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  • Air India reveals new livery on its first A350

    Air India reveals new livery on its first A350

    Air India welcomed the first of 20 Airbus A350-900 aircraft on 23 December sporting the airline’s latest livery.

    The widebody aircraft, registered VT-JRA, arrived in New Delhi at 13:46 (local time) after the delivery flight from the Airbus facility in Toulouse.

    With the latest delivery, Air India is now the first carrier in the country to operate the A350. The aircraft will enter commercial service in January 2024 and will initially be operated domestically for crew familiarisation.

    Air India has 20 Airbus A350-900 on order, with five more scheduled for deliveries through March 2024. The airline’s firm orders with Airbus this year amounting to 250 aircraft also include 20 A350-1000.

    “This moment marks a red-letter day for all of us at Air India,” said Campbell Wilson, CEO and managing director at Air India.

    “The A350 is not just metal and engines; it’s the flying embodiment of the relentless efforts of all Air India employees towards our airline’s continuing transformation and of our commitment to setting new benchmarks. It is also, in many ways, a declaration of Indian aviation’s resurgence on the world stage.”

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  • Tata mulls AirAsia India, Air India Express merger

    Tata mulls AirAsia India, Air India Express merger

    Tata Sons may partner Singapore Airlines (SQ, Singapore Changi) in bidding for Air India, amid hopes it will merge its AirAsia India subsidiary with the flag carrier’s low-cost unit Air India Express, local media reported on February 4.

    The Indian conglomerate already operates Vistara as a 51/49 venture with Singapore Airlines. A combination of Air India and Vistara would give Tata Sons a monopoly in the country’s full-service market. The two partners have started working on a possible structure for such an acquisition, according to the reports.

    Tata also holds 51% of AirAsia India. It has approached Tony Fernandes of AirAsia Group, which holds the remaining 49% of AirAsia India, to gain his approval to acquire Air India Express, sources told the Times of India. This is because the two companies’ shareholders’ agreement stipulates that Tata cannot invest more than 10% in another budget carrier without Fernandes’ approval.

    “The merger would give Fernandes a bigger play in Indian aviation, so it’s a win-win for both partners,” a source said.

    A Tata-Singapore Airlines bid would be based on the understanding that the low-cost business would be run by Tata and Fernandes, another unnamed source told the Times of India, while the arrangement with SIA would only be for the full-service carrier.

    Tata Sons board member Natarajan Chandrasekaran recently told the newspaper that the group “will not run a third airline unless we merge”. However, on February 5, he told the Press Trust of India that it was still “too early” to make a decision about any kind of bid for Air India.

    Fernandes is currently the subject of an ongoing investigation by India’s law enforcement and economic intelligence agency, the Enforcement Directorate, for allegedly lobbying the government to secure overseas flight permits. Moreover, he resigned from his role as AirAsia Group CEO on February 3, ostensibly for two months, while the group conducts an “independent investigation” into the Airbus bribery scandal that erupted this week. Sources said that the cases against him could give Tata Sons second thoughts about any future deals.

    The final date to submit an expression of interest for Air India is March 17.

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  • Switch to Vegetarian Food on Air India Causes an Uproar

    Switch to Vegetarian Food on Air India Causes an Uproar

    Coming from some other debt-ridden airline, it might have been shrugged off as just another service cutback. But not this time: When Air India announced on Monday that coach passengers on its domestic flights would now be offered only vegetarian meals, the move provoked an uproar on social media.

    G. P. Rao, a spokesman for the government-owned airline, said the change was made a week ago strictly to reduce waste and cut costs. But what people eat can be a sectarian flash point in India, especially since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party took power.

    Many members of the Hindu majority are vegetarians, while the country’s Muslims and some other minorities eat meat. So the airline’s action was seen by many as discriminatory and part of a wave of religious nationalism sweeping the country.

    “Only veg food on Air India,” Madhu Menon, a Bangalore-based chef and food writer, wrote on Twitter. “Next, flight attendants to speak only Hindi. After that, stand for national anthem before flight take-off.

