Air India cuts int’l sector losses

Mumbai: Air India’s losses in the international sector have come down from Rs 1100 crore to Rs 500 crore, while on the domestic sector the airline is making a cash profit of Rs 87 crore, according to MoS for civil aviation Praful Patel.
Speaking to journalists in Mumbai on Friday, the minister said that the overall parameters of change at Air India are “encouraging”. “The daily revenue has increased by Rs 5 crore, the load factor has increased by 5 per cent, yield has increased by 13 per cent. Inspite of discontinuing some freight services, cargo revenue has increased,” he said.
30/10/10 Indian Express

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AI starts more international flights from Bangalore

Bangalore: Air India will operate more hub and spoke flights from Bangalore with effect from October 31 enabling convenient international connections to Bangalore passengers.
These flights will land at the T3 terminal in Delhi.
In the morning, AI 625 (BangaloreDelhi), will leave Bangalore at 0930 hours to reach Delhi at 1200 hours daily. It will connect to AI 121 (DelhiFrankfurt) leaving Delhi daily at 1335 hrs, AI 111 (DelhiLondon) leaving Delhi daily at 1450 hours and AI 143 (DelhiParis) leaving Delhi at 1255 hours on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. In the evenings, flight AI 623 will leave Bangalore at 2010 hours to reach Delhi at 2245 hours daily. It will connect the flights AI 101 (DelhiNew York) leaving Delhi at 0045 hours, AI 127 (DelhiChicago) leaving Delhi at 0130 hrs and AI 187 (DelhiToronto) leaving Delhi at 0145 hours. Passengers will be able to checkin at Bangalore airport for their international destination.
30/10/10 ExpressBuzz

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Kanishka victims’ Xmas gift

Toronto: Canada is set to disburse an ex-gratia payment to the Air India Kanishka victims before Christmas.
Though the Canadian immigration minister, Mr Jason Kenney, and the public safety minister, Mr Vic Toews, in their meeting with families of the victims last week had cited the precedence of up to $25,000 as exgratia payment in such cases, sources said on Thursday that the unspecified amount to be paid would not disappoint the families. The families of each victim were paid upward of $75,000 in a settlement in 1991.
30/10/10 Deccan Chronicle

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Senior official is harassing us: Pilots

Mumbai: An Air India pilots’ union on Wednesday approached the civil aviation ministry and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) alleging that the airline management had failed to act on their complaint against a senior operations official. On October 13, the Indian Pilots’ Guild (IPG), one of the two recognised pilot unions, had levelled serious allegations against Captain Rohit Bhasin, an additional general manager of operations.
According to the complaint, Captain Bhasin allegedly intimidated pilots who reported sick. The letter sent to the ministry and the CVC also claims that he had withheld salaries of pilots. The amount ranges from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. He also allegedly abused pilots for refusing international flight duties when they did not have their passports. Pilots plying on international routes often submit their passports with the company for obtaining visas.
The senior operations officer is also charged of assigning flight duties to select pilots on plum routes.
28/10/10 Soubhik Mitra/Hindustan Times

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Flight is on time… no, it’s cancelled… sorry, it’s on time

Mumbai: An elderly couple, booked on the airline to fly from Mumbai to Chennai on October 24, have a harrowing tale to tell about the mismanagement and lack of coordination between Air India (AI) and Indian Airlines.
Shankar Kuppuswamy, 46, said his parents V Kuppuswamy, 81, and Sharadha Kuppuswamy, 76, went through an ordeal while flying AI’s Mumbai-Chennai flight IC-994 on Sunday.
“We had booked the tickets three months in advance. My parents had come to Mumbai by an AI 127 Chicago-Mumbai flight on October 12, and on October 24, they were scheduled to catch a connecting flight that leaves at 8.20am. When I called up the airline’s office in Chennai to confirm the tickets, they first told me the ticket did not reflect in their system. Later, they said the flight was cancelled. Then they asked me to get the confirmation from Mumbai,” Shankar said, adding that he called up Mumbai call centre and got the tickets confirmed.
He said he was told by a call centre executive to come to domestic terminal on the date of journey. On October 21, his travel agent from Chennai called up, saying the airline had cancelled the flight and the passengers were booked on the next flight IC 914 that leaves at 9.40am. Later, they told him the flight was confirmed and would leave as per schedule.
Shankar said he went to the domestic terminal on night of October 23 to make sure everything goes right. “When I went to Indian Airline’s counter to get the tickets endorsed, the airline refused to confirm the PNR, saying it was an AI flight. But after two hours, they endorsed the tickets.
After that, I was told that my parents should reach the international terminal, Sahar to board the flight. As my parents are old, I requested them to provide for wheel-chairs for both of them. The airline staff said they provide wheel chair only to AI passengers, and not Indian passengers. After a lot of argument, they finally agreed,” he said.
On the day of travel, the passengers reported to Sahar terminal at 6.25am and Shankar was told that the flight was on time. However, the flight did not land at all and when Shankar called up the airline’s office, they said the flight was cancelled but did not know where his parents were.
“They asked me to call them on their mobile phone,” he said, adding they did not carry a cellphone. “It was when my sister created a ruckus at Chennai airport did they tell her that the passengers were on another flight that left Mumbai at 9.40am,” he added.
27/10/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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Melbourne ok for Air India: Reports

