards[28]
  • The airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner. Over 111,000 people were evacuated from Amman to Mumbai  – a distance of 4,117 km, by operating 488 flights in association with Indian, from 13 August to 11 October 1990  – lasting 59 days. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq.[29]
  • The Montreal Protocol Public Awareness Award was awarded to Air India by the United Nations for environmental protection, especially in the ozone layer.[30]
  • World's first all-jet airline- June 1962
  • World's largest operator of Airbus A310-300
  • Air India's security department became the first aviation security organisation in the world to acquire ISO 9002 certification (31 January 2001).
  • Air India's Department of Engineering has obtained the ISO 9002 for its Engineering facilities for meeting international standards.

[edit]Accidents and incidents

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriateEditing help is available. (January 2011)

Ten Air India flights have fatally crashed, including those due to terrorist attacks. Air India has a record of 6.82 fatal events per million flights.[31]

1950s
  • On 19 July 1959 Rani of Aera a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (registered VT-DIN) carrying 46 people (39 passengers and 7 crew) approached Santacruz Airport in conditions of poor visibility due to rain. The captain was using an altimeter with the barometric pressure set at 29.92". An overshoot was delayed and the aircraft crashed and suffered damage beyond repair. There were no fatalities.
The Air India Memorial in TorontoCanadadedicated to the victims of Air India Flight 182
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
  • On 7 May 1990 Air India Flight 132 Emperor Vikramaditya a Boeing 747-237B (registered VT-EBO) flying on the London-Delhi-Bombay route and carrying 215 people (195 passengers and 20 crew) touched down at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after a flight fromLondon's Heathrow Airport. On application of reverse thrust, a failure of the no. 1 engine pylon to wing attachment caused this engine to tilt nose down. Hot exhaustion gases caused a fire on the left wing. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.[38]
2000s

[edit]See also


[edit]References

  1. ^ Air India plans major hub in Dubai
  2. a b "Air India To Join Star Alliance In June". Aviation Week. 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Air India Star Alliance Membership Delayed".http://www.aviationweek.com.+2010-05-15. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  4. ^ Pran Nath Seth, Pran Nath Seth, Sushma Seth Bhat (2005). An introduction to travel and tourism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Page 112
  5. ^ Bepin Behari (1996). Astrological Biographies: Seventeen Examples of Predictive Insights. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Page 341
  6. ^ "Air India privatisation finds three suitors"BBC News. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  7. ^ "India privatisation plans near 'collapse'"BBC News. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  8. ^ 16 Jul, 2009, 06.10AM IST, Manju V,TNN (2009-07-16). "What sent Air India crashing?"Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ^ "Air India restructuring plans being readied". Hindu.com. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  10. ^ "SBI Caps prepares roadmap for Air India restructuring". Dnaindia.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  11. ^ "AI sells 4 aircraft in Mar to tackle financial crunch". Financialexpress.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  12. ^ "Air India to use Terminal-3 as hub of operations - NDTV Profit"Beta.profit.ndtv.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  13. ^ "All The King's Men". Businessworld.in. 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  14. ^ "Flying Returns - Code Share Partners". Air India. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  15. ^ "AirIndia - Code-Share Partners"Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  16. ^ Air India-BMI ink code share
  17. ^ "Air India Entry To Star Delayed By Year". Aviation Week. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  18. ^ 25 Jan, 2008, 12.19AM IST, Chanchal Pal Chauhan,TNN (2008-01-25). "Air India to end ties with KLM, BA, Cathay".Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  19. ^ "Air India Fleet Details". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  20. ^ "Air India Limited Fleet (As on 1st August 2010)"Home.airindia.in. 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  21. ^ Flottau, Jens (2001-05-11). "Boeing Tells Carriers About More 787 Delays". Aviation Week. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  22. ^ Yahoo! News[dead link]
  23. ^ Flying Returns - Maharajah Club
  24. ^ [1][dead link]
  25. ^ "AirIndia - 2006 New Boeing 777 Aircraft"Home.airindia.in. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  26. ^ "Business / Briefly : Air India bags Awaz consumer awards 2006". The Hindu. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  27. a b c d e f "AirIndia - Backgrounder- Note"Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  28. ^ "AirIndia - Air India Cargo wins 'CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR' Award"Home.airindia.in. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  29. ^ "Air India,History of Air India,Air India Flight Services,Air India International,Passenger Operations,Awards in Air India". Thisismyindia.com. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  30. ^ "UN Environment Award for Air India – India Airline News, Airport developments, Aviation, A380, B787, Kingfisher, Deccan, Jet Airways, Air India, Indian, Spicejet". Indiaaviation.aero. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  31. ^ "Accident Rates By Airline". AirDisaster.com. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  32. ^ "MALABAR PRINCESS". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  33. ^ "The "Malabar Princess" Catastrophe". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  34. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-749A Constellation VT-DEP Great Natuna Islands". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  35. ^ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 06221982". Airdisaster.com. 1982-06-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  36. ^ "Fatal Events Since 1970 for Air India". Airsafe.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  37. ^ "Indepth: Air India". CBC News. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  38. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-237B VT-EBO Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Air India
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Air India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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It has been suggested that Tata Airlines be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)
Air India

