Global News Post: Civil Aviation

Airasia India's Flying Licence Stuck In Red Tape – Report

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DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- AirAsia India's plan to start operations is now stuck in
red tape as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is yet to hand
over the flying licence to the airline even after it has completed the final
route familiarisation tests in the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
Mail Today report quoted an unnamed top DGCA official as admitting that
although AirAsia has got all the mandatory approvals, it has still not been
given a flying permit. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">However,
he could not provide any specific reason as to why the flying permit was held
up, said the report. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
DGCA had last month allowed the yet-to-start carrier to bring in its ferry
flight (without passengers) to India to complete the mandatory route
familiarisation process to get the flying permit despite stiff opposition from
Indian carriers on AirAsia's entry into the country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Now,
with the process completed, the DGCA is yet to take a call on granting flying
permit to the carrier. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Domestic
carriers had lobbied to scuttle AirAsia's entry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
political party leader, Subramanian Swamy, had also moved court to challenge
the clearance granted to the airline. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">By
now, AirAsia India was expected to get the flying permit, a top DGCA official
admitted, said the report. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Airasia India's Flying Licence Stuck In Red Tape – Report

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) -- AirAsia India's plan to start operations is now stuck in red tape as the Directorate General of Civil Avia...

Indian Govt. Allows FDI in Aviation, Multi-Brand Retail

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">By M Saraswathi<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Foreign airline companies are now allowed to take up to 49 per cent stake in India’s scheduled and non-scheduled air transport services, a policy long overdue.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Ministry of Commerce and India in a release said removing the existing restriction on investment by foreign airlines would assist in bringing in strategic investors into the civil aviation sector. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">"Higher foreign investment inflows are necessary at the present juncture, in order to strengthen the sector,” it said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">The move would help the ailing aviation sector in India. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">According to the International Air Transport Association, Aviation in India supports 1.7 million jobs, 0.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and responsible for 90 per cent of international tourist arrival.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">However, the major carriers in the country have lost close to US$2 billion in the last fiscal year to March 2012, after losing US$3.5 billion over the previous three years and are carrying debts of US$20 billion.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Along with these, the Indian government also made other drastic changes in its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to revive its ailing economy and restore investors’ confidence in the country.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It has allowed 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail trading, but state governments are given the choice to take it up or otherwise.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">A minimum investment of US$100 million has been set, half of which necessarily has to be in creating storage and warehousing facilities in rural areas, Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a separate statement.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">“Small manufacturers will benefit from the conditionality requiring at least 30 per cent procurement from Indian small industries, as this would enable them to get integrated with global retail chains,” said the ministry.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">It said Delhi, Assam, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Manipur and the Union Territory of Daman & Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, have expressed support for the policy in writing. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">Jammu & Kashmir has publicly endorsed the policy and asked for its implementation. However, the state of Bihar, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Odisha have expressed reservations.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">The government also raised FDI cap in broadcasting from 49 per cent to 74per cent and allowing foreign investment of up to 49 per cent power exchange.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="background: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 9.0pt;">In the same spirit, the government also approved divestment of stakes in four public sector units. -- NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian Govt. Allows FDI in Aviation, Multi-Brand Retail

By M Saraswathi NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Foreign airline companies are now allowed to take up to 49 per cent stake in India’s s...

JET Airways Supports Indian Govt.’s Plan to Allow FDIs in Industry

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) –- India’s biggest carrier by market share, Jet Airways, supports the government’s plan to allow foreign direct investments (FDIs) of up to 49 per cent by a foreign carrier</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">We support all the government policies," its chairman, Naresh Goyal, told reporters on the sidelines of an interactive session on "Building the Future of Indian Aviation", by the Confederation of Indian Industry here</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">At present, FDIs of up to 49 per cent are permitted in India’s airline sector but foreign carriers are not allowed to buy equity due to security reasons</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The International Air Transport Association (IATA)’s director general and chief executive officer, Tony Tyler, acknowledged that allowing foreign airlines to enter the market was an important step forward</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">However, he pointed out that investors would not be keen if problems faced by India's aviation industry were not addressed</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">India’s aviation sector is in a multi-faceted crisis," he said, adding "if critical problems were not comprehensively addressed, investors would not be lining up to put their cash in Indian airlines</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>."</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Under current circumstances, investors can’t see how they would ever enjoy a return</span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; direction: ltr; line-height: 12.75pt; text-align: justify; unicode-bidi: embed;"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">India needs policies to reduce the tax burden on aviation, lower external costs and ensure adequate infrastructure to meet growing demand," said Tyler. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

JET Airways Supports Indian Govt.’s Plan to Allow FDIs in Industry

NEW DELHI (NNN-Bernama) –- India’s biggest carrier by market share, Jet Airways, supports the government’s plan to allow foreign direct i...

