Tag Archives: Air India

Air India reduces incentive scheme for travel agents, TAAI vehemently opposes it

Air India has decided to reduce the assured incentive from the current 1 per cent to 0.5 per cent for both the domestic and international sectors for the BSP agents in India for FY 2022-23.This comes into effect from today.

Reacting to the development, TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) said that they are shocked to note that an airline like Air India has reduced the incentive to a mere 0.5 per cent with immediate effect. “On the contrary we were expecting an increase to a minimum of 3 per cent for the efforts undertaken by our member agents to promote, book and sell Air India inventory along with collection of total airfare and assure payments to the airline through IATA,” said Jyoti Mayal, President, TAAI.

TAAI also appealed to Air India to withdraw the circular immediately. “We would appeal to your good office to kindly withdraw the said communication with immediate effect and reinstate a minimum of 3 per cent incentive to the IATA accredited agents and members of TAAI,” said Mayal.

Air India ordered to refund cancellation fee to passenger when flights were banned in 2020

The Second Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Bengaluru has directed Air India to refund Rs 44,029 to a passenger whose flight from Bengaluru to London was cancelled due to COVID-19 lockdown.

While refunding the Rs 1,35,143 ticket price to the passenger Milin Jagdishbhai Parekh, the airlines had deducted Rs 44,029 as ‘cancellation fee’.

The ‘incidental charge’ of Rs 5,000 which got deducted was also ordered to be paid back within 45 days.

The Commission’s recent order came after a two-year fight by Parekh who had filed his complaint in March 2020.

Parekh had booked a flight to London in January 2020 and he was to fly from Bengaluru in April that year. However in March that year, the COVID-19 lockdown was imposed which banned all international flights.

The Air India flight he had booked on online booking portal MakeMyTrip was also cancelled. The booking website did not come to the aid of Parekh whose efforts to approach the airlines also did not yield results. He therefore lodged a complaint with the Commission.

The airlines did not bother to represent the case and an ex-parte order was passed by the Commission.

The Commission noted that the airlines had declared Parekh as a ‘no-show’ meaning he did not turn up for the flight and offered him an alternate ticket on another flight before September 30, 2020.

The Commission noted that Air India could not declare the passenger as a ‘no-show’ and deduct cancellation charges as the flight ban due to COVID was well-known. (Source FE)

Air India Appoints Henry Donohoe as Head of Safety, Security, Quality Functions

Air India announced the appointment of Henry Donohoe as Head of Safety, Security and Quality. Donohoe will take charge from 7th November, 2022. An Irish national, Donohoe started his career at Aer Lingus in 1978 and became its Chief Pilot before going on to head key departments including Safety, Quality, Flight Operations and Engineering.

Donohoe then spent seven years with Emirates Airline in various safety roles, ultimately as Divisional Senior Vice President Flight Operations and Primary Crisis Director.

Most recently, Donohoe served as Senior Vice President Safety, Security, Compliance & Emergency Response at Norwegian Air, where he was responsible for the integration of multiple AOCs and Safety, Security & Compliance departments under a single entity, and initiated vital Change Management processes in the airline. Henry has a long history on the international safety stage, serving with both the IATA Safety Committee and Flight Safety Foundation Board of Governance.

Speaking on the development, CEO & MD, Air India, Campbell Wilson said, “Even as we pursue our Vihaan.AI ambitions, including the tripling of our fleet, safe and secure operations remain Air India’s number-one priority. We are therefore delighted to welcome someone of Henry’s experience and calibre to the Air India family, and look forward to his contribution to our Safety, Security and Quality functions.”

Air India in talks for acquiring planes for fleet expansion

Air India is in discussions with several aircraft manufacturers for acquiring planes as it plans to expand its flight fleet three-fold, compared to the current size, a senior executive confirmed.

Vinod Hejmadi, CFO, Air India said that the airline is currently in the “taxiing phase” and it will take two years before it takes off, consolidates, and enters the growth mode. “In the Air India transformation journey, we are looking for, in the next five years, 30 per cent market share and we are planning to grow our aircraft fleet three times of what we currently have… We are looking forward to ensuring that we add on the capacity for growth (and) discussions (with aircraft manufacturers) are going on to acquire the fleet,” Hejmadi said.