एअर इंडिया
IATA
AI
ICAO
AIC
Callsign
AIRINDIA
FoundedJuly 1932 (as Tata Airlines)
Commenced operations15 October 1932
HubsIndira Gandhi International Airport (Delhi)
Secondary hubsChhatrapati Shivaji International Airport(Mumbai)
Frequent-flyer programFlying Returns
Airport loungeMaharaja Lounge
AllianceStar Alliance (Summer 2011)
Subsidiaries
Fleet size103 (+30 orders)(excl. subsidiaries)
Destinations75 (excl. subsidiaries)
Company sloganYour Palace in the Sky
Parent companyAir India Limited
HeadquartersAir India Building,
Nariman PointMumbai,MaharashtraIndia
Key peopleJ. R. D. TataFounder
Arvind Jadhav, CMD
Websitewww.airindia.com

Air India (Hindiएअर इंडिया) is a state-owned flag carrier, the oldest and the largest airline of India. It is a part of the Indian government-owned Air India Limited (AIL) which is renamed as Air India Ltd. The airline operates a fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft serving AsiaAustralia,Europe and North America. Its corporate office is located at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. It is the 16th largest airline in Asia[dubious – discuss]. Air India has two major domestic hubs at Indira Gandhi International Airport and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. A international hub at Dubai International Airport is currently being planned.[1]

Star Alliance announced on 13 December 2007 that it had invited Air India to join as a member and it is expected to become a member sometime in 2011.[2][3]

Contents

 [hide]

[edit]History

Tata Air Services
1940s-2007 Air India logo
Air India Boeing 707-320B in 1976
The Maharaja is Air India's official Mascot

[edit]Early years

Main article: Tata Airlines

Air India was founded by J. R. D. Tata in July 1932 as Tata Airlines, a division of Tata Sons Ltd. (now Tata Group). On 15 October 1932, J. R. D. Tata flew a single-engined De Havilland Puss Moth carrying air mail (postal mail of Imperial Airways) from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome toBombay's Juhu Airstrip via Ahmedabad. The aircraft continued to Madras via Bellary piloted by former Royal Air Force pilot Nevill Vintcent. In 1932 Air India was based out of a hut with a palm thatched roof at Juhu Aerodrome and had 1 pilot and 2 apprentice mechanics along with 2 piston engined aircraft, one Puss Moth and one Leopard Moth aircraft.[4][5]

[edit]Post-war expansion

Following the end of World War II, regular commercial service was restored in India and Tata Airlines became a public limited company on 29 July 1946 under the name Air India. In 1948, after the independence of India, 49% of the airline was acquired by the Government of India, with an option to purchase an additional 2%. In return, the airline was granted status to operate international services from India as the designated flag carrier under the name Air India International. On 8 June 1948, a Lockheed Constellation L-749A named Malabar Princess(registered VT-CQP) took off from Bombay bound for London via Cairo and Geneva. This marked the airline's first long-haul international flight, soon followed by service in 1950 to Nairobi via Aden.