INDIA: Employees Hold Demonstration over Privatisation of Chennai Airport

INDIA: Employees Hold Demonstration over Privatisation of Chennai Airport

CHENNAI (NNN-Bernama) -- Some 500 Airports Authority of India (AAI) officers and employees from various unions on Wednesday staged a demo...

INDIA: Smaller Towns Will Soon Get Air Connectivity

INDIA: Smaller Towns Will Soon Get Air Connectivity

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- India is in the process of providing air connectivity to remote and interior areas of the country includ...

INDIA: International Airport to Come Up Near Taj Mahal

INDIA: International Airport to Come Up Near Taj Mahal

LUCKNOW (NNN-PTI): With a view to catering to needs of tourists visiting Taj city Agra, an international airport would soon come up betwee...

Just Ended Air India Pilots' Strike Second Longest

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- The 58-day-long pilots' strike in Air India, which was called off late Tuesday night, was the second longest since the national carrier came into existence in 1946, after a 90-day strike by cockpit crew 38 years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">While the strike by its pilots in 1974 to protest cost cutting measures by the airline after a massive hike in fuel prices went on for 90 days, a strike by Air India's flight engineers had lasted 56 days in 1993-94.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Before the 1993-94 stir, the second longest strike was in erstwhile Indian Airlines whose pilots went on a five-week agitation in 1991-92 demanding a hike in wages and allowances.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This time, Indian Pilots' Guild (IPG), which represents about 450 pilots of the merged national carrier who mainly operate long-haul, wide-body planes, had struck work since May 7 over career progression issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The latest strike, which also saw pilots going on protest fast in Delhi and Mumbai from June 24, was the longest since the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There have been several strikes since the merger so far, with a major one by Indian Commercial Pilots Association, representing the erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots, lasting 11 days last year to demand pay parity with their IPG colleagues.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In May 2010, Air India's biggest union, Air Corporation Employees' Union, and Air India Aircraft Engineers' Association had struck work, leading to the sacking of 56 staffers and de-recognition of both these unions. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">During the latest strike, IPG had demanded that training on the Boeing 787 Dreamliners be restricted to long-haul pilots belonging to the erstwhile Air India and not to those from the former Indian Airlines, saying it would block their career progression chances.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Following this strike, Air India management sacked 101 pilots and de-recognised IPG for leading the agitation.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The two state-run carriers were merged in 2007 forming a new entity called National Aviation Company of India Limited, which was later renamed as Air India Limited.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The airline and the government are now proceeding with the implementation of the Justice D M Dharmadhikari Committee's recommendations to address all issues relating to human integration, pay parity and career progression.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In order to prevent any further industrial action by any section of its 27,000 employees, Air India has held and is planning to hold more rounds of negotiations with all unions.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The brand, Air India Limited, had come into existence on July 29, 1946, when Tata Air Lines headed by J R D Tata was converted into a public company.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">On August 3, 1947, 12 days before India's independence, Air India carried the Indian flag for the first time when it flew Vijayalakshmi Pandit, first Indian Ambassador to the USSR, to Moscow in a Douglas DC-3 aircraft.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Air India International was incorporated on March 8, 1948. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Just Ended Air India Pilots' Strike Second Longest

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- The 58-day-long pilots' strike in Air India, which was called off late Tuesday night, was the second longest si...

