Page 4 - Air India Express

A-I Express cabin crew conciliation: Labour dept to seek DGCA inputs

The regional labour commissioner will seek inputs from aviation regulator DGCA in the ongoing conciliation process with respect to the dispute between Air India Express management and a section of the cabin crew members, according to a source. Tata Group-owned profit-making Air India Express is in the process of merging loss-making AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. Meanwhile, Air India Express has cancelled over 90 flights since Tuesday night as a section of cabin crew members reported sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline, which said it is working hard to minimise the disruptions. A union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew had filed a complaint before the labour department last year. The union had raised various concerns at the airline, including about room sharing during layovers. The matter is now under the conciliation process as per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. The source on Wednesday told PTI that the ...

Intervene urgently, resolve AI Express strike: Venugopal writes to Scindia

After Air India Express cancelled several domestic and international flights in the wake of its crew strike, Congress leader K C Venugopal on Wednesday sought immediate intervention of Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and called for urgent measures to ensure the passengers are not affected. In a letter to Scindia, Venugopal said the flight cancellations are causing agony to fellow citizens, especially those going to the Middle East. He said Air India Express is a low cost airline that is essential to connect our hardworking middle class workers across the world to their homeland. "When 80+ flights are cancelled due to employees' strikes, it causes huge agony to our fellow citizens, especially those in the Middle East. Wrote to the Ministry of Civil Aviation to intervene urgently and resolve the strike and restore regular Air India Express flights at the earliest," Venugopal said in a post on X while sharing his letter. "I am writing to bring to your kind attention the .

Air India Express to curtail flights amid cabin crew shortage: CEO Singh

Air India Express will curtail flights for the next few days to cope with non-availability of crew members, its CEO Aloke Singh said on Wednesday as the airline has been forced to cancel more than 90 flights due to cabin crew members reporting sick. In a message to the airline's staff, Singh said since last evening, more than 100 cabin crew members have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, "at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations". More than 90 flights have been disrupted due to the situation, he added. "The disruptions have cascaded across the network, forcing us to curtail the schedules over the next few days. We had to do this to cope with the non-availability of crew and to recover schedules," Singh said. Tata Group-owned Air India Express operates around 360 flights daily in the ongoing summer schedule that started in late March.

Air India Express flights cancelled. Know why

Air India Express staff express 'growing discontent' in letter to chairman

The letter from the Air India Express employees union follows a mass sick leave by Air India cabin crew earlier today which left at least 86 flights cancelled

Air India Express says no recognition of workers' union amid crew protest

The statement comes hours after the airline cancelled some 26 flights and delayed 81 due to last-minute sick calls by some cabin crew members

Kerala airports see protests against AI Express' last minute cancellations

Protests by irate passengers were witnessed at all airports in Kerala on Wednesday against the last minute cancellation of their Air India Express flights. Passengers, mostly travelling to the Gulf nations, claimed that they were informed about the flight cancellations after they completed their security check and were waiting to board the flight. While Air India Express has offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, passengers are not happy with that. Many of them claimed that they could lose their jobs if they do not reach their place of work today, while some others' work visas are about to expire. One woman, who was to travel from Kannur to Sharjah with twin babies and her husband, said she has to rejoin work on May 9, but Air India Express was offering her a flight from Kochi only on May 10. "What would be the point in me travelling on May 10? If I do not reach there before May 9, my boss will say not to come and I will lose my job," she told ...

Section of A-I Express staff flag concerns, allege mismanagement at airline

A grouping of Air India Express cabin crew has alleged that the airline is being mismanaged and there is a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff. The airline is part of the Tata Group and is in the process of merging AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India with itself). Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), which represents a section of the airline's cabin crew members, on April 26 wrote a letter addressed to Tata Group and Air India Chairman N Chandrasekaran. Copies have been marked to Air India Express CEO Aloke Singh and others. The registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members, mostly seniors, has alleged that mismanagement of the affairs has affected the morale of the employees. It has also claimed that Air India Express employees who were interviewed for internal job postings for higher ranks were offered lower job positions even after clearing the interviews. Queries sent to Air India Express on April 26 regarding the letter remained ..

Air India-Vistara merger: Tata Sons moves up deadline to year-end

Air India and Vistara have reached out to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and initiated the process of merging their operational manuals

Air India Express offers discounted tickets to young first-time voters

The deal is available to first-time voters aged between 18 and 22, who have a valid voter ID and are travelling to or from airports near their respective home constituencies

AI code now on Air India Express's flights, Vistara later: Campbell Wilson

An airline's designator code is used for quick identification in flight reservations, ticketing, and baggage handling, making travel processes smoother and more efficient

Air India saves costs by taking insurance cover for merged entity

The insurance cover has been provided by a consortium of Indian insurance companies including Tata AIG General Insurance

Air India operationalises five new contact centres to assist customers

Air India has operationalised five new contact centres, including in Cairo and Kuala Lumpur, to provide assistance to its customers worldwide. The Tata Group-owned airline has partnered with Concentrix, a California-headquartered customer engagement firm, to manage premium services from centres in Mumbai, Cairo, and Kuala Lumpur. Besides, the carrier has signed up iEnergizer to operate contact centres in Noida and Bengaluru, focusing on domestic inquiries, a release said on Friday. Recently, Air India introduced a premium desk for its premium frequent flyer members as well as business and first-class guests. In the release, the airline said it has implemented a comprehensive back-office insourcing strategy to manage emails, social media, and chat support internally to assist the customers. "A 24/7 grievance management desk promptly addresses all customer queries, escalations and provides round-the-clock support," it added.