On 25 August 1953, the Government of India exercised its option to purchase a majority stake in the carrier and Air India International Limited was born as one of the fruits of the Air Corporations Act that nationalised the air transportation industry. At the same time all domestic services were transferred to Indian Airlines (now renamed as Indian). In 1954, the airline took delivery of its first L-1049 Super Constellations and inaugurated services to BangkokHong KongTokyo andSingapore.

[edit]The jet age

Air India International entered the jet age in 1960 when its first Boeing 707-420, named Gauri Shankar (registered VT-DJJ), was delivered. Jet services to New York City via London were inaugurated that same year on 14 May 1960. On 8 June 1962, the airline's name was officially truncated to Air India. On 11 June 1962, Air India became the world's first all-jet airline.

In 1971, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka (registered VT-EBD). This coincided with the introduction of the 'Palace In The Sky' livery and branding. A feature of this livery is the paintwork around each aircraft window, in the cusped arch style of windows in Indian palaces. In 1986 Air India took delivery of the Airbus A310-300; the airline is the largest operator of this type in passenger service. In 1988, Air India took delivery of two Boeing 747-300Ms in mixed passenger-cargo configuration.

[edit]Early 1990s

In 1993, Air India took delivery of the flagship of its fleet when the first Boeing 747-400 namedKonark (registered VT-ESM) made history by operating the first non-stop flight between New York City and Delhi. In 1994 the airline was registered as Air India Ltd. In 1996, the airline inaugurated service to its second US gateway at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago. In 1999, the airline opened its dedicated Terminal 2-C at the renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport inMumbai.

[edit]2000 – present

In 2000, Air India introduced services to Shanghai and to its third US gateway at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark. In May 2004, Air India launched a wholly owned low cost airlinecalled Air-India Express. Air India Express connecting cities in India with the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Subcontinent. In 2004 Air India launched flights to its fourth US gateway at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles (which has since been terminated) and expanded its international routes to include flights from AhmedabadAmritsarBangalore andHyderabad.

On 1 December 2009, Air India introduced services to its fifth US gateway at Washington Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C., accessed via a stopover at JFK Airport in New York City. This service has been terminated indefinitely without further notifications.

Re-privatisation plans

In 2001, Air India was put up for sale by the then NDA government.[6] One of the bids was by a consortium of Tata Group-Singapore Airlines. However the re-privatisation plans were shelved after Singapore Airlines pulled out and the global economy slumped.[7]

Merger with Indian

In 2007, the Government of India announced that Air India would be merged with Indian. As part of the merger process, a new company called the National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) was established, into which both Air India (along with Air India Express) and Indian(along with Alliance Air) will be merged.

On 27 February 2011, Air India and Indian Airlines merged along with their subsidiaries to form Air India Limited.

Financial crisis

Around 2006–2007, the airlines began showing signs of financial distress. The combined losses for Air India and Indian in 2006-07 were Indian Rupee symbol.svg 770crores (Indian Rupee symbol.svg 7.7 billion). After the merger of the airlines, this went up to Indian Rupee symbol.svg 7,200 crores (Indian Rupee symbol.svg 72 billion) by March 2009.[8] This was followed by restructuring plans which are still in progress.[9] In July 2009, SBI Capital Markets Ltd was appointed to prepare a road map for the recovery of the airline.[10] The carrier sold three Airbus A300 and one Boeing 747-300M in March 2009 for $18.75 million to survive the financial crunch.[11]

Air India's corporate headquarters is located at the Air India Building at Nariman Point in South Mumbai. The airline moved there in 1970. TheAir India Building also serves as a regional office for Indian.

Delhi Hub

On 1 March 2009, Air India had made Frankfurt Airport at Frankfurt am Main as its international hub for onward connections to United Statesfrom India; however, the airline shut down the Frankfurt hub on 30 October 2010. However on July 14, 2010 Air India chief, Arvind Jadhav announced their intention to make the new terminal 3 at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport the hub for international and domestic operations with the plans of starting new direct flights to Chicago and Toronto and also taking almost all international long haul flights away from its former Primary hub at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport due to lack of space.[12] This would also provide greater convenience for transit passengers who before had to transfer between the international and domestic terminals which were located on completely different sides of the airport. They will now be able to catch their connecting flights within the same terminal.