Air India has at last been granted permission to fly to Melbourne by the country’s civil aviation ministry, reports in India have claimed. India Express.com quoted airline sources as saying the flights were “recently” approved. But the delay has damaged its marketing strategy as flights will miss the peak winter season, the report said.
26/10/10 Steve Jones/Travel Weekly

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Delayed ticket to Oz makes AI lose out on winter traffic

New Delhi: After a series of flip flops, state-owned Air India has been granted permission to fly to Melbourne by civil aviation ministry recently, sources in the airline said. However, delays in granting route clearance has dented the timing and thrown a wet blanket over the carrier’s marketing strategy, claimed airline sources. “The ministry has approved the route too late in the day. And we have already missed the peak winter season,” said an airline source.
Any route needs at least three months’ time to be logged into the Global Distibution Systems which markets it and sells the tickets. “Typically, international leisure travel is planned months in advance and bookings done much before. In this case, Air India has missed the load factors,” said the source.
Air India had made a strong pitch for the Delhi-Melbourne sector, and had even announced its plans in June to launch a non-stop flight in November this year, but the plan was hanging fire after the ministry reportedly twice rejected the proposal in as many months.
26/10/10 Smita Aggarwal/Indian Express

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Air India to wind up Frankfurt hub, take Alliance regional

New Delhi: The Air India management has some ambitious plans to turn around the loss-making national carrier. These include ceasing hub operations at Frankfurt, converting subsidiary Alliance Air into a full-fledged regional carrier and beginning domestic low-cost operation through Air India Express.
Already, plans have been finalised to stop ‘scissor’ or hub operations from Frankfurt, from October 31 and the six flights which converge there at present will be converted into direct operations to Europe and the Americas.
Not only will cancelling hub operations at Frankfurt save the national carrier `200-250 crore every year, this move will also bring in smaller Indian cities into the airline’s international network because the direct connections bring into the international fold cities such as Ahmedabad.
The earlier practice of routing passengers from Ahmedabad, Delhi and Mumbai and from Chicago, Toronto and Newark to Frankfurt will be discontinued.
Then, official sources tell us the airline also plans to convert Alliance Air into a full fledged regional airline — which means connecting a major city with several smaller stations in each region.
At the moment, the Alliance Air hubs are only in Delhi and Kolkata and new ones may be created at Chennai, Mumbai and Ahmedabad.
25/10/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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A night of madness at Mumbai airport

Mumbai: Three air safety incidents in a span of eight hours on Friday night and early Saturday put Mumbai airport authorities to test besides disrupting flight schedules.
At 1.50 am on Saturday, the wing tip of Muscat bound Jet Airways Boeing 737 rammed into left horizontal stabilizer of a stationary Kingfisher airbus which was parked at the adjacent bay.
The tail of the Kingfisher aircraft can be seen above while the Jet Airways plane that collided into it is seen below “While being taken towards the runway, the Jet Airways plane cut through a portion near the tail and got stuck after. It is being viewed as a serious incident,’’ said an airport source.
On Friday night, an Air India Boeing 777 from London was stuck on the taxiway after landing.
The main runway had to be closed for use as landing planes would have been unable to vacate using this taxiway. Although the secondary runway was opened, seven incoming flights were diverted to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
“At 11.12 pm the pilot of an Air India plane reported smoke emanating from the landing gear. Emergency services sprayed foam on it, but the operation blocked the taxiway for an hour,’’ said MIAL spokesperson.
A source said, “The Air India pilot radioed the problem to the Air Traffic Controller. However, for next 2-3 minutes ground controllers were unable to establish contact with fire station and safety jeeps because of some communication problem. If it was a real fire situation, such a delay would have proved costly.’’
Earlier in the evening, an emergency landing by a cargo plane led to massive delays and diversions. “A Fedex plane on Dubai-Bangalore route made an emergency landing because of suspected fire in cargo hold at 6.30 pm.
24/10/10 Mumbai Mirror

