Pilot hire on AI radar

The management of Air India is exploring the possibility of hiring new pilots after several rounds of negotiations failed to break the deadlock with the striking pilots. The 21-day strike has led to a loss of over Rs 300 crore.

Air India’s board met today to discuss ways to deal with the impasse. With pilots refusing to end their agitation, the board plans to go for fresh hiring.

“The board discussed the present situation and decided that hiring is the only option left. Back-channel talks with pilots are on but nothing has come out of it as of now,” said a senior AI official.

Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh had asked the pilots to join work immediately, assuring them that they will not be victimised. However, protesting pilots insist that the airline should reinstate their sacked colleagues first.

CRISIS CONTINUES

While the Delhi high court has restrained the pilots from continuing their strike, the Bombay high court has slammed the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) for defying court orders and persisting with the stir, thereby causing inconvenience to the passengers.

The IPG has been at loggerheads with the management over its decision to let erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots to train on Boeing 787 aircraft. The airline has sacked as many as 101 pilots.

The agitation has led to a drop in passenger count. Last week, the airline decided to reduce fares by placing a large chunk of seats under the lowest fare category to increase its share in the domestic and international sectors.

“Bookings on our international flight have stabilised and we have placed maximum number of seats in the lowest price bracket that has also helped bookings in the domestic sector as well in the current contingency plan,” added the AI official.

The Air India board today also discussed the $700-million compensation from Boeing for the delay in the delivery of the Dreamliners. The proposals on the compensation amount and the process of seeking it have been sent to the government for approval, sources said.

The issue of monetisation of Air India’s assets in India and abroad and appointing a real estate consultant was also discussed by the board.

Commercial pilot licence examination: CBI arrests two pilots for leaked exam paper

The CBI has arrested two pilots, including one from Air India subsidiary Alliance Air, in connection with the alleged leak of a question paper of the commercial pilot licence examination. H S Malhotra of Alliance Air was arrested on May 18 and Siddharth Chowdhury of Indigo airline was arrested a day earlier.

The two were produced separately before a magistrate who remanded them in CBI custody till May 23, press information officer of the agency R K Gaur said. The two were arrested as part of the CBI's ongoing probe to unearth the racket involving leak of question paper pertaining to commercial pilot licence (technical) examination, he said.

A case was registered on April 20 under various sections of IPC on the allegations relating to leak of the question paper ahead of the examination that was held on March 15. The examination for this paper was declared null and void by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 27.

The CBI was approached by the DGCA with a complaint about leak of the question paper, Gaur said. It was alleged that the partially vetted question paper was taken out from the office of chief examination officer of DGCA, which was later passed on to the pilots and finally reached Lalit Jain, who was arrested by CBI on May 15.

A payment of several lakhs was made for the leaked paper, the CBI alleged. Thereafter, the question paper was scanned and sent through e-mail to many candidates allegedly by Jain and the same set of questions were forwarded by the candidates to other people through e-mail as well.

Jain, who is in judicial custody, is an accused in a Delhi Police case for forging commercial pilot licences last year.

Jet Airways to sack 72 expats to take locals on board

In an attempt to prune costs and navigate itself out of the turbulence in the Indian aviation sector, the nation's largest private airline, Jet Airways, has decided to terminate contracts of 72 of its high-cost expatriate pilots.

The Naresh Goyal-promoted airline sent notices to a section of its expat pilots last week. Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, confirmed the development to ETand said this was necessitated by a curtailed monsoon schedule and also the availability of pilots to tap from the local pool.

"We are reducing the level of operations for the monsoon season (as we do every year) and speeding up the process of training qualified Indian pilots from co-pilots to captains. We are also looking to recruit qualified Indian pilots available in the market at the moment," Kardassis said in a response to a query from ET.

The sacking of expat pilots, who till recently were a coveted resource for domestic airlines, is said to be the first and the biggest in Indian aviation. However, the firing exercise is unlikely to create a political storm as it involves only expats.

