Page 2 - Air India

Air India revises privilege leaves policy from April 1: Official

Air India will revise its policy with respect to privilege leaves for both permanent and full-term contract staff from the next financial year to align the policy with "prevailing market conditions", according to an internal communication. From April 1 onwards, Privilege Leaves (PLs) accumulation limit for all employees will be 60 days in a particular financial year, the communication said on Wednesday. An official close to the development said that under the revised policy, an employee can accumulate up to 60 days of PLs at the end of a financial year or can encash the same number of PLs. Air India will also be putting in place a new leave policy for the staff. "We are reviewing our leave policy comprehensively to align it with the prevailing market practices. As a part of that process, Privilege Leave (PL) limit accumulation and encashment are being revised," Air India's Chief Human Resources Officer Suresh Dutt Tripathi said in the communication. As per the communication, there

CAPA summit 2023: Air India pushes for data exchange in aviation sector

In the last 14 months, the airline has taken various measures to bring grounded aircraft back to service, refurbish aircraft interiors, and improve on-time performance

Air India's expansion plans stir tension over airline flying rights

Tensions over plans to transform AI into a global airline with hundreds of new jets rippled across aviation sector as foreign carriers clamoured for more access to the world's fastest-growing economy

Amid staff shortage, peak demand, Air India to cancel long-haul flights

As of now, six weekly flights to the US, three to Newark and three to San Francisco, will be trimmed due to a crew shortage for the coming 2-3 months, said CEO & MD of Air India, Campbell Wilson

Turkish Airlines looking for cooperation with Air India: Official

Turkish Airlines is looking for cooperation with Air India as the carrier looks to expand in the Indian market, a top executive said on Tuesday. At present, Turkish Airlines is closely cooperating with IndiGo, including a codeshare partnership. Turkish Airlines CEO & Board Member Bilal Eksi pitched for more cooperation with Indian carriers and said that it can cooperate with Air India as that will also support both counties as well as tourism. "We are not getting enough (of Indian market)... we are trying to expand. This is the time for Turkish Airlines to expand operations in India," he said. He noted that there was not enough capacity between India and Turkiye, which is also a wedding destination for many Indians. "We can work together with Air India... can earn together and support both countries," he said.

Air India confident on funding for world's biggest aircraft deal

With the fleet expansion, Air India is seeking to take on the likes of Emirates and Qatar Airways, which dominate lucrative routes from India to the US and Europe through their hubs in Doha and Dubai

Staff still in possession of accommodation at Air India colonies: Ministry

The mechanism envisages imposition of penal rent and damage charges on the unauthorised occupants

Air India urination: Complainant moves SC for strict compliance with SOPs

A 72-year-old woman, whose ordeal on an Air India flight in November when a co-passenger allegedly urinated on her had made headlines, has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to aviation regulator DGCA and airlines to frame SOPs to deal with such incidents. The woman said she was constrained to approach the court because Air India and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) failed to treat her with care and responsibility after the incident. "In addition, the wide-ranging national press reportage full of conjecture and surmises has severely undermined the petitioner's rights as a victim under Article 21 of the Constitution, and in fairness has also affected the rights of the accused as well. "Their rights to a free and fair trial have also been substantially affected due to a selective leaking of the 'AIR SEWA' complaint of the petitioner, the FIR and selective witness statements being released to the media to match specific narratives," she said in her plea. The .

Crew crunch amid network expansion forces Air India to cut six US flights

A few flights to Bangkok and Dubai will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft instead of the wide-body Boeing 787

AI urination case: Victim moves SC for guidelines on unruly behaviour

The victim in the Air India urination case has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Director General of Civil Aviation and airline companies to frame regulations to address incidents

Air India to temporarily reduce frequency of flights on some US routes: CEO

Air India will reduce the frequency of flights on certain US routes due to crew shortage issues for a temporary period, its chief Campbell Wilson said on Monday. He also said the airline will have 100 pilots for Boeing 777 planes in three months as they are being "activated" and around 1,400 cabin crew are in training. In recent months, there have been instances of some long haul flights getting impacted due to crew shortage issues. Wilson, who is the CEO and MD, said frequencies will be reduced on some US routes due to crew shortage issues. The airline has a staff strength of around 11,000 people, including flying and non-flying employees. "There is a lot happening," he said, adding that the airline is shrinking and growing now. He was speaking at the CAPA India Summit in the national capital. Tata Group took control of loss-making Air India along with Air India Express and 50 per cent stake in AIATSL in January 2022. Air India has put in place a road map under Vihaan.AI for .