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Air India plane stuck on runway, operations hit

Mumbai: Air India aircraft arriving here from London got stuck off the runway shortly before Friday midnight, airport officials said on Saturday.
Shortly after vacating the main runway, the flight, AI-130 got stuck while taxiing to the bay. The captain of the plane reported smoke emanating from the landing gear of the aircraft and failure in the landing apparatus.
The airport emergency services were immediately pressed into service and they sprayed foam on the right-side landing gear.During the operation, the taxiway was blocked for over 55 minutes.
Seven incoming flights were diverted, six to Ahmedabad and one to Hyderabad, the officials said.
23/10/10 IANS/SIfy

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25 years later, Canada offers $25,000 to each Kanishka victim family

Toronto: The Canadian government has reportedly offered $20,000 to $25,000 to families of each Air India Kanishka victim - 25 years after all 329 people on board Flight 182 from Montreal to New Delhi perished when it was blown off mid-air near the Irish coast June 23, 1985.
A public inquiry by former Canadian chief justice John Major in June blamed various Canadian agencies for failing to stop the bombing plot by Khalistani militants and asked the government to compensate the families.
Member of some victim families met Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and public safety minister Vic Toews here Friday for discussions on the package.
The ministers are said to have made no offers at the meeting, but reports say the Canadian government has told the families that compensation offered in similar cases ranged from $20,000 to $25,000 for each victim.
Though the families have already been paid about $75,000 each in an out-of-court settlement a few years ago, the John Major inquiry report asked the government to compensate them further.
But some families are not happy with the reported offer, citing the huge payout of $10 million by Libya to relatives of each victim in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing.
The proposed compensation is part of the current Canadian government to put closure on the tragedy.
23/10/10 IANS/Thaindian.com

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Kenney, Toews to meet Air India families

Ottawa and Toronto: Two Harper government ministers are meeting privately with relatives of Air India victims in Toronto Friday, though the Conservatives refuse to divulge whether they'll provide more details of promised compensation during the get-together.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney and Public Safety Minister Vic Toews will gather Friday afternoon with families of the victims of the 1985 airplane bombing that claimed 329 lives. The Conservatives were not saying where in Toronto.
Government officials would also not reveal whether the ministers would update relatives on compensation pledged by Prime Minister Stephen Harper four months ago.
“This meeting was never intended to generate any sort of announcement,” one official said.
“It was always intended to be a private meeting between the ministers and the families.”
Relatives of those killed in the bombing have been seeking justice for more than a quarter century. During a speech to security professionals last week in Ottawa, a lawyer who represented families during the Air India inquiry pointed out that at least three relatives of victims had died since June.
The government said only that the ministers are meeting to take advice from families on how to proceed.
The Tories are also seeking input on how to prevent another such attack.
21/10/10 Steven Chase and Anthony Reinhart/Globe & Mail

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Sr AI official in the dock for safety violations