India: Govt. Says No to Raising 49 Pc FDI Cap in Aviation Sector

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">HYDERABAD, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Indian Government on Sunday ruled out raising the 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment cap in the Indian aviation sector, the Press Trust of India reported.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I don't think so. Because the 1934 Civil Aviation Act says management has to be in Indian hands, majority of directors have to be Indian. Whatever worriespeople have, government will still decide the routes, government will still give at what time they fly and where," India's Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told reporters while replying to a query. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Now, they have all changed. See, it is a capital-intensive industry... even working capital they are not getting. It is only if you allow them to, airlines to invest 49 per cent. FDI is already allowed. We are not asking anybody to take it. It is not compulsory. Those who do not want it, fine," he said when it was pointed out that some airlines favoured raising the 49 per cent FDI cap. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">India allows FDI in domestic airlines up to 49 per cent but had been disallowing foreign airlines from investing in the sector. The government, however, is now planning to allow foreign airlines to pick up 49 per cent stake in their Indian counterparts. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The ruling coalition partners are also being brought on board on the issue of FDI in aviation, Singh said on the sidelines of a book release function. -- NNN-BERNAMA <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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India: Govt. Says No to Raising 49 Pc FDI Cap in Aviation Sector

HYDERABAD, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Indian Government on Sunday ruled out raising the 49 per cent Foreign Direct Investment cap in the Indian...

Indian Aviation Needs to Liberalise Faster

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">BEIJING (NNN-PTI): Indian aviation sector has to liberalise rapidly to keep in tune with the huge air traffic growth being experienced by the country, a top airline official said Tuesday.<br />
<br />
"India has not missed the opportunity of being an aviation hub. You do not write off India. It has a great opportunity. There are problems. But you need a focussed approach to civil aviation," Tim Clark, President of the Emirates Airlines, said on the sidelines of IATA's annual summit here.<br />
<br />
Replying to questions on the government's intention to allow foreign airlines to pick up 49 per cent stake in Indian carriers, he said "the Chinese do it big time and they value what civil aviation is. Obviously you need to get foreign carriers in, just as the Chinese carriers need to go out. How come India cannot do the same? With Europe down you have a great opportunity to pick up kick-start and get it going."<br />
<br />
"If you look at it from an arms length it looks okay. As an investment. 49 per cent. But then if you work the practicalities like high fees at the airports... The airports were told that the terminal will be full of foreign and Indian carriers... You will be full of people. But then you do not allow anyone (airline or investment) to come in. Why will you do that?"<br />
<br />
On Indian carriers like Air India, Clark said domestically or internationally, Air India or the Indian carriers "should be some of the largest in the world. I have been saying that. I have been flying Air India since when I was 10; they flew the first B-707. It can easily reestablish itself. It has to reestablish itself. It will, it must."<br />
<br />
Maintaining that the new IGI Airport at Delhi was huge and modern, Clark said the airport operator (Delhi International Airport Limited) wanted a 750 per cent increase, "but we cut it into half. Now you go to Delhi. They have built a world class facility ... First you encourage the private sector to build airport and then you do not let any one in.<br />
<br />
"They will have to raise charges. Because now you have this huge facility which is costing the promoters a fortune. But there is no one in it. So you have to raise charges. They say we have to charge more and the only thing we can do is pass it on to the consumer class hub which is huge. But it has one problem... there is no one in it."<br />
<br />
"We won't come in now. We would have come ten times a day we would come in with the (superjumbo) Airbus A-380. We would have populated the airport... We would like to put the A-380 into Mumbai and Delhi," he said. -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian Aviation Needs to Liberalise Faster

BEIJING (NNN-PTI): Indian aviation sector has to liberalise rapidly to keep in tune with the huge air traffic growth being experienced ...

Indian Cities of Delhi, Chennai to Get Aviation Hubs

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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">NEW DELHI, India <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(NNN-Bernama) - To turn India into an aviation hub by expanding regional and international connectivity, the government on Wednesday decided to operationalise airline hubs at capital Delhi and south Indian Chennai city by the next fiscal year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">An airline policy would be finalised in this regard, Press Trust of India reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">The policy is being formulated due to fear of loss of outbound air traffic from India to adjoining airports such as Dubai and Singapore. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Under the policy, a series of steps are entailed which include improvement of connectivity and making visa processing easier to enable more passengers to travel from India to destinations in Europe and America <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">To further boost aviation infrastructure, the government decided to award three new greenfield projects at Navi Mumbai, Goa and Kannur in the financial year 2013. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">By July-end, additional Public Private Partnership projects would be finalised for 10-12 existing airports and for 10-12 greenfield airports which will be awarded during the year. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">Lucknow, Varanasi, Coimbatore, Trichy and Gaya cities are the likely locations where three to four international airports could be declared this year. -- NNN-BERNAMA <o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Indian Cities of Delhi, Chennai to Get Aviation Hubs

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) - To turn India into an aviation hub by expanding regional and international connectivity, the governme...