Air India makes another voluntary retirement offer for non-flying staff

Air India on Friday made a voluntary retirement offer for its non-flying staff, the second such offer by the Tata Group after taking control of the loss-making airline in January last year. The latest offer will be available for permanent general cadre officers who have attained the age of 40 years or above and completed a minimum of five years of continuous service at the airline, according to a communication. Also, clerical and unskilled categories of employees who completed a minimum of five years of continuous service will be eligible. The offer will be open till April 30. Sources said that a total of around 2,100 employees will be eligible to avail the latest voluntary retirement offer. Currently, the airline has a staff strength of about 11,000 people, including flying and non-flying staff. In June 2022, Air India launched the first phase of the voluntary retirement offer. There has been a request from employees for extending the additional benefit of voluntary retirement t

Air India offers voluntary retirement scheme to its staff, excluding pilots

This is the second such offer since the takeover of the airline by the Tata Group in January 2022, and will remain in force till April 30

Air India's 3 international flights affected due to tech issues in 2 days

At least three international flights of Air India have been affected in two days due to technical issues, according to sources. The flights from Chicago and Vancouver were cancelled on Tuesday as the aircraft was grounded on account of technical issues. Both flights were to be operated with Boeing 777 aircraft, the sources said. Meanwhile, the sources also said that an aircraft has been grounded in Paris on Wednesday. The plane was to operate the flight from Paris to Delhi. When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said that flight AI 126 had to be cancelled due to technical reasons on March 14. "The affected passengers were offered all-around support and every effort is being made to accommodate them on alternate flights. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers," the spokesperson said in a statement. Details about the number of passengers who were booked in the three flights could not be immediately ascertained.

Air India collaborates with Salesforce to improve customer services

Tata Group-owned Air India on Tuesday said it has collaborated with Salesforce to provide improved customer services. "By working with Salesforce, Air India's customer-facing staff across all touchpoints will be empowered with a unified data platform for its customers and AI-assisted tools to excel in every customer interaction," the airline said in a release. With the collaboration, the carrier will optimise the customer experience across all key touchpoints -- online, on the ground and in the air. "The technology being deployed from Salesforce will allow Air India to track customer interactions across its contact centre, mobile, web, chatbot, email, social media and other channels to provide a single source-of-truth of customer asks as well as challenges. This will also give Air India's customer facing staff and its automated systems the ability to act on challenges proactively and track them to closure, assisted by Artificial Intelligence technologies," the release said. Air Ind

Air India ties up with Salesforce to improve customer experience

Airline to use Salesforce's products with AI as it implement five-year transformation plan

Man accused of smoking, unruly behaviour on Air India flight gets bail

A 34-year-old US citizen booked for allegedly smoking on board an Air India flight and unruly behaviour towards the crew was granted bail by a court here on Monday, police said. The passenger was found smoking in the lavatory of London-Mumbai flight AI130 on March 10 and behaved in an unruly manner with the crew after they were alerted by the smoke alarm and threw the cigarette from his hand, the official said. The airline officials handed him over to police when the flight landed in Mumbai, he said. "The man, who is of Indian origin and holds a US passport, was produced in Andheri court and was granted bail on a surety of Rs 20,000. He will be released once he deposits this amount," the Sahar police station official said. He was charged under section 336 (whoever does any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others) and other provisions of Indian Penal Code and Aircraft Act, the official added.

Air India passenger handed over to cops for smoking in aircraft lavatory

A passenger on board an Air India flight to Mumbai from London was handed over to security personnel for allegedly smoking in the lavatory and unruly behaviour, the airline said on Sunday. The incident, which took place on March 10, has been reported to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Air India said in a statement. "A passenger on our flight AI130, operating London-Mumbai on March 10, was found smoking in the lavatory. Subsequently he behaved in an unruly and aggressive manner, despite repeated warnings," Air India said. He was handed over to security personnel upon the flight's arrival in Mumbai, the airline said, adding the "regulator has been duly informed of the incident". "We are extending all cooperation in the ongoing investigations," it added. It may be mentioned the Tata Group-owned Air India was penalised twice in January this year by the aviation safety regulator DGCA for not reporting two separate incidents of unruly passenger behaviour on its ...

Air India gets DGCA nod for cross utilisation of wide-body pilots

Aviation regulator DGCA has approved Air India's long-pending request to allow the same pilots to operate two types of Boeing wide-body aircraft, according to officials. Initially, Air India can train a total of eight designated examiners for operating Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft. Four designated examiners will be trained for operating 777s and another four for flying 787s, a senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said. Cross-utilisation of existing pilots wherein they will be able to fly two different aircraft will be helpful for the carrier as it embarks on ambitious international expansion plans. Generally, a designated examiner is an experienced pilot who has been authorised by the regulator to carry out various tests and checks as per civil aviation requirements. The examiner is an employee of the airline concerned. Under the plan approved by the DGCA, each of the eight designated examiners should have 150 hours of flying with at least 10 landings

As Air India restarts its hockey team, a look at Tata's sporting legacy

Some of India's top hockey and football talent has come from the ecosystem the conglomerate as nurtured