Mumbai: Forcing unwell pilots to operate flights, rostering a familial crew for a flight in violation of international anti-hijacking norms, coercing pilots to fly international without a valid passport; these, if the airline's pilots are to be believed, are some of the air safety and security violations occurring with impunity in Air India in the last three months.
These glaring violations were brought up in a letter by Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), the recognized union of about 350 Air India pilots. The October 13 letter was sent to a host of top officials including Air India chairman and managing director, Arvind Jadhav, the directorate-general of civil aviation, the regional labour commissioner and the chief vigilance officer.
"When pilots express their inability to operate flights due to illness, Capt Bhasin issues verbal threats warning pilots of a number of consequences they may have to face if they avail of sick leave,'' says IPG president Jeetendra Awhad in the letter. Flying when unwell is an air safety violation under clause 42-4, part 5 of Indian Aircraft Rules.
Another allegation was made that Capt Bhasin has been rostering himself with his son on flights frequently. Capt M Ranganathan, an air-safety expert said that the practice violates International Civil Aviation Organisation's Document 8973 and 9811, which lists the post 9/11 mandatory security proce dures. "The cockpit door has to be in "Locked-down" condition and under no circumstance; it is to be opened in flight when there is a threat. But when relatives fly as crew, the cockpit door becomes a weak link in the security chain,'' says Capt Ranganathan. "If a pilot leaves the cockpit, the hijacker can emotionally blackmail the one sitting inside to unlock the cockpit door. He can then be commandeered for a 9/11 type of act,'' he said.
Despite complaints from several pilots as well as substantial, in-your-face proof, Air India came out in support of Bhasin and issued a blanket denial of all the allegations.
21/10/10 Manju V/Times of India

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AVM rejects Air India claim on better connectivity of Amritsar-London-Toronto flight

Amritsar: Amritsar Vikas Manch has contradicted Air India’s claim that with the new schedule of Amritsar-London-Toronto flight from 31 October 2010, passengers will get daily connectivity to London and Toronto and will also save on time.
In a memorandum addressed to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Union Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, Amritsar Vikas Manch Patron Dr. Charanjit Singh Gumtala has stated that according to statistics, Amritsar-London-Toronto is one of the most profit making routes served by Air India and by switching it through from 31 October, cargo business from Amritsar will be adversely affected as well because AI had earlier pressed into service a Boeing 777 on this route with a perishable cargo capacity of 24 tonnes and an almost equal capacity for the non-perishable cargo.
Data for the past 4 years shows that Air India has been discontinuing its hub-and- spoke flight that connects Amritsar to New York ,London ,Chicago, Singapore and other places from15 Dec to31 January owing to fog,but Amritsar-London- Toronto flight operates through out the year as it originates from Amritsar and its time is altered according to Amritsar season. So new route will not be in the interest of Punjabis nor of Air India itself .
20/10/10 Punjab Newsline

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Meeting with Air India families raises hope of compensation

Federal officials will meet Friday with relatives of victims of the 1985 Air India bombing, raising hopes that compensation promised by Prime Minister Stephen Harper four months ago will be forthcoming.
The meeting, to be held in the Toronto area, where many of the 329 passengers killed aboard Flight 182 lived, is expected to include “one or more federal ministers,” said Norman Boxall, a lawyer who represented families at an inquiry into the bombing.
“What I’ve been told is family members are going to receive an update, but I don’t know on which issues,” Mr. Boxall said. “I would expect the update to include what’s happening on compensation.”
Relatives of those killed in the bombing have been seeking justice for more than a quarter century. During a speech to security professionals last week in Ottawa, Mr. Boxall pointed out that at least three relatives of Air India victims had died since June.
That was when Mr. Justice John Major released the findings of an inquiry into Canadian authorities’ bungling of the Air India investigation.
The findings called for establishment of a powerful national security czar to mediate between the RCMP and Canada’s spy agency, CSIS. An investigative turf war between the agencies led to the mishandling of valuable intelligence before and after the bombing.
19/10/10 Anthony Reinhart/Globe and Mail, Canada

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Families let down by Tories' Air India silence: lawyer

Ottawa: Many families of victims who died in the 1985 Air India bombing are disappointed with the federal government's near-silence since a June report called for compensation, says a lawyer close to the process.
Norm Boxall, former co-counsel for dozens of families who lost loved ones, says discouragement has replaced the high hopes of four months ago.
"I've spoken to a number of families that expressed frustration," Boxall said in an interview.
The hefty inquiry report by former Supreme Court Justice John Major catalogued a litany of federal failures before and after the terrorist attack, which killed 329 people, most of them Canadians.
Police believe Sikh extremists fighting for an independent homeland blew up the airplane off the coast of Ireland.
Last spring, Prime Minister Stephen Harper immediately met with family members of victims and signalled an intention to act on Major's recommendations of an apology and a one-time payment.
"Issues are raised about an official apology and compensation for families of victims," Harper told reporters at the time. "Let me be clear, unequivocally, that the government will respond positively to those recommendations."
Though an apology came, there has been no action on Major's suggestion that an arm's-length body be created to recommend an appropriate payment to family members.
"It's disappointing," Boxall said. "The creation of the independent body, on the surface of it to me, doesn't seem that complicated."
16/10/10 CTV, Canada