Air India Begins Intl Operations to US and Europe

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): In an attempt to restore normalcy, Air India has began international operations to the US and Europe as part of its contingency plan even as striking pilots asked the government to initiate preliminary talks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As the stir by the pilots entered the ninth day, the Airlines curtailed and clubbed many of its flights to the US and Europe to stabilise international operations. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We have put in force our contingency plan and started operating our international flights, which were affected for the past eight days causing great inconvenience to our customers. Slowly, we hope that our operations would normalise," said an Air India official Wednesday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The national carrier operated Delhi-Paris-New York (JFK) and Delhi-Frankfurt-Chicago flight early this morning while it would be operating Delhi-Shanghai and Delhi-London as per schedule. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We have merged Mumbai-London and Mumbai-Shanghai flights with the Delhi-London and Delhi-Shanghai flights. We are operating these flights with Boeing 777 ER aircraft so we won't have problem accommodating the passengers," the official said, adding this will bring relief to many of our passengers who were anxious about their flights status. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Most of our passengers are those who have booked tickets months ago for their journey, he said, adding if situation permits then we may open our bookings for our ultra-long flights, which have been suspended till Thursday. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We have deployed Airbus 320 aircraft for our short haul flights to Bangkok, Singapore and other destinations," he said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In another development, the striking Air India pilots asked the government to at least initiate preliminary talks. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The government should at least being preliminary talks. We are ready for talks but they should formally invite us for talks to resolve the issue," Jitendra Awhad, chief of Indian Pilots Guild told PTI in Mumbai. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Awhad said the union, which has now been derecognised by the airline management, was in talks with other political parties to resolve the impasse. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"When pilots having allegiance with Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA), the union of erstwhile Indian Airline pilots, had gone on strike they held talks with them and resolved the crisis. Their union was also recognised. We just want that talks should begin and the suspended pilots should be reinstated," Awhad said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The pilots' strike has not only caused Rs 150 crore loss to the cash-strapped national carrier but has also greatly inconvenienced passengers.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: center 234.0pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As it is a vacation period, the stir has hit the plans of holidaymakers as they are unable to get seats in other airlines or are ending up paying a hefty price. -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Air India Begins Intl Operations to US and Europe

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): In an attempt to restore normalcy, Air India has began international operations to the US and Europe as part of its c...

India: Government Must Consider Demands of Striking Air India Pilots

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): Key UPA ally DMK today wanted the government to consider demands of striking pilots and expressed concern over the suffering and harassment of passengers due to their ongoing agitation. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Raising the issue in Rajya Sabha (Upper House) during Zero Hour, Vasanthi Stanley (DMK) said the suffering of the public due to the Air India pilots' strike is increasing, as over 50 international flights to the United States and Europe and other destinations have been cancelled ever since its pilots suddenly reported sick. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Government, without any notice to public, has cancelled international flights causing great inconvenience to passengers," she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Citing examples of frustration of harassed passengers, she said, angry passengers in Mumbai tried to block roads outside the International Airport. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She said no alternative arrangements were being made for passengers whose flights were cancelled and neither was any proper information provided to them. "Passengers have been made to suffer and fend for themselves," she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The DMK member said pilots were sacked without serving any notice and demanded they they be heard and their demands considered. "It is surprising that though pilots are ready for talks, the management sacked them," she said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She alleged that all this happened as there is disparity among pilots after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines and said, "no unilateral decision be forced on employees". <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">She sought to know as to what the Government was doing to end the strike and demanded that it considers the demands of pilots and end the strike in view of the harassment of passengers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: kashida; text-kashida: 0%;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Members from the Left and some from Congress also demanded end to the pilots' strike. -NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Government Must Consider Demands of Striking Air India Pilots

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): Key UPA ally DMK today wanted the government to consider demands of striking pilots and expressed concern over the su...

INDIA: DGCA Warns Airlines against Hiking Fares beyond Their Band

INDIA: DGCA Warns Airlines against Hiking Fares beyond Their Band

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): Noting that private airlines have suddenly raised fares by up to 20 per cent on certain sectors in view of Air India...

If Air India Pilots End Stir, Govt. Willing to Discuss All Issues: Ajit

If Air India Pilots End Stir, Govt. Willing to Discuss All Issues: Ajit

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI): Holding that nobody should maintain a stubborn stand, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said if the striking Air ...