There are about 500 foreign pilots employed by Indian airlines, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said in a recent statement based on government data. He said Jet Airways employed the highest number of expats, with 183 pilots working for it. The number of expats hired by domestic airlines has gone up considerably from 384 in 2010. Jet topped the list even then with 111 expat pilots.

The government had allowed airlines to hire foreign air crew to meet the shortage of pilots, especially commanders. But due to agitation by Indian pilots for higher emoluments, it asked domestic airlines to phase out expats by July 31, 2011. It later extended the deadline to December 31, 2013.

Budget carrier SpiceJet relies heavily on expat pilots, who are said to enjoy a much higher compensation compared with Indian pilots for flying its Bombardier Q400 aircraft. There are hardly any Indian commanders available for flying these aircraft.

Jet Airways' move to do away with such a large number of expat pilots stems from the surplus of pilots in the market, courtesy its one-time rival Kingfisher Airlines.

Huge No. of KF Pilots Available

The Vijay Mallya-promoted airline has drastically curtailed operations since November last year and is down to a fleet of 20 aircraft compared with 64 around nine months ago.

AAI to recruit jr executives in ATC

To meet shortage of officers in Air Traffic Controllers (ATC) wing, the Airport Authority of India (AAI) will recruit 200 junior executives, the government today said.

"The actual strength of Air Traffic Controllers (ATCOs) at present is 2,191 against the sanctioned strength of 2,417...The AAI has initiated necessary steps for recruitment of 200 junior executive in the ATC discipline," Civil Aviation minister Ajit Singh told Rajya Sabha in reply to a question.

In reply to another query, he said, "The ministry of Civil Aviation has accepted recommendation of M/S KPMG for hiving off Air Navigation Services as a separate entity."

KPMG had been engaged to conduct pre feasibility study for corporatisation of AAI's air navigation services, Singh said.

Rae Bareli civil aviation institute likely to get university status

The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has expressed its interest on upgrading the Indira Gandhi National Civil Aviation Institute in Rae Bareli to the status of a deemed university.

Chairman, AAI, VP Agarwal said that the institute promises to be elevated and made operational like a university. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi last year had announced the much-awaited venue of the civil aviation university, which till date happens to be a mystery.

Even though there have been murmurs of a civil aviation university coming at Fursatganj with an aim to give better training facilities to the pilots. But now, it appears that it could be the institute in Sonia Gandhi's constituency instead that could be upgraded to the status of a university.

Agarwal also said that the authority would also help further upgrade the airport in Safai, the native village of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav.

"The airport is the state owned enterprise. We will help it upgrade to the status if the state government wishes,'' the AAI chairman said.

This is probably for the first time post UP assembly elections that a central authority has shown its interest in upgrading the state owned facility, thanks to the prevailing bon-homie between the Samajwadi Party and the Congress.

Agarwal though refused to comment on the cancellation of the international airport project in Jewar, he said that the authority will lend its full support to the state government which has proposed to set up an airport in Agra.

"It (Jewar airport) was the decision of the state government. We cannot say anything on that. But as far as the one proposed in Agra is concerned the authority will help the government in whatever ways it can,'' he said.

3 DGCA officials suspended on license issue

Three DGCA officials have been suspended for issuing licences classifying 28 flying schools as charitable non-profit entities instead of fully commercial entities, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Thursday.

He said based on investigation report submitted by the Chief Vigilance Officer in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), it was decided to suspend the three officials alleged to have been involved in preparation of the list of flying schools or clubs and to initiate disciplinary proceedings against them.

"It has also been decided to re-examine the eligibility criteria for flying schools or clubs for availing the facility of nominal rates for different charges in the context of flying clubs for training purposes in the whole country," Singh said in reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.

Indian Air Force short of 363 pilots: Report

The Indian Air Force is short of 363 pilots, a shortage that has lingered on for nearly five years owing to a lack of basic trainers.