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AI to launch Hyd-Chicago flights from Oct 31

Mumbai: National carrier Air India will launch a flight to Chicago from Hyderabad via Delhi by this month-end.
"We are all set to operate flight service to Chicago connecting Hyderabad with New Delhi from October 31," airline sources said, adding that a plan to launch a direct service to San Francisco was also being studied.
The airline would be deploying a Boeing 777-300 extended range aircraft to operate the flight direct from Delhi, they said, adding that for the first time Air India would fly a Boeing 777 from Hyderabad.
Air India is eyeing the US-bound traffic from Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad with the proposed launch of the Chicago flight, they said.
The airline had earlier announced plans to operate flight services to Melbourne, Chicago and San Francisco from the winter schedule that comes into effect from October 29. But, the Melbourne flight plan was shot down by one of the independent directors in the airline's board who wrote to the civil aviation ministry last month, saying it would not be economically viable and only add to the losses of the cash-strapped airline, the sources said.
14/10/10 Times of India

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Denied alcohol, Air India staffers harass crew mid-air

Mumbai: Three Air India (AI) staffers were on a high — literally — on their way to Singapore for a vacation.
The trio created havoc on an AI flight with their unruly behaviour and kept the cabin crew, who are also their colleagues, on their toes for more than five hours last Saturday. Abhinav, Armaan and Arjun (names changed) began screaming and howling when the crew refused to serve them alcohol beyond the permissible limit (two pegs).
“They told us that we were on flight to serve them and that our job was to do whatever they say,” a senior crew on the AI426 Mumbai-Singapore flight told DNA. “The trio then sat with the food served on the flight for over an hour and complained that it was cold.”
The men in their early 40s did not care about their fellow passengers either. “When they were instructed to wear seat belts, they refused and the moment the flight took off, they started talking loudly and disturbing other passengers. They also consumed the amount of alcohol permitted on flight in no time,” the crew member said.
“The captain told them they would be handed over to the Singapore police. That’s when they kept quiet,” the member said.
13/10/10 Naveeta Singh/Daily News & Analysis

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AI steeped in debt, but ignoring opportunities?

Mumbai: Bureaucracy and red tape may cost the debt-ridden Air India yet another profitable route, denying it a crucial opportunity to get itself out of the slump.
National Aviation Carrier of India Limited (NACIL) CMD Arvind Jadhav had flown to Australia in June to sign an agreement with Victoria State Premier John Brumby.
He proudly announced the launch of Air India's daily flights from Delhi to Melbourne from November 1, which would make it the first Indian carrier on the route. However, with barely three weeks left for the commencement of operations, the airline has not been able to get the necessary clearances and permissions from the Civil Aviation Ministry, raising doubts about the project being able to take off on time.
Speaking exclusively to MiD DAY, Carly Dixon, spokesperson, Melbourne Airport Authority, said that Air India has yet to complete the formalities related to the project.
A source close to the airline has, however, revealed that the airline is under pressure from the government of India to not start operations on this sector, "Air India might drop the plan citing that the sector is not a profitable one, thereby paving the way for private airlines to operate on it."
12/10/10 Bipin Kumar Singh/MiD DAY

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Melbourne's Air India coup faces a tricky landing

Air India's plans to fly to Melbourne, heralded as a coup for Victoria when they were announced in June, are in doubt.
Melbourne Airport remains confident that Air India will still fly there, but says the service has been delayed to an unknown date because the airline is yet to gain approval from the Indian government for a new international route.
Air India, which is owned by the government, was scheduled to begin daily services between Tullamarine Airport and Delhi from November 1.
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The deal was hailed in June as a diplomatic and economic coup and evidence of Victoria's ability to beat NSW in a bidding war for airlines.
But Indian media have reported that India's Civil Aviation Ministry last month rejected the airline's plans to fly to Melbourne for the second time in two months.
It has also been reported that an Air India board member wrote to the regulatory authorities to stress that the route would not be viable and would only add to the losses of the cash-strapped airline.
11/10/10 Matt O'Sullivan/Sydney Morning Herald

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