Pilot Strike, Indian Govt Should Step in with Firm Decision

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">  <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- India's aviation sector may just be heading for a very hard landing if the government does not step in with a firm decision to restore the situation as Kingfisher Airlines' pilots join their Air India counterparts to call in sick leave. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Pilot strike and subsequent cancellation of flights is not acceptable especially for business travellers," said 43-year old frequent business traveler Abdul Salahudeen. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Given that Air India is a flag carrier, the government should step in and take a firm decision before things get out of control, he told Bernama when met at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"Although I am a frequent traveller, this is my first time using Air India. The news of pilot strike and flight cancellation is shocking and I have never experienced this before. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I choose Air India because of the timing. The news is also disturbing as I arrived today and leaving tomorrow to attend an important meeting on Saturday. I hope my flight back will not be affected," said Salahudeen, who is a Singaporean. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">However, Gaurav Ganguly, 25, said the strike would not impact travellers as long as the airlines make proper arrangements for the affected passengers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"I am leaving for Oman today. I am on Air India but my flight is not affected," he said, adding that the airlines should take responsibility and proactive measures to keep passengers informed of changes. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"The airlines should give adequate information to passengers and not let them find out about flight cancellations only when they get to the airport," said Ganguly who works in Oman. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some stranded and angry passengers were even stopped from talking to this reporter by Air India officers. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Times of India reported that Air India International has 800 pilots on its payroll and between 450 and 500 of them were members of the derecognized Indian <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pilots' Guild (IPG). <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">About 300-350 IPG members have been reporting sick since Monday night. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"We may seemingly have adequate pilots to operate all flights for some time. But that would mean exhausting their flight time duty limitations in a week or 10 days. So operating the full schedule is not possible," said an official. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The number of flight cancellations has gone up significantly on Thursday and passenger woes are mounting, said the English daily. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Moreover, other employees of Air India are fuming as this agitation might affect their chance of getting the Rs30,000 crore (US$5 billion) bailout required desperately for the airlines' survival. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It also reported that a majority of Kingfisher Airlines' pilots, largely based in Delhi, have refused to operate flights. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is believed that Kingfisher owes its pilots salaries since January while Air India owes its employees Rs124 crores (US$23.5 million) in salaries. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Pilot Strike, Indian Govt Should Step in with Firm Decision

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- India's aviation sector may just be heading for a very hard landing if the government does not st...

Etihad Airways to Launch Flights to Indian City of Ahmedabad

Etihad Airways to Launch Flights to Indian City of Ahmedabad

DUBAI (NNN-Bernama) -- Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced that the airline will start flying to Ahmedabad in November, Press...

Indian Court Restrains Pilots of Air India from Going on Strike

Indian Court Restrains Pilots of Air India from Going on Strike

NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Xinhua) -- The Delhi High Court Wednesday restrained pilots of India's national carrier Air India from going ...

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from radar Wednesday with at least 44 people on board.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Jakarta Post newspaper quotes authorities as saying ground teams, including military units, were headed from the capital to remote Mount Salak, after search helicopters encountered bad weather and were forced to return to base.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Authorities say the Sukhoi Superjet 100 vanished while on a demonstration flight shortly after 2 p.m. local time. All passengers were described as invited guests. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Indonesia's transport ministry said the 100-seat, mid-range jetliner was on the second of two demonstration flights when it disappeared in the remote Bogor region.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">Officials said the pilots had requested permission to descend from 3,000 to 1,800 meters shortly before radio contact was lost. Mount Salak is 2,200 meters high.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The Itar-Tass news agency said the newly-minted plane recently performed demonstrations in Central and South Asia, including flights in Kazakhstan, Pakistan and Burma. It also said the Superjet 100 had logged about 6,500 hours of flight time since its 2008 maiden launch.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 19.2pt; text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-IN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-IN;">The jetliner is currently in use with Russia's largest carrier, Aeroflot, and the Armenian carrier, Armavia. ---VOA News</span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #38761d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div></div>

Indonesian Authorities Search for Missing Russian Plane

Indonesia has deployed search and rescue teams to a mountainous area near Jakarta, in search of a Russian jetliner that disappeared from ...