At the Aviation Insurance Symposium 2022 hosted by Global Insurance Brokers Pvt Ltd, he said in the past, it was a matter of survival for the airline but after the takeover by the Tata group, it is now looking towards a growth trajectory.

The airline will be inducting five wide-body Boeing and 25 Airbus narrow-body planes over the next 15 months. The aircraft being leased are 21 Airbus A320 Neos’, four Airbus A321 Neos’, and five Boeing B777-200LRs, according to a release issued by the airline on September 15.

Air India’s narrow-body fleet stands at 70 aircraft. Out of them, 54 are in service and the remaining 16 aircraft will progressively return to service by early 2023. The wide-body fleet stands at 43 aircraft, of which 33 are operational. The rest will return to service by early 2023, as per the release. Tata group has started an exercise to evaluate options to consolidate AirAsia India and Vistara under Air India to bring operational synergies.

Tata group owns a 51 per cent stake in Vistara and is also the owner of Air India and Air India Express. The group also has an 83.67 per cent shareholding in domestic carrier AirAsia India. Singapore Airlines had on Thursday said it was in “confidential discussions” with Tata group to explore a possible merger of Vistara and Air India.

Meanwhile, Hejmadi on Friday said Air India welcomes competition whether it is a duopoly or more than two airlines in the domestic aviation space as this will ensure that everyone is on their toes. “And we have to be on our toes and the passenger who is the biggest stakeholder will benefit from it,” he added.

(Source: Zee News)

AP Chambers seeks international connectivity from Air India to various state airports

The AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (AP Chambers) wrote a letter to Campbell Wilson, the MD and CEO of Air India, requesting him to provide international connectivity for airports in Andhra Pradesh (A.P.) through a hub and spoke model, and to start a direct flight from Vijayawada to Dubai for connecting major destinations around the world, reports V. Raghvendra for The Hindu .

AP Chambers president Pydah Krishna Prasad, President-elect Potluri Bhaskar Rao and general secretary B. Raja Sekhar emphasised on the need to connect Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati airports with Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai and permit check-in and boarding passes at these airports for international travellers.

They also wanted Air India to resume all pre-pandemic flight schedules from all the airports in A.P. and suggested that Air India connect Vijayawada with Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Calcutta via Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and introduce a twice-a–week flight from Vijayawada to Varanasi to cater to the burgeoning demand.

The frequency of flights between Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam is sought to be increased. Lastly, the AP Chambers requested Air India to start air cargo connectivity from Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Rajahmundry and Tirupati airports to other major destinations and also explore the feasibility of operating dedicated cargo flights. (Source: The Hindu)

 

Singapore Airlines confirms merger talks of Vistara-Air India with Tatas

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said that it is exploring a potential merger of Vistara with Tata Group’s Air India. Tata Group has a 51 per cent stake in Vistara, while SIA holds the balance 49 per cent, reports Financial Express.

This is the first time that SIA has officially acknowledged that it is in talks with Tata Group on the possibility of merging the two airlines. “The discussions seek to deepen the existing partnership between SIA and Tata, and may include a potential integration of Vistara and Air India,” SIA said in a statement to the Singapore Stock Exchange. “The discussions are ongoing and no definitive terms have been agreed upon between the parties,” it added.

It is unclear at this stage what stake, if any, SIA would have if Vistara merges into Air India, or whether fresh funds would be needed for Air India. Still, the change of stance by SIA is significant as it did not agree to partner Tata Group when the latter was bidding for Air India. Tatas had expected that SIA would join it and it would bid for the state-owned carrier through Vistara. Though, SIA did not agree to it, it waived the no-compete clause, which enabled Tata Group to go ahead with its bid for Air India.

The integration of Vistara with Air India will create the second largest airline in the country, after IndiGo. The Tata Group is also merging its other airline, AirAsia India with Air India Express. The Competition Commission of India has approved this merger.

Tata Sons chairman, N Chandrasekaran has often said that the Group’s airline businesses, which operate on thin margins, must be consolidated to ensure operational efficiencies and cost control.

“We will definitely have both full service and low-cost carrier ,” Chandrasekaran said few days ago at a public function. “It’s a long journey. We will have to work on many aspects of the airline and we are working at great speed. Essentially, we will have one airline with two platforms,” he had added.