Kingfisher Airlines flight lands in Mumbai with technical snag

A Bangalore bound Kingfisher flight with 96 passengers on board today returned to Mumbai after being airborne for 12 minutes following a technical snag in the aircraft's landing gear, an airport official said. The Kingfisher flight, IT 103 Mumbai-Bangalore, made a normal landing and all passengers are safe, MIAL spokesperson Maneesh Kalghatgi said. "The flight took off at 0905 hours for Bangalore and returned at 0917 hours due to its landing gear not retracting," he said.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) signs outsourcing deal with Wipro

Wipro Ltd, India's No. 3 outsourcing firm, said that it has won a three-year outsourcing contract from All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan's No.2 carrier. The company did not provide financial details of the contract. ANA, with its fleet of 209 aircraft, is the first airline in the world to procure the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. It is embarking on transforming its legacy materials management system to support the new fleet, in line with the expansion of its business at Tokyo`s Haneda Airport with its upcoming fourth runway in 2010. Wipro will deliver materials management system to ANA that will help proactively manage the parts life cycle. The system will strengthen regulatory compliance, predict parts demand better and help manage inventory levels. The new Materials Management system will be built in a scalable, flexible platform. The state of the art system will help ANA increase its cost competitiveness, improve the quality of its aircraft part maintenance business and improve asset management.

Wipro will manage the complete program, delivering services such as Application Development, Program Management and Vendor management thereby enabling ANA to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Commenting on selecting Wipro as a strategic partner, Takanori Yukishige, SVP ANA Information Technology Services said, "We are starting a new journey and this program will set a benchmark for our future way of doing business. We look forward to further leveraging our partnership with Wipro to gain competitive advantage." Hiroshi Alley, President & Representative Director, Wipro Japan said, "It is a significant engagement for us and will be a driver for increased penetration in the growing Japan outsourcing market."

Jet Airways offers 50% discounted fares for limited period

Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, and Jet Airways Konnect, Jet Airways’ all economy no-frills service, will offer a promotional fare that reflects a 50% discount on its total fare in Economy class across all domestic flights. With limited seats under this offer, the sale of these special fares will be between September 14 and September 16, 2009. Travel needs to be completed by September 18, 2009. These bookings can be made through any travel agent, our call centre or on www.jetairways.com. JetPrivilege members will earn 1000 Bonus JPMiles for all bookings made on jetairways.com during the offer period. According to Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways, "With these new low, limited-time fares, we hope to welcome travellers back aboard Jet Airways' and Jet Airways Konnect's extensive domestic services, which cover the length and breadth of the country between them."

Jet Airways to go low cost soon

In one months’ time, Jet Airways is scheduled to morph into a largely no-frills airline with over two thirds of its seating capacity on its 86 planes transferred to a new service called Jet Konnect. The Rs 11,450-crore airline is hoping that the makeover will change its fortunes after racking up a post-tax loss of Rs 225 crore on its domestic and overseas operations in the first quarter ended June 30. The Jet Konnect service was introduced in May with nine of the airline’s 48 Boeing 737s the workhorse in the Jet fleet and 10 ATR planes and accounted for one-third of the airline’s seating capacity. By October, the airline plans to have 16 B-737s and 10 ATRs operating under the Jet Konnect service which effectively means two-thirds of the airline will be a no-frills service.

As part of the changeover, Jet has been ripping out the business class seats from its planes and moving to a single class configuration, thereby raising the seating capacity on these planes by 20 to 25 per cent. Jet has 33,000 seats on offer every day on its domestic flights which will go up to 38,000 seats once all the 16 B-737s convert to a single configuration for the Jet Konnect service. It isn’t only the full service airline that has started concentrating on low-yield passengers. Air India is also looking to enter aggressively into this space which means loads of competition for budget carriers such as IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.

Air India' reschedules Thiruvananthapuram-Mumbai flight timing

Air India has rescheduled the flight between Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai to provide convenient connections to international passengers taking onward journey from Mumbai. Flight IC-162, which is now departing at 6.45 pm has been rescheduled to depart at 5.20 pm. The flight, which departs from Thiruvananthapuram at 5.20 pm will reach Kochi at 6.05 pm. It will depart from Kochi at 6.45 pm and will arrive Mumbai at 8.40 pm.