Air India Flights Cancelled After 100 Pilots Refused to Work

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MUMBAI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Four Air India international flights were cancelled from Delhi and Mumbai today after about 100 pilots refused to report for duty, Press Trust of India reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The airlines domestic operations, however, were unaffected. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">An Air India spokesperson said that the four flights servicing the routes of Delhi-Toronto, Delhi-Chicago, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-Hongkong via Delhi were cancelled due to unavailability of pilots. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A number of Air India pilots owing allegiance to Indian Pilots Guild were reportedly agitated over the rescheduling of Boeing 787 Dreamliner training programme, while some had threatened to go on strike yesterday following the failure of talks with the Air India management. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"The management (Air India) has completely backtracked from what had been agreed upon in the last few days. We are left with no option but to intensify our displeasure," sources from the Indian Pilots Guild said. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Guild expects the number of pilots going on strike to increase to 250 to 300 by tomorrow, indicating flights operations could be hit severely in the coming days. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Earlier, the management held a meeting with the pilots in New Delhi in its bid to defuse the crisis. A section of pilots reported sick on Sat May 5, resulting in cancellation of one international flight and delaying another two. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It is believed that during their meeting yesterday, the airline management told the pilots that they had "no reasons to go on strike" when the government had announced a bailout package for the national carrier. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In another report sent earlier BERNAMA reports: <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">OVER 100 AIR INDIA PILOT ON STRIKE, 200 MORE MAY JOIN<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">NEW DELHI, India (NNN-Bernama) – Over 100 Air India pilots are on strike since midnight last night affecting some of the airlines’ international flights and the number might swell to 250. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The strike could cripple Air India's international operations just ahead of the peak summer holiday season that begins this weekend, The Economic Times reported. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The flag carrier cancelled Monday night-Tuesday morning's Mumbai-Newark, Delhi-Toronto and Delhi-Chicago flights. Among longhauls, only Delhi-New York is expected to operate early on Tuesday morning. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The ministry, toughening its stand, has warned that it will shut international flights of the airline if the strike snowballs and will take strict action against the agitating pilots. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The English daily said the strike started minutes after their talks with the airline management and aviation ministry failed on the issue of training for the Boeing-787 Dreamliner. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Air India owes its employees US$23.5 million in salary arrears. --NNN-BERNAMA<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

Air India Flights Cancelled After 100 Pilots Refused to Work

MUMBAI, India (NNN-Bernama) -- Four Air India international flights were cancelled from Delhi and Mumbai today after about 100 pilots ...

India: Kingfisher Plans to Pay January Salaries from May 9

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">MUMBAI (NNN-PTI) -- Worried over the possibility of its employees dragging the airline management to the Labour court over non-payment of salaries, Kingfisher Airline Chairman Vijya Mallya has "assured" the staff of paying their January salaries from Wednesday onwards, airline sources said Monday.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">"Mallya said in his May 5 communication to the employees that the airline will start remitting January salaries from May 9 onwards," sources told PTI quoting from the e-mail message.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In his e-mail message Mallya also said that a "significant" portion of the February salaries would be paid by the month-end, they said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mallya's communication to employees comes following the airline's pilots serving a deadline of May 8 to the management for paying January salaries or face strike.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Besides, they had demanded that the management should also clear the remaining salary in a phased manner by June 30.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A section of the staff, including pilots and engineers, had last week said that they were contemplating to move to the Labour court to seek its intervention and expedite settlement of their dues.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Mallya, meanwhile, has also expressed hope that his airline would return to global distribution network of IATA shortly, the sources said.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines was suspended for non-payment of dues by the IATA in March from participating in a system which enables airlines to settle their interline billings globally.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Airlines and airline-associated companies join the IATA Clearing House to settle accounts for services provided by them to other airlines or firms.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Kingfisher Airlines has been facing financial troubles for almost a year now. The airline, which never made a profit since its inception in May 2005, reported a net loss of Rs 444.26 crore in the December quarter. It suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and has a debt of Rs 7,057.08 crore.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Due to the paucity of funds, it now operates only 110 flights a day with a fleet of 20 aircraft against 400 flights per day last year with 66 planes.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The airline had a 6.4 per cent market share in March, and ranked below the budget carrier GoAir, which cornered 7.5 per cent market share in the same period. -- NNN-PTI<o:p></o:p></span></div></div>

India: Kingfisher Plans to Pay January Salaries from May 9

MUMBAI (NNN-PTI) -- Worried over the possibility of its employees dragging the airline management to the Labour court over non-payment of...