AI ties itself in knots over staff crunch, flights delayed

New Delhi: A diverted flight and shortage of cabin crew caused Air India some anxious moments on Thursday, not to mention the harassment to passengers. Trouble started when poor visibility led to congestion over Delhi and the flight that took off from Bangalore for the capital at 6.15am had to be diverted to Jaipur.
After landing in the capital, the aircraft was to operate on the Delhi-Bangalore sector at 10.30am. But since it was stuck in Jaipur, AI had to make alternate arrangements. There was a spare aircraft available at IGI with a set of pilots. The airline decided to use the cabin crew that had landed in IGI at 10.40am after operating a Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi flight.
Finally, the 10.30am Delhi-Bangalore flight flew out of IGI after a delay of a couple of hours. This aircraft and its crew was then supposed to fly back to Delhi to operate the 2pm flight, obviously with a delay. But after reaching Bangalore, the cabin crew said it could not operate that flight as their duty time limitation of eight hours in a day had expired.
Passengers waiting to board the 2pm flight to Delhi got stuck. Luckily for AI, it had another flight for Delhi at 4.30pm and it merged the two. Thankfully, both the flights were half full. Passengers of the two flights could be adjusted in the 4.30pm departure.
06/06/10 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

Slowdown doesn't stop AI shopping spree in US

New Delhi: As Air India struggles to pay salaries on time, over 20 officials of the state carrier are in France and the US to take delivery of three brand new aircraft.
Officials have left for Toulouse and Seattle to finalise the purchase of a Boeing 777 for Air India and two Airbus aircraft (A-320) for Indian Airlines, Nation Aviation Company of India Limited (Nacil) sources told DNA. The aircraft will be flown to India sometime this week.
"On the one hand, Nacil CMD Arvind Jhadav is struggling to get the Rs15,000 crore bailout package from the government, while on the other hand, Nacil officials are in Seattle and Toulouse witnessing the pre-delivery checks of the aircraft," Nacil sources said.
However, Nacil officials in Mumbai and Delhi are displeased with the management's decision. "It is strange that the management would not defer the delivery of the aircraft, but rather delay the salaries of over 40,000 employees," a senior Nacil official said.
The national carrier has 150 aircraft, the largest fleet in the country. It had placed orders for 111 new aircraft (68 Boeing and 43 Airbus) in 2005 at an estimated cost of Rs45,000 crore. Four more aircraft Boeing 777 will be delivered this year.
Ironically, despite Nacil's financial mess the management insists it will continue with the fleet expansion plan process.
While the economic meltdown has forced airlines worldwide to defer the delivery of new aircraft, Nacil officials and civil aviation minister Praful Patel seem to be unaffected by the prevailing crisis.
30/06/09 Yogesh Kumar/Daliy News & Analysis

Read More

AI sets Dec target with IA for IT integration

Mumbai: National carrier Air India is looking at a December deadline for completing the integration of its information technology systems with the erstwhile Indian Airlines in order to get included into the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance club. Top executives at Air India, including its CMD Arvind Jadhav, held a meeting on Monday in Mumbai on this issue.
Star Alliance is the oldest such club of international carriers that allows members to share codes and use each others’ maintenance and parking infrastructure. Other alliances of similar nature are One World and SkyTeam.
Air India has already met 79 joining requirements. The biggest obstacle for Air India in becoming a part of the Star Alliance is the absence of same flight code between Air India and Indian Airlines. At present, AI and IA continue to operate under different codes.
A senior Air India official, who attended the meeting, said Air India was working towards a common IT platform for air tickets reservations, which would result in savings of hundreds of crores annually. The IT integration has been pending for the past six quarters, but it should be finalised soon, the official added.
This is at a time when Nacil (National Aviation Company of India) is incurring a loss of Rs 15 crore each day. Nacil is the holding company formed in 2007 after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
30/06/09 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

Read More

Air India flight lands in Delhi under emergency conditions

New Delhi: An Air India flight from Delhi to Hyderabad, with 74 people on board, today landed at the IGI Airport here under emergency conditions as the pilot suspected technical trouble, airport sources said.
Emergency drill, including positioning of fire brigades and ambulances, was followed after the pilot informed the air traffic control (ATC) that he wanted to land as the cockpit panel had signalled problem with the hydraulic system of the Airbus A-320, the sources said.
The Delhi-Hyderabad-Tirupati flight, IC-942, made a "normal and safe" landing at 1141 hours and went "on its own power" to the bay earmarked for it where all the 68 passengers and six crew members disembarked, an airline spokesperson said.
The pilot decided to return to Delhi instead of flying to Hyderabad, after being on air for about 30 minutes when the indication about hydraulic problem appeared on the panel.
29/06/09 PTI/Daliy News & Analysis