India Post Cargo all set to start flying

The Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Praful Patel, and the Minister for Communications and Information and Technology, Mr A. Raja, are together making an Indian dream come true, parcels being delivered any where in the country within 24 hours of posting. This will happen with the official launch in Chennai on Sunday of India Post’s country-wide services using Air India Cargo aircraft. India Post has been given Air India Cargo’s three Boeing 737-200 aircraft of the 1970s vintage to cover the North-East. The three planes, which earlier used to fly for Alliance Air, can together carry 40 tonnes of mail which will be sorted at the hub in Nagpur before being airlifted on an AI cargo freighter to the airport closest to the ultimate destination of a parcel. Mr Patel and Mr Raja hope that with this move, India Post will be able to take on the global express industry players (DHL, TNT, UPS and FedEx) that are seeking to expand in India.

Singapore Airlines & Air India sign frequent flier partnership

Air India and Singapore Airlines have signed a bilateral agreement that would enable passengers of either carrier to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by the other. Under the new agreement, effective from tomorrow, frequent flyers on Singapore Airlines and Air India would be able to earn and redeem miles on flights operated by either carrier. The agreement comes in the wake of efforts by the national carrier to fulfil the conditions of joining the Star Alliance, of which SIA is a founder member. Air India has already been invited to join the global alliance, which was formed in 1997 and has a membership of 26. The agreement means that members of SIA's KrisFlyer programme would be able to earn KrisFlyer miles when they fly with Air India, or choose to redeem their miles for flights with the Indian carrier, an SIA statement said.

Likewise, members of Air India's Flying Returns programme would enjoy greater choice by having the option of using their miles on the Singaporean carrier or earning miles when they fly on it, it said. "Singapore Airlines is pleased to welcome Air India on board. The addition of Air India as a KrisFlyer partner boosts the number of carriers we have such agreements with to 28. "Those who fly frequently with Singapore Airlines and Air India now have more opportunity to increase their frequent flyer miles, and more choice in deciding how best to use their miles," Huang Cheng Eng, Singapore Airlines' Executive Vice President Marketing and the Regions, said. SIA operates 42 times a week to six destinations in India. With the inclusion of subsidiary carrier SilkAir, the Singapore Airlines route network covers 93 destinations in 38 countries.

Jet Airways stir ends, flight operations limping back to normalcy

Jet Airways pilots and management reached an agreement late Saturday night, ending the five day old stir. The breakthrough in the impasse between the pilots, who had begun their agitation on Tuesday protesting the sacking of their colleagues, came after a marathon meeting here lasting more than ten hours. Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Dutta said flight operations of the airline on international routes would resume immediately while the domestic services would normalize by noon on Sunday. Announcing the settlement at a news conference, the pilots’ union National Aviators Guild leader Sam Thomas, flanked by Jet Airways Executive Director Saroj Dutta and NAG President Girish Kaushik, said it has been agreed that the four sacked pilots would be reinstated with immediate effect.

A consultative group would be set up comprising the Jet CEO Hafiz Ali, two directors of the airlines, two representatives of flight operations and five pilots to continue the process of dialogue on all outstanding issues as well those which will come up. Asked about losses suffered by the airline during the five days of the agitation, Dutta no estimates have been done as yet. However, Jet's daily revenue of eight million dollars "had dropped dramatically" and the number of passengers came down from 23,000 per day to 7,500. On the contentious issue of the pilots' right to form a union, Kaushik said in reply to a question that there was no question of dissolving the NAG which is already a registered body.

The Registrar of Trade Unions is reviewing the NAG's registration and if the decision goes against the pilots, they would not pursue it. "If there is discrepancy, it is left to the Registrar or the law of the land", Kaushik said and Thomas added "we will not pursue the matter afresh." The problems between the two sides would be resolve through the consultative group while the Society for Welfare of Indian Pilots, formed about a decade ago, would address the welfare issues, the two NAG leaders said. While all the four dismissed pilots would be taken back, no punitive action against any one who participated in the agitation.

Flights remain cancelled as Jet Airways strike continues

As many as 150 Jet Airways flights, including 15 international, remained cancelled on Friday, the fourth day of the ongoing strike by the airline pilots. A spokesperson said early on Friday that the airline has announced plans to cancel around 30 flights on certain sectors which will either be combined or re-booked. These include services on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Mumbai-Vadodra, Mumbai-Mangalore, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-Kochi, Mumbai-Chennai and Mumbai-Bhopal sectors in the western region. In the eastern region, the airline will operate services on the Kolkata-Jorhat, and Kolkata-Agartala sectors. In the northern region, it plans to operate services on the Delhi-Amritsar, Delhi-Udaipur sectors. In the southern region, services shall be operated on the Chennai-Coimbatore sectors.