Return to profitability plans

The new Chairman and Managing director wants to change the order of some of the 111 planes ordered in 2006 to get narrow-body aircraft instead of the wide-body aircraft.[13]

[edit]Corporate affairs and identity

the Air India Building, Nariman Point,Mumbai
Organization

Air India has three subsidiaries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express and Air India Regional form the Air India Limited.

[edit]Subsidiaries

Air India Cargo
Air India Cargo Airbus A310-300F.
Main article: Air India Cargo

In 1954, Air India Cargo started its freighter operations with a Douglas DC-3 Dakota aircraft, giving Air India the distinction of being the first Asian airline to operate freighters. The airline operates cargo flights to many destinations. The airline also has ground truck-transportation arrangements on select destinations.

A member of IATA, Air India carries all types of cargo including dangerous goods (hazardous materials) and live animals, provided such shipments are tendered according to IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations and IATA Live Animals Regulations.

At the warehouse in Mumbai, Air India has developed a system of inventory management for cargo handling of import/export functions. This takes care of the entire management of cargo, supportsElectronic Data Interface (EDI) messages with Indian Customs and replaces to a great extent existing paper correspondence between Customs, Airlines, and the custodians. This also replaces manual handling and binning of cargo at the warehouse in Mumbai by Air India.

Air India Express
Main article: Air India Express

Air India Express is the airline's low-cost subsidiary which was established in 2005 during the aviation boom in India. It operates scheduled passenger services primarily to the Persian Gulf andSouth East Asia. Air India Express is currently the only airline in Air India Limited which posts profits. It operates a fleet of Next Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft.Cochin International Airport is the main hub of the airline from which it has connections to almost all the Gulf countries.

Air India Regional
Main article: Air India Regional

Air India Regional (formerly known as Alliance Air) serves mainly on regional routes. Its main hub is Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

[edit]Livery

Boeing 747-400 in 1970–2007 Palace In The Sky livery
The present Air India Livery on the Boeing 777-300ER
1970–2007 livery

Air India's livery was mostly painted in red and white colours. The bottoms of the aircraft remain metal and unpainted but the upper portion is given a white background along with the airline's name written in red. The name is in Hindi on one side and in English on the other. The painted on red palace style carvings on the outside of the windows refer to their slogan "your palace in the sky" which is written on the back of the aircraft. Near the noses of Air India aircraft, the air plane is given a name. Most planes are named after powerful Indian kings or landmarks. Finally, the tail is mostly red with again, the carrier's name written in Hindi on one side and English on the other.

In 1989, to supplement its "Flying Palace" livery, Air India introduced a new "sun" livery that was mostly white with a golden sun on a red tail. Only applied to around a half of Air India's fleet, the new livery did not succeed, as the Indian flying public complained about the phasing out of the classic colours. The livery was dropped after two years and the old scheme was returned.

Pre-merger livery

On 15 May 2007, Air India refreshed its livery, making the Rajasthani arches along the windows slightly smaller, extending a stylised cheatline from the vertical tail of the aircraft to the nose, and painting a small portion of the underbelly red. Additionally, engine nacelles are now deep red, and a gold-coloured version of the airline's stylized Konark trademark now adorns both the vertical tail and engine nacelles.

Post-merger livery

On May 22, 2007, Air India and Indian unveiled their new livery. The logo of the new airline is a Flying Swan with the Konark Chakra placed inside it. The Flying Swan has been morphed from Air India's characteristic logo, 'The Centaur' whereas the 'Konark Chakra' is reminiscent of Indian's logo.

The new logo features prominently on the tail of the aircraft. Individually the Konark Chakra also features on all the engines of the aircraft. The choice of colours namely red for "Flying Swan" and orange for "Konark Chakra" are meant to signify vigour and advancement. Further the colours also have a strong association with two carriers thereby retaining the earlier imagery of traditional hospitality and service.

While the aircraft is ivory in colour, the base retains the red streak of Air India. Running parallel to each other is the Orange and Red speed lines from front door to the rear door, subtly signifying the individual identities merged into one. The brand name 'Air India' runs across the tail of the aircraft in hindi.

[edit]Destinations

Main article: Air India destinations

Air India serves 49 domestic destinations and 26 international destinations in 19 countries across Asia, Europe and North America.