Read More

Flight cancelled after mishap involving catering vehicle

Kochi: An Air India flight operating in the Mumbai- Kochi - Mumbai sector was cancelled after a catering vehicle dashed against the stationary aircraft at the Nedumbassery airport near here today.
The mishap occurred when the catering vehicle was being aligned with the aircraft to offload foot items. The aircraft suffered partial damage near the rear service door, airport sources said.
The flight, scheduled for departure in the morning, was cancelled following the incident.
The airport and Air India officers conducted a preliminary inquiry.The flight will be operational after certification by the Director General of Civil Aviation personnel, they said.
15/06/09 PTI/Indopia

Read More

Air India mulling no-frill service through AIE domestically

Mumbai: After domestic private air-carriers, Jet Airways and Kingfisher launched their all- economy services to tap low-cost travellers, state-run Air India
may now enter the no-frill segment in the domestic sector to beat the downturn in the aviation industry.
"We don't see a turnaround in the industry at least before two years...we have to look at different business models. One of the options could be a low-frill model...if a decision is taken, it has to be Air India Express for the domestic sector" a top NACIL official said.
While only four per cent of India's population travels by air, in Malaysia it is 50 per cent. Air India is exploring different business models to beat the downturn and one of the options could be the low-frill model, the official said.
Air India already operates its low-cost Air India Express (AIE) service on the Gulf and South-East Asian routes from several destinations in the country.
So far AIE has not entered the domestic sector, even though it has been planning to do so for quite some time.
07/06/09 PTI/Economic Times

Read More

Lalu's pilot son-in-law grounded

New Delhi: Lalu Prasad's dipping political fortunes seem to be casting a long shadow. The RJD chief's son-in-law, Vikram Yadav, a pilot with Air India (domestic), has been reportedly grounded on Tuesday for flying as an additional crew member (ACM) in the cockpit of the Patna-Delhi flight, IC 408.
Pilots of the erstwhile IA have been flying as ACM — when they are dressed in their uniform and sit on the third seat (called jump seat) of the cockpit, behind the pilot and co-pilot — after getting due clearance from the airline.
However, Yadav was taken off flying duty after landing in Delhi. Sources said he had taken permission to fly as an ACM; the airline refused comment, calling it an ``internal matter''.
ACM has been one of the perks given to IA pilots for decades, under which they travel in the cockpit in full uniform when they need to go on short leave or personal travel, albeit after getting clearance from their GM (operations). ``This does not cost anything to the airline as an ACM does not occupy a passenger seat, whether in business or economy. It's called a dead-head as there's no cost to company and the pilot just comes, sits and goes,'' said a pilot.
Yadav, till recently, was the general secretary of the all-powerful Indian Commercial Pilots' Association. While the airline did not say if Yadav broke any rule for which he was reportedly grounded, the merged Air India-Indian Airlines has been trying to rein in its pilots. It recently barred them from flying business class while going from one place to other to operate a flight. The ICPA has been opposing this move and is in talks with the management.
05/06/09 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

Read More

300 IA contract employees on strike, demand pay hike

New Delhi: Several international passenger and cargo flights were delayed on Monday as over 300 security assistants, employed on contractual basis by Indian Airlines, went on strike at the Indira Gandhi International Airport.
While questioning the very existence of the company they have signed a contract with — Indian Airlines Limited Airport Services Limited (IAL-ASL) — the on-strike employees allege that there has been no revision in their pay of Rs 5,500 for the last five years, no provision for provident fund and no medical facilities or any claims to injury or death while on duty.
“We have no identity cards issued despite working at the airport for five years now. Several international airlines refuse to allow us (to conduct) the safety procedures in the absence of valid identity cards,” said Sunil Kumar, one of the protesters.
The employees, who have been wearing black ribbons since May 20 as a mark of protest, allege they have been issued security passes by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) for entry into the airport, which terms them as employees of Air India.
“We don’t even know who we are employed with. Many of our men were injured while on duty, but none of them was given any medical assistance. Salaries are deducted for any leave we need to take despite presenting medical reasons and all the requisite certificates,” said Jeet Singh, president of the IA-ASL Employees Union.
02/06/09 Indian Express

Read More