As per data, the sanctioned strength of aviators in IAF as on January 1, 2012, was 3,783. However, the force has only 3,420 in its ranks. The constant delays in the procurement of basic trainers are further making it difficult for the force to cover up the shortfall. Overall, the IAF is short of 800 officers.

IAF has been doing without a basic trainer aircraft since its entire fleet of initial trainers HPT-32 was grounded in June 2009, following a series of crashes and over 100 engine failures. It had lost about 11 flying cadets to these aircraft. Three years after the grounding of the fleet, the IAF's selection of Swiss Pilatus aircraft is yet to get approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security.

Presently, IAF is training its rookie pilots on Kiran Mk-II, that used to form the second stage of training for IAF pilots. Thereafter, the pilots are either sent to British-built Advanced Jet Trainers (AJTs) or MiG-21s. Now, in view of the recent spate of accidents involving MiG-21s, IAF has decided that no more pilots will be trained on these Soviet-vintage jets after 2012.

The procurement of 75 Pilatus aircraft under the $1 billion deal has become "critical" for IAF as it is likely to face shortage of Kirans.

To meet the training requirements of the rookie pilots, the IAF intends to send some of its pilots to Switzerland for training till the delivery of the initial batch of 12 aircraft beginning in 2014.

The Comptroller and Auditor General had also punched holes in the training of the IAF pilots. The report pointed out that the IAF was facing an acute shortage of efficient pilots due to failure in imparting quality training, attributed to the lack of adequate state-of-the art training aircraft with the force.

As per the CAG's findings, 42 per cent of the 276 aircraft accidents reported during 1995-2005 were attributed to human errors.

According to the Parliamentary Panel's report on Defence, "We have issues with AJT. So, our ab initio pilots are going straight from basic to intermediate trainers and then on to the MiG-21 class of aircraft, which was a tremendous jump."

 IBN Live

100 years of civil aviation etched on coins

The Mumbai division of central government’s coin-minting units has issued commemorative coins for sale on the occasion of completion of hundred years of the civil aviation industry in India. The coins are of the denomination of Rs 100 and Rs 5, the officials said.

The history of civil aviation in India goes back to December 1912, when the first domestic route was opened between Karachi and Delhi, though technically it was the mere extension of London-Karachi flight. According to the experts, at the time of partition, there were at least nine airline companies operating in the country, one of which later migrated its function to the other side of the border. Post-partition, the Indian government nationalised the airline industry.

Following the opening up of the skies in the 1990s, the coming decades saw an unprecedented boom in the market. “It’s a tribute to the achievements made by the nationin the civil aviation field,” said a senior officials from Mumbai Mint house.

Officials said the coins can be bought by approaching the mint office and alsoonline.

According to the records available, Mumbai Mint is one of the oldest mints in India, with its history dating back to the 17th century. Initially it was controlled by the governor of the Bombay.

However, later it was transferred to the finance department of the Government of India in the year 1876. The first Mumbai Mint was coined in the year 1672.

Officials said the first commemorative coins were made in the year 1964, in the memory of former prime minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Ever since then, the Mumbai Mint has produced some of the most topical and historical issues through the commemorative coins.

According to officials, the most important role played by the Mint is that in the manufacturing of the reference, working standard of the weights and working standard of the capacity.

Officials say each of these standards play a very important role in the work of the state government by ensuring that the weights and measures in the trade and commerce are of the required accuracy.

Global airlines deploy latest aircraft to woo Indian flyers

The Indian globe trotter is being wooed like never before. The world's latest commercial aircraft are now being deployed here by foreign airlines.

Japan Airlines (JAL) will use the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner on Delhi-Tokyo route from Tuesday. Lufthansa will fly the latest avatar of the jumbo jet Boeing 747-800 to Delhi and Bangalore this summer.