Short-haul routes

Air India's short-haul routes mainly include domestic cities and cities in South East Asia and South West Asia. For short-haul routes itsAirbus A310Airbus A330, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-200LR are used apart from Airbus A320 family aircraft of Indian which are operated with Air India callsign and code.

Long-haul routes

The airline has long-haul destinations in East Asia, Europe and North America which are served using Boeing 777-200LR and -300ER aircraft.

[edit]Codeshare agreements

Air India has codesharing agreements with the following airlines:[14][15]

* SkyTeam member
^^ Star Alliance members

With Air India's own entry into the Star Alliance (SA) expected in June 2011,[2][17] all other codeshare agreements with non-Star Alliance partners may be terminated.[18]

[edit]Fleet

An erstwhile Indian Airlines Airbus A321-200
Boeing 747-400
Boeing 777-200LR
First Class seats on board the Boeing 777-200LR
Business Class seats on board theBoeing 777-300ER
See also: Air India fleet

Air India fleet as of 27 February 2011:[19]

Air India Fleet[20]
AircraftIn serviceOrdersPassengersNotes
FJY
Total
Airbus A310-3004020181201To be phased out
Airbus A31920141061205 dry leased
1908114122
300144144
Airbus A320-200280201261465 dry leased
Airbus A321-20020020152172
Airbus A330-2002024255279Both dry leased
Boeing 747-40051226385423Includes 3 under sale
Boeing 777-200LR8835195238All owned
Boeing 777-300ER123435303342All owned
Boeing 787-827TBAEIS: October 2011[21]
Total10330
Fleet info

The Boeing customer code for Air India is 37, meaning a model name of, for example, a 747-437 (an Air India 747-400). As of May 2010, the average age of the Air India fleet is 9.5 years.

New aircraft orders
  • On 11 January 2006, Air India announced an order for fifty eight jets - eight Boeing 777-200LR Worldliners, twenty-three Boeing 777-300ER and twenty seven Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners
  • The airlines received its first Boeing 777-200LR aircraft on 26 July 2007 and Boeing 777-300ER on 10 October 2007.
  • In April 2010, the airline has orderd three Boeing 777-300ERs.[citation needed]
  • Air India expects to get its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in June 2011.[22]

[edit]Services

[edit]Frequent flyer programme

Tob band3.png Flying Returns is Air India's frequent flyer programme. The programme is also shared by all other Air India Limited carriers.

[edit]Premium lounges

The Maharaja Lounge (English: "Emperor's Lounge") is offered to First and Business class passengers. Air India shares lounges with other international airlines at international airports that do not have a Maharaja Lounge available.[23] There are five[24] Maharaja Lounges, one at each of the five major destinations of Air India, which are as following:

International
Air India's Maharaja Lounge at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport
India

[edit]In-flight entertainment

Air India's Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER as well as some refurbished Boeing 747-400 aircraft use theThales TopSeries IFE systems[25] for onboard in-flight entertainment. Airbus A310s do not have personal LCD screens. Airbus A330s have widescreen displays in Business and Economy classes but no personal IFEs.

[edit]Awards and recognitions

  • Preferred International Airline award for travel and hospitality from Awaz Consumer Awards 2006 [26]
  • Best International West Bound Airline out of India for three successive years by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award
  • Best Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award [27]
  • Best Short-Haul International Airline by Galileo Express TravelWorld Award 2008[27]
  • The Mercury Award for the years 1994 and 2003, from the International Flight Catering Association, for finest in-flight catering services.
  • Amity Corporate Excellence Award instituted by the Amity International Business School, Noida, Uttar Pradesh to honour Corporates with distinct vision, innovation, competitiveness and sustenance.[27]
  • Reader's Digest Trusted Brand Award[27]
  • Dun and Bradstreet Award(D&B)- first in terms of revenue out of the top airline companies out of India[27]
  • Best South Asian Airline award by readers of TTG Asia, TTG China, TTG Mice and TTG-BT Mice China, all renowned Mice and business travel publications.[27]
  • Cargo Airline of the Year at the 26th Cargo Airline of the Year Awards[28]
  • The airline entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the most people evacuated by a civil airliner. Over 111,000 people were evacuated from Amman to Mumbai  – a distance of 4,117 km, by operating 488 flights in association with Indian, from 13 August to 11 October 1990  – lasting 59 days. The operation was carried out during Persian Gulf War in 1990 to evacuate Indian expatriates from Kuwait and Iraq.[29]
  • The Montreal Protocol Public Awareness Award was awarded to Air India by the United Nations for environmental protection, especially in the ozone layer.[30]
  • World's first all-jet airline- June 1962
  • World's largest operator of Airbus A310-300
  • Air India's security department became the first aviation security organisation in the world to acquire ISO 9002 certification (31 January 2001).
  • Air India's Department of Engineering has obtained the ISO 9002 for its Engineering facilities for meeting international standards.

