Tag Archives: Air India

I recently came across an article by noted Indian journalist T.N. Ninan, titled “Do-gooder economics and the Lokpal“. It got me thinking; by most economic logic, national carrier Air India should have been wound up ages ago. The carrier has annual losses crossing $1.4 billion (Rs.7,000 Crore) and accumulated debt now approaching $10 billion. Now, the government wants to inject …

When new Indian civil aviation Minister Ajit Singh announced that the national government would soon begin the process of allowing 49% foreign direct investment (FDI) by international carriers into India’s airlines Tuesday, India’s flailing airline industry breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Following a 75 minute meeting with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Singh stated, “the question was to allow foreign …

In contrast to the positive note I ended my US airline review for 2011 on, the Indian industry most certainly had a bad year in 2011. The shine is certainly off the fast growing Indian market, and the cautious optimism noted at the end of 2010 has turned back into fear. Airlines and airports have continued to invest in their …

Recently, Cranky Flier author Brett Snyder has begun publishing a series of guest posts as he and his wife are expecting their first child this week. I wrote a guest post for him on Kingfisher Airlines, and you can see the results below. Link to the post Could there ever be an airline as bad as Air India, who Cranky …

The Post and Courier of Charleston is quoting Boeing spokeswoman Candy Eslinger who has officially confirmed that Indian national carrier Air India will be the receipient of the first Boeing 787 Dreamliner built at the North Charleston facility in the state of South Carolina, sometime during the sping of 2012. Air India, an early adopter of the aircraft has 27 …

Earlier today, Japanese national carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that it would be introducing 5 weekly Boeing 787 services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from the northern summer 2012 schedule which begins at the end of March, 2012. The Dreamliner replaces the existing 5 weekly Boeing 777-200ER service. Japan Airlines will also be …

According to a report from the Press Trust of India (PTI), Indian civil aviation minister Vyalar Ravi revealed before the Rajya Sabha today that Air India’s estimated loss for FY 2010-2011 was Rs. 6,994 Crore, down sharply from the Rs. 5552.55 Crore loss posted in FY 2009-2010. Ravi also said that, “Based on April-September, 2011 route wise profitability, two routes …

It is not very often that I recommend an article that appears in the print media. The Caravan is one of the oldest publications in India, first launched in 1940. In the December 2011 issue, Praveen Donthi has written a mammoth article going into great detail the history of Mr. Praful Patel and his recent tenure as civil aviation Minister, …

It appears that delivery Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners are delayed, yet again, this time in to 2012. Air India has chosen the General Electric GEnx-1B engine to power its 787 fleet. According to a report from Flightglobal, due to a lack of production aircraft at Boeing, the airframer is unable to complete the final certification requirements of the US …

Earlier this week, Air India, the beleaguered Indian national carrier, announced that it would be utilizing a sale-leaseback arrangement to evade the divisive lawsuit filed by the Air Transport Association (ATA), a US airline lobby group, over Us $ 3.4 billion worth of financing for the carrier’s order of 27 Boeing 787 and 3 777-300ER widebody jets. The lawsuit from …

Yesterday, Air India chief executive Rohit Nandan announced that Air India would be withdrawing one of its two daily Delhi-London-Heathrow flights from February 2012 and auctioning off the slots. Currently, Air India competes on the sector with Kingfisher, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Jet Airways; all of whom offer more consistent products and command higher fares than Air India. The …

For all of the ribbing targeted towards national carrier Air India, the carrier appears to have finally provided some good value, with some very good deals on offer for travel within its entire network. Of course, in typical Air India fashion, they’ve made it very hard for passengers to find out about these upgrades; I’ve seen mazes that are easier …

India has the world’s fastest growing airline sector – yes faster than even the Gulf, much of whose traffic is again driven by India. Year on year growth is 17%. Despite this, in its 100th year, the civil aviation sector in India is in near total financial chaos. Air India is a political plaything that has no business being a …

By Vinay Bhaskara and Devesh Agarwal Last week, media reported that the board of Air India’s board had recommended the ailing national carrier cut its order for Boeing 787 Dreamliners from the original ordered 27 aircraft down to 12 Air India aircraft at Mumbai CSI airport Last month, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) published a scathing financial audit of …

Earlier this year, I took this photo at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. It shows tails of four Air India group aircraft. Can you identify what is special about this photo. Post a comment, and be specific please. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Without a doubt, passengers of Air India had a harrowing time at London. Inside information seems to suggest that they airline’s precarious financial condition has played a role. While most Indian media outlets were on their usual high pitched drum-beating reporting, one might say rants, about the incident, I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of reporting by Ben Mutzabaugh …

by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier this week, the second part of my story of the history of Air India was posted over at AirlineReporter.com. This second part covers the tumultuous 1970s at Air India and Indian Airlines. I have posted an excerpt from that article here, but click on over to AirlineReporter.com for the full story. Link to Story Air India …

by Vinay Bhaskara India: Air India launches austerity drive Air India, in a move that defies its traditional profligacy, will be launching an austerity drive beginning October 1st. Rohit Nandan, Air India’s chairman, related in a memo that Air India will be enacting the following initiatives.Payments on reimbursements of entitlements and vouchers will be cut by 10%, in addition to …

The team of Vinay Bhaskara, Addison Schonland and Devesh Agarwal bring you another edition of the India aviation review podcast. In this edition we feature the dilemma faced by a bankrupt Air India and its 27 787 Dreamliner order. There is no doubt that the airline needs a good mid-sized aircraft, but it is out of money. Is the national …