However, important metro sectors like the Mumbai-Delhi, Chennai-Delhi, Kolkata-Delhi and Mumbai-Kolkata remained crippled for the fourth day, inconveniencing passengers. The airline on Thursday had cancelled nearly 240 services across the network as over 500 pilots reported 'sick.' However, the National Aviators Guild (NAG) expressed its willingness to resume duties if the four pilots sacked by the airline management are re-instated. The striking pilots are to hold talks with the chief labour commissioner and the management in New Delhi Friday. So far, the four-day strike has led to the cancellation of nearly 700 flights, causing hardship to over 28,000 passengers.

Jet Airways ground staff appeals to pilots to end strike

Extending support to Jet Airways management, ground staff of the airline on Thursday issued an emotional appeal to the protesting pilots asking them to return to work. "We want this strike to be withdrawn because it is affecting not only the airline but us also. The future of families depend on this as the company is losing revenue as well as passengers' trust," Surender Sharma, a representative of the ground staff said. Jagjeet Kaur, another ground staff, said, "We want this agitation to come to an end today itself. We have been working as a team and now after two days of the strike, the future of 13,000 non-pilot employees is at stake."

"600 pilots are withdrawing salary which amounts to 40% of the company's revenue. But they are forgetting the rest of us." The ground staff also asked the pilots to put forward their grievances in the right manner. Ashwini, a customer-care supervisor, said earlier they were operating 47 flights out of Delhi but today they had operated just one. "We have landed in such a situation due to 600 pilots. Nobody is thinking about the company," he said.

Indian Air Force MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashes in Punjab

A MiG-21 fighter aircraft of IAF on Thursday crashed in Muktsar district of Punjab, killing the pilot. The war plane was on a routine sortie and had taken off from Bhatinda airbase, Muktsar Deputy Commissioner Rajat Aggarwal said. The crash occurred at Bhaliana village on Muktsar-Bhatinda road killing the pilot, Flt Lt Manu Akhori on the spot, he said. Senior officials of IAF, police and from the Muktsar civil administration have rushed to the spot. A court of inquiry has been ordered into the mishap, an IAF spokesman said in New Delhi.

Air India's Tokyo-New Delhi flight makes emergency landing

An Air India flight from Tokyo with 122 people on board on Thursday landed at Delhi's IGI International airport under emergency conditions after its pilot detected a technical fault. The Tokyo-Delhi flight landed safely at the airport and all the 111 passengers and 11 crew members were safe, an airline official said. The flight AI-3307 was to arrive at 4:55 pm but the pilot asked the Air Traffic Control for a precautionary landing at around 5:07 pm as he got faulty readings of the hydraulics of the plane. The plane landed safely at around 5:21 pm and reached the parking bay, the official said.

JetLite aircraft lands with tail scrape at Kolkata

A JetLite flight, with 135 passengers on board, flew in from Mumbai with a damaged tail but landed safely at Kolkata airport. The Boeing 737 aircraft, which touched down at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport at 3.40pm, was grounded after a maintenance check revealed "minor cracks" in the tail. An airline spokesperson "confirmed" that the aircraft had suffered "what is defined as tail scrape". Sources said the cracks had developed while the plane was taking off from Mumbai. Jet Airways officials said the tail had not suffered any "major damage" while taking off. An independent aviation expert said an aircraft could suffer tail scrape when part of the tail grazes the ground during take-off or landing because of a lack of wheel balance. "The flight, after landing, taxied off the runway on its own, the damage was detected during a routine check by flight engineers," said a senior airport official.

Kingfisher Airlines to launch flights to Hong Kong & Singapore

Expanding its network of destinations in South-East Asia, Kingfisher Airlines will commence daily non-stop flights from Mumbai to Hong Kong and Mumbai to Singapore from September 15 and 16 respectively. "Given the strong linkages between India and South East Asia, we believe that there is untapped potential and these new routes promise to serve the unmet needs of discerning corporate and leisure fliers," Kingfisher Airlines Vice-President (Global Sales) Siva Ramachandran said in a statement. The airline will deploy Airbus A330 aircraft for both the services.