[edit]Accidents and incidents

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriateEditing help is available. (January 2011)

Ten Air India flights have fatally crashed, including those due to terrorist attacks. Air India has a record of 6.82 fatal events per million flights.[31]

1950s
  • On 19 July 1959 Rani of Aera a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation (registered VT-DIN) carrying 46 people (39 passengers and 7 crew) approached Santacruz Airport in conditions of poor visibility due to rain. The captain was using an altimeter with the barometric pressure set at 29.92". An overshoot was delayed and the aircraft crashed and suffered damage beyond repair. There were no fatalities.
The Air India Memorial in TorontoCanadadedicated to the victims of Air India Flight 182
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
  • On 7 May 1990 Air India Flight 132 Emperor Vikramaditya a Boeing 747-237B (registered VT-EBO) flying on the London-Delhi-Bombay route and carrying 215 people (195 passengers and 20 crew) touched down at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after a flight fromLondon's Heathrow Airport. On application of reverse thrust, a failure of the no. 1 engine pylon to wing attachment caused this engine to tilt nose down. Hot exhaustion gases caused a fire on the left wing. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was damaged beyond repair and written off.[38]
2000s

[edit]See also


[edit]References

  1. ^ Air India plans major hub in Dubai
  2. a b "Air India To Join Star Alliance In June". Aviation Week. 25 February 2011.
  3. ^ "Air India Star Alliance Membership Delayed".http://www.aviationweek.com.+2010-05-15. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  4. ^ Pran Nath Seth, Pran Nath Seth, Sushma Seth Bhat (2005). An introduction to travel and tourism. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Page 112
  5. ^ Bepin Behari (1996). Astrological Biographies: Seventeen Examples of Predictive Insights. Motilal Banarsidass Publ.. Retrieved January 20, 2011. Page 341
  6. ^ "Air India privatisation finds three suitors"BBC News. 23 February 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  7. ^ "India privatisation plans near 'collapse'"BBC News. 3 September 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
  8. ^ 16 Jul, 2009, 06.10AM IST, Manju V,TNN (2009-07-16). "What sent Air India crashing?"Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  9. ^ "Air India restructuring plans being readied". Hindu.com. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  10. ^ "SBI Caps prepares roadmap for Air India restructuring". Dnaindia.com. 2009-07-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  11. ^ "AI sells 4 aircraft in Mar to tackle financial crunch". Financialexpress.com. 2009-07-29. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  12. ^ "Air India to use Terminal-3 as hub of operations - NDTV Profit"Beta.profit.ndtv.com. 2010-07-14. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  13. ^ "All The King's Men". Businessworld.in. 2010-05-08. Retrieved 2010-08-12.
  14. ^ "Flying Returns - Code Share Partners". Air India. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
  15. ^ "AirIndia - Code-Share Partners"Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  16. ^ Air India-BMI ink code share
  17. ^ "Air India Entry To Star Delayed By Year". Aviation Week. 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  18. ^ 25 Jan, 2008, 12.19AM IST, Chanchal Pal Chauhan,TNN (2008-01-25). "Air India to end ties with KLM, BA, Cathay".Economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  19. ^ "Air India Fleet Details". Retrieved 2009-02-05.
  20. ^ "Air India Limited Fleet (As on 1st August 2010)"Home.airindia.in. 2010-08-01. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  21. ^ Flottau, Jens (2001-05-11). "Boeing Tells Carriers About More 787 Delays". Aviation Week. Retrieved 5 November 2010.
  22. ^ Yahoo! News[dead link]
  23. ^ Flying Returns - Maharajah Club
  24. ^ [1][dead link]
  25. ^ "AirIndia - 2006 New Boeing 777 Aircraft"Home.airindia.in. 2006-09-12. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  26. ^ "Business / Briefly : Air India bags Awaz consumer awards 2006". The Hindu. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  27. a b c d e f "AirIndia - Backgrounder- Note"Home.airindia.in. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  28. ^ "AirIndia - Air India Cargo wins 'CARGO AIRLINE OF THE YEAR' Award"Home.airindia.in. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  29. ^ "Air India,History of Air India,Air India Flight Services,Air India International,Passenger Operations,Awards in Air India". Thisismyindia.com. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  30. ^ "UN Environment Award for Air India – India Airline News, Airport developments, Aviation, A380, B787, Kingfisher, Deccan, Jet Airways, Air India, Indian, Spicejet". Indiaaviation.aero. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  31. ^ "Accident Rates By Airline". AirDisaster.com. Retrieved 2010-12-08.
  32. ^ "MALABAR PRINCESS". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  33. ^ "The "Malabar Princess" Catastrophe". Retrieved 2009-06-17.
  34. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Lockheed L-749A Constellation VT-DEP Great Natuna Islands". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  35. ^ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 06221982". Airdisaster.com. 1982-06-22. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  36. ^ "Fatal Events Since 1970 for Air India". Airsafe.com. Retrieved 2010-08-30.
  37. ^ "Indepth: Air India". CBC News. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
  38. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-237B VT-EBO Delhi-Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL)". Aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2010-06-10.