    The government of Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, which is led by a new firebrand chief minister, has been cracking down on buffalo slaughterhouses this year, even though buffaloes are not considered sacred by Hindus the way cows are. And the lynching of a Muslim teenageron a train from Delhi last month, in which his assailants called him a “beefeater,” has further inflamed tensions.

    The government approved plans last month to privatize the airline, which has more than $8 billion in debt.

    Mr. Rao did not say on Monday how much the change in meals would save the company. But in an interview with The Hindu, a major newspaper, an official for the airline put the figure at 80 million rupees, or about $1.2 million, a year.

    Critics derided that as a drop in the bucket. Omar Abdullah, a former chief minister of the state of Jammu and Kashmir, wrote on Twitter that the move would “restore Air India to full health in … oh heck 5000 years.”

    The step on Monday was not the airline’s first away from serving meat. In January 2016, the airline replaced sandwiches with hot vegetarian meals for economy passengers on flights between an hour and 90 minutes long, The Press Trust of India reported, a change that the airline presented as an upgrade.

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  • Direct flights between Indonesia, India likely this year

    Direct flights between Indonesia, India likely this year

    Direct flights between India and Indonesia are likely to begin this year to facilitate tourism, Indonesian ambassador Rizali W. Indrakesuma said on Wednesday.”The Indian government has already given permission; it is a matter of how Indonesia responds. We are hoping that direct flights between the two countries begin by this year or by next year at the latest,” said Indrakesuma said.The first flights both governments plan to launch initially are between Delhi and Jakarta and Mumbai and Bali. Garuda Indonesia and Air India will operate flights between the two countries.

    The ambassador said a deal on the matter could be finalised in March when the transport minister of Indonesia will participate in an event organised by the civil aviation ministry in India.”This is an opportunity for our minister to engage with the Indian civil aviation minister (Ashok Gajapathi Raju Pusapati) at an event organised in Hyderabad in March,” the ambassador said.”The consulate general of Indonesia in Mumbai will push the ministry of tourism to open direct flights for the first time between Delhi and Jakarta and Mumbai and Bali.

    Last year, 262,000 tourists from India visited Indonesia; we expect the figure to go up to 350,000 this year. First it’ll be a government-to-government engagement and later we can engage private airlines,” said Taufik Nurhidayat, deputy director, ministry of tourism, Republic of Indonesia.Indonesia attracts the highest number of tourists from Singapore, followed by Malaysia, Australia, China, Japan, Korea and India.

  • Air India to start evening Surat-Delhi flight from Oct 1

    Air India to start evening Surat-Delhi flight from Oct 1

    This year’s Diwali is set to usher in loads of surprises for the high-flying Surtis.

    Air India is preparing to introduce daily evening flight between Delhi and Surat by deploying the 168-seater Airbus-320 from October 1.

    This will be over and above the existing morning flight to Delhi. Hence, the Diamond City will have two daily flights to the national capital and same day return option will be available to business flyers at both ends. International connections to the USA, Europe and South East Asia will also be offered.

    By the end of October, Air India plans morning flight between Mumbai and Surat in its ATR aircraft.

    Thanks to the efforts of Surat and Navsari MPs — Darshana Jardosh and CR Paatil — frequent fliers from the Diamond City will get an opportunity to fly to Mumbai and Delhi after a break of more than 11 months.

    He added, “We also met Air Asia CEO Mittu Chandaliya who has agreed to introduce daily flights between Bangalore, Jaipur, Delhi and Surat this winter session.”

    Despite being the second largest city in the state, ninth in India and fourth fastest growing city in the world, Surat is very unfortunate in getting domestic as well as international air connectivity.

    Jardosh said, “We have been successful in convincing Air India authorities on introducing evening Delhi flight from Surat. We also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August and he instructed Air India CMD to take positive action. We are grateful to AirAsia CEO Chandaliya who is keen on starting flight operations from Surat.”

    Airport director Pramod Thakre said, “The DGCA will be sending the slot schedule of Air India’s evening flight to and fro from Delhi. The evening slot is open for smooth operation at the airport.”

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