Air India helps passengers stranded due to Jet Airways strike

National carrier Air India came to the rescue of a large number of stranded Jet Airways passengers by accommodating them on their flights after the pilots of the private airline went on a flash strike. A total of 427 passengers of Jet Airways and Jet Konnect were accommodated by Air India and Air India Express on their domestic and international routes. Over 300 pilots of Jet Airways today went on mass sick leave in protest against sacking of two senior pilots for forming a union, National Aviator's Guild. An airlines spokesperson said that 105 other passengers will fly to Dubai at night. Air India officials at various domestic airports were directed to help the passengers so that they were are not left stranded and inconvenienced. In Delhi, a separate counter has been opened at terminal 1D, from where Jet Airways operates, so that passengers could take tickets and boarding passes of Air India flights, the official said.

Jet Airways cancels 198 flights as strike continues

Jet Airways on Thursday cancelled nearly 200 domestic and international flights as its pilots continued their agitation to protest sacking of two of their colleagues. "The situation continues, there are no talks so far. We have not got any invite from the management side showing their willingness to talk to us," Capt Sam Thomas, Joint General Secretary of National Aviators Guild, which is spearheading the agitation, said. He claimed that overall 500 pilots have reported sick. A spokesperson of the airlines said it has cancelled 163 domestic and 35 international flights as 400 of its over 1000 pilots did not report for duty.

To deal with the situation, the airlines has set up a crisis management centre which is continuously monitoring the situation. At the crisis centre, a team of 15 personnel from planning, revenue management and PR is working round-the-clock to reschedule various flights and monitor the situation, the airline said. The airline operates 75 international flights and 300 domestic flights on a normal day.

Dubai Metro starts operations

The Dubai Metro, billed as the world's longest fully-automated driverless metro system, was launched last night by United Arab Emirates vice-president, prime minister and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The much-anticipated launch of the first metro system in the Gulf region took place at 9.09pm at the Mall of the Emirates here as fireworks lit up the Dubai skyline to mark the historic event. Joined by other dignitaries and guests, a beaming and visibly excited Sheikh Mohammed boarded a train at the Mall of the Emirates station for the inaugural ride aboard the state of the art transport system. Several television stations made a live broadcast of the launch of the 28 billion dirham Dubai Metro, providing aerial footage of the train as it glided silently on its journey across the city.

Only 10 of the 29 stations along the 52km Red Line are operational for now, with the rest expected to open in stages over the next few months. The Dubai Metro also incorporates the Green Line which is expected to be up and running next year. When completed, the Dubai Metro lines that run both underground and on an elevated track will extend 76km with 47 stations. In expressing his gratitude to everyone who was involved in the ambitious Metro project, Sheikh Mohammed said it was a source of pride for the people of the UAE. Up to 30,000 workers, engineers and railway specialists had been working feverishly to complete the job. "The smile that we saw on the face of Sheikh Mohammed gives us a lot of enthusiasm and energy to continue with the same momentum," Dubai Roads and Transport Authority chairman of the board and executive director Mattar Al Tayer said. City planners anticipate the Metro project to facilitate movement as well as enhance economic and tourism activities, among others.

Jet Airways starts crisis management cell to deal with strike

At airports on Wednesday, Tuesday's chaos was replaced by scenes of shock and surprise as passengers doing last-minute bookings were quoted high air fares. "Flights that generally cost Rs 4,000 on low cost airlines last week are now going for Rs 7,000. I paid Rs 8,800 for my Mumbai-Bangalore flight," said Piyush Shah, a businessman whose Jet Airways flight 9W 441 to Bangalore was cancelled. In the case of some full-service carriers, like Kingfisher Airlines, a few tickets went for as high as Rs 15,000. "On average, fares were about 40% higher. We also saw double the number of cancellations for bookings done on Jet flights for the coming days," said Vijay Kesavan, CEO of a travel portal.

For Jet Airways, the initial shock seems to have died down as the airline got its crisis management cell into action to inform passengers about cancellations and update real time data on its website. "The per day bookings have come down to 14,000 from 23,000. Out of the 14,000 bookings done, 50% of our passengers were accommodated on Jetlite and Jet Airways and the rest have been re-accommodated on other flights," said chief commercial officer Sudheer Raghavan.

Donbassaero Airlines to start Ukraine-Dubai flight

Ukraine based Donbassaero Airlines Company will launch its winter season flights to Dubai from the city of Donetsk will start in October 2009. The route will be served by an Airbus A320 which will fly weekly on a Tuesday starting from October 27, 2009 until March 23, 2010, the airline has said.

Emirates prepares to launch Durban route

Emirates Airlines is preparing to launch its new non-stop service from Dubai to Durban, South Africa next October. The airline will be the only carrier flying international routes on a daily basis out of Durban.