[edit]External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Air India
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Problems mount for Air India but sale not seen as solution

Heather Timmons
May 27, 2011

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    On a wing and a prayer ... passengers have abandoned the airline because of its reputation for poor customer service and late flights.

    On a wing and a prayer ... passengers have abandoned the airline because of its reputation for poor customer service and late flights. Photo: Bloomberg

    WHEN Bob Haygooni paid a midflight visit to a cockpit at his new employer, Air India, he was shocked. The pilots, he said, had completely covered the windows with newspaper to keep out the sun.

    ''All you had in the cockpit was this yellowish glow, as the light permeated the newspaper,'' Mr Haygooni recalled, saying it was a visibility hazard he had never seen in 30 years of flying.

    However, ''this was a normal thing at Air India'', said Mr Haygooni, a former United Airlines pilot who flew for the Indian

    Advertisement: Story continues below

    airline for 16 months. In April last year he was so concerned with the way the Indian government was running the state-owned airline that he quit.

    Interviews with more than a dozen experienced pilots employed in the past three years by Air India to work new international routes describe an airline with problems. But theirs are not the only complaints.

    Passengers have abandoned Air India in droves, shunning the airline because of its reputation for poor customer service and late flights.

    Formerly India's monopoly carrier, Air India has been surpassed by three commercial Indian airlines - Jet Airways, Kingfisher and IndiGo - among those that have sprung up since India deregulated the domestic industry nearly two decades ago. Air India now has less than 15 per cent of India's domestic air travel market.

    As a result, it lost more than $US1 billion ($950 million) in taxpayer money in last financial year. And now there is a growing public clamour for the government to get out of the airline business.

    While few government airlines in the developing world have stellar reputations, the Sydney research group Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation singled out Air India as an example of government mismanagement.

    The centre's executive chairman, Peter Harbison, said: ''There

    are other state-owned airlines in other emerging-market countries that have similar problems, but

    I can't think of one as bad as Air India.''

    Spokesmen for Air India defend the airline as safe and say it is working to correct its problems.

    And India's new Civil Aviation Minister, Vayalar Ravi, vowed on Wednesday not to close or sell the airline. ''There is no question of Air India being shut or privatised,'' Mr Ravi said.

    Vested interests who ''want to exploit the people for their own profit'' were behind suggestions that India's government give the airline up, he said. The airline had been mismanaged in the past but it does ''not make any compromises with maintenance and security''.

    The New York Times

    http://www.smh.com.au/business/problems-mount-for-air-india-but-sale-not-seen-as-solution-20110526-1f6dy.html


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