In pic: An ANA Boeing 787Dreamliner

Also check: Boeing's first 787 Dreamliner made for Air India

The deliveries of these two aircraft - that boast of features like large windows, ultra comfortable interiors and unmatched fuel efficiency - began to airlines around two months back. Request from many airlines, including Emirates, are pending with the government to fly the Airbus A-380 to Delhi for about two years.

For JAL, Delhi will be its Dreamliner's second destination. "India is a very important market for us. We have ordered 45 Dreamliners and three have joined our fleet. The first was used on Tokyo-Boston route that started on April 22. The second route will be Delhi."

In pic: An Emirates A380 Airbus- the world's largest passenger aircraft as it docks at a gate after touchdown at terminal T-3 of Indira Gandhi International Airport.

Check out the assembly line of Airbus A380 in South France

Witness the ultra-luxury of Emirates's Airbus A380 'superjumbos'

The airline finds the 186-seater Boeing 787 'perfect' for Delhi as it is closer to the actual demand and filling up the new fuel-efficient plane will be easier. AT present, it flies a 245-seater B-777 to Delhi five times a week.

Lufthansa, whose request for flying the A-380 to Delhi has not been cleared, is going to fly the latest jumbo jet B-747-800 to Delhi and Bangalore from this summer.

In pic: Crew members of Emirates Airlines' Airbus A-380, the world's largest aircraft which landed at the new Terminal-3 of the IGI airport

Ultimate call sign of super rich: Boeing, Airbus planes that can house Rolls Royces, horses

"India is the first Asian country where Lufthansa will deploy B747-800. Lufthansa is the launch customer for this aircraft, the first of which will connect Frankfurt and Washington from June 1... New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chicago and Los Angeles will be added successively," Lufthansa said.

2 Air India flights make emergency landings in Kozhikode

Two Air India flights with 254 passengers on board made emergency landings at Kozhikode and Chennai airports respectively after suffering a bird hit and oil leakage, airport sources said.

The Dubai-bound AI 937 flight with 148 passengers and six crew landed at Karipur International Airport near Kozhikode soon after take off following a bird hit,while the Kochi bound flight from Chennai with 106 passengers and five crew returned to that city after its pilot detected oil leakage, they said.

Soon after take off from Kozhikode at 10 AM,a bird hit the right engine of the Airbus A-321 aircraft, bending its blades under the impact.

The flight, with a full fuel load, dumped fuel into the sea and returned within 40 minutes. All passengers and crew were accommodated in nearby hotels, the sources said.

The Kochi bound flight made an emergency landing in Chennai about one hour after its pilot detected oil leakage. Soon after take off at 10.20am, the pilot reported an oil leakage, following which security personnel were alerted for an emergency landing.

After taking precautionary measures, the flight landed safely at 11.10am, the sources said.

ATF prices cut by Rs 312 per kl

State-owned oil companies today reduced jet fuel prices by a marginal Rs 312 per kilolitre or kl, the second reduction in rates this month.

The price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, in Delhi was reduced by Rs 311.74 per kl, or 0.46 per cent, to Rs 67,319.71 with effect from midnight tonight, Indian Oil Corp, making the announcement on behalf of the industry, said.

The reduction comes on back of a Rs 169.3 per kl cut in rates effected from April 16. But these reduction are dwarfed by the steep increases effected in March and early April. ATF rates were increased by 3.2 per cent on March 1, Rs 1,298.88 per kl on March 16 and by another 2.8 per cent on April 1.

Jet fuel was priced at Rs 62,557.12 per kl before the three price increases.

In Mumbai, jet fuel will cost Rs 68,306.21 per kl from tomorrow against Rs 68,630.93 per kl now.

Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline's operating cost and the marginal reduction in prices will somewhat ease the burden of the cash-strapped airlines.

No immediate comment was available from the airlines on the impact of the price reduction on passenger fares.

The three fuel retailers -- IOC, Hindustan Petroleum and Bharat Petroleum -- revise jet fuel prices on the 1st and 16th of every month, based on the average international price in the preceding fortnight.