IndiGo aircraft brushes wings of Air India Express plane at Kolkata airport

An IndiGo aircraft grazed the wings of an Air India Express plane at the Kolkata airport on Wednesday, leaving wings of both aircraft damaged, officials said. The IndiGo flight was headed to Darbhanga, while the Air India Express plane was scheduled to leave for Chennai. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has launched a probe and de-rostered two IndiGo pilots involved in the incident, a senior DGCA official said. Both aircraft had passengers on board at the time of the accident but no injuries have been reported. Air India in a statement said the aircraft has returned to the bay and further investigations are underway. "The wingtip of a taxiing aircraft of another airline grazed one of our aircraft, which was stationary and awaiting clearance to enter the runway at Kolkata for a scheduled operation to Chennai," an Air India Express spokesperson said in a statement. The aircraft has since returned to the bay and further investigation is underway, "for which we are ..

Air India Express to operate non-stop flights to Kochi, Imphal from Kolkata

Air India Express, a subsidiary of Air India, is all set to begin non-stop flights to Imphal and Kochi from Kolkata this April, an airline official said. "The flights to Imphal will operate daily, while those to Kochi will fly six days a week," he said. The flight from Kolkata to Imphal will depart at 7 am and will reach in Manipur capital at 8.05 am. The return flight will depart at 8.35 am and arrive in Kolkata at 10.20 am, he said. The Kolkata-Kochi flight will take off at 11.25am and reach the destination at 2.35pm, while the return flight will leave at 3.05pm and land here at 6.10pm. The airline through route integration will be operating more flights on various domestic routes, sources said. Meanwhile, the airline has recently announced introduction of four fare products - Xpress Lite (cabin baggage only fares), Xpress Value (15 kg check-in bag fares), Xpress Flex (unlimited changes with no change fees), and Xpress Biz (business class seating with complimentary Gourmair meal

Air India Express looking to operate 40% more flights next fiscal

Low-cost carrier Air India Express is looking to operate 40 per cent more flights next fiscal on the back of fleet expansion, sources said on Wednesday. At the same time, the airline will focus more on consolidating on the domestic routes and will not be adding many destinations, while the international network may see some marginal increase, said the sources aware of the developments. Air India Express currently operates 350 daily flights and has a fleet of 69 planes. It has some 1,300 pilots, including 400 of AirAsia India and another 400 on training. Express will commence flights to Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka during the forthcoming summer schedule, as per the sources. They also said that Air India Express will complete acquisition of its 50 white tail Boeing 737 Max plane order by December this year, of which it has already inducted 13-14 planes so far. Sources also say that the airline is expected to complete the merger of AirAsia India with it by the second quarter if t

Scindia, Adityanath flag off A-I Express flight connecting Ayodhya-Kolkata

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister flagged off an Air India Express flight connecting Ayodhya to Kolkata on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, Scindia said under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adityanath, Uttar Pradesh has touched new heights of development. "Uttar Pradesh is a state that ensures India's progress. We celebrated Diwali in November last year. Meanwhile, the people of my state (Madhya Pradesh) also celebrated Diwali on December 3 after the Assembly poll results were declared. Now, we will celebrate another Diwali on January 22," he said. The consecration ceremony of the Ram temple in Ayodhya is scheduled to be held on January 22. In his address via video-conferencing, Adityanath said, "The Ram mandir Pran Pratishtha ceremony will be held on January 22 and the entire country is excited about the event." "People are eagerly planning to visit Ayodhya. Four or five years ago, nobody could have thought

Boeing asks airlines to inspect 737 MAX planes for possible loose hardware

Boeing has recommended airlines to conduct an inspection of their B737 Max fleet, after an international operator discovered a bolt with a missing nut while performing routine maintenance. In a statement, Boeing said the issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied. In India three airlines -- Akasa Air, SpiceJet and Air India Express -- have B737 Max planes in their fleet. Earlier on Thursday, the US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a statement, saying it was closely monitoring "targetted inspection," of Boeing 737 Max planes for a possible loose bolt in the rudder control system. "The issue identified on the particular airplane has been remedied. Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending operators inspect their 737 MAX airplanes and inform us of any findings," Boeing said in the statement. The aircraft maker said it has informed the FAA and will continue to keep the regulator aware of the progress. Queries sent to Akasa

Air India Express to operate its inaugural flight to Ayodhya on Dec 30

Air India Express will operate its inaugural flight to Ayodhya from the national capital on December 30 and will commence scheduled daily service on the route from January 16. The Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram International Airport at Ayodhya has an extended runway suitable for A-321/B-737 type aircraft operations. In a release on Wednesday, Air India Express said the inaugural flight IX 2789 on December 30 is scheduled to depart from Delhi at 1100 hours and land in Ayodhya at 1220 hours. From Ayodhya, IX 1769 is scheduled to depart for Delhi at 1250 hours and arrive at 1410 hours. "Air India Express is excited to commence operations from Ayodhya right after the airport opens. This underlines our commitment to enhancing connectivity from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across the country," the airline's Managing Director Aloke Singh said. The airline, a subsidiary of Air India, operates more than 300 flights daily. It has a fleet of 59 aircraft. On December 14, aviation regulator DGCA iss

Union labour ministry issues show cause notice to Air India Express

The Union labour ministry has issued a show cause notice to Tata Group-owned Air India Express for alleged violation of regulations with respect to certain disputes with the airline's management and cabin crew members, according to sources. Many cabin crew members have raised concerns, including about room sharing during layovers. In this regard, a complaint was filed before the labour department and the matter is under conciliation as per the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. A query sent to Air India Express seeking comments regarding the show cause notice remained unanswered. The airline, which was taken over by the Tata Group in January last year, implemented certain policies that were under the conciliation process, as per the sources. The show cause notice has been issued alleging that the carrier changed the service conditions of the workmen during the pendency of the conciliation proceedings under the labour law regarding the disputes. The show cause notice has been issued as