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Air India to set up a maintenance base in Thiruvananthapruam
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Air India flies high in D&B India’s Top 500 Companies 2006
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Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone of Air India’s maintenance base near Thiruvananthapuram Airport on a 15 acre plot which was gifted to the airline by the Kerala government free of cost. The project is estimated to cost approximately 50 crore and would be completed in 18 months post the commencement of construction.
The foundation stone was laid in the presence of R.L. Bhatia, the governor of Kerala, V.S. Achuthanandan, chief minister of Kerala, A.K. Antony, Minister for Defence, Vayalar Ravi, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs and Praful Patel, Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
Air India plans to construct this state of the art hangar primarily to service the B 737-800 aircraft in its fleet, which is operated by Air India Express, its budget airline. Air India Express has 55 flights out of Kerala to various destinations in the Gulf. It has a fleet of seven aircraft and is planning to induct 18 new modern 737-800 Boeing aircraft.
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Air India has been ranked first as per Total Income in the Aviation Sector for the 2006 edition of the acclaimed Dun & Bradstreet publication, India’s Top 500 Companies.
India’s Top 500 Companies 2006 includes private sector companies listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as well as public sector enterprises. The private sector companies have been shortlisted on the basis of their market capitalisation. The listed companies profiled account for over 75 per cent of the BSE market cap while the total income of the Top 500 accounts for 50 per cent of India’s GDP. Another feature is the sectoral classification of companies based on revenues. A company should generate at least 35 per cent of its revenue from a particular sector in order to be classified under that sector.
The companies are rated after a thorough research by the D&B analyst team that developed a proprietary financial model with seven parameters viz Total Income, Net Profit, Net Worth, Net Profit Margin, Net Profit/Net Worth, Growth in Total Income and Growth in Net Profit.
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Air India Express adds seventh frequency to Singapore |
Maharajah gears up to tackle winter fog |
Air India Express, India’s only international budget airline and a fully-owned subsidiary of Air India, has decided to add two new frequencies on the Chennai-Singapore-Chennai route effective 18 December, thereby operating seven weekly frequencies. With this, the Chennai-Singapore and return routes will now have daily flights operating to and from Singapore’s Changi Airport.
This service was initially started with five weekly services on 29 October, and has since then become a popular choice among passengers in Chennai and Singapore. The increase in frequencies is in response to the increasing demand for daily flights and to provide for the growing business ties between the two countries as well as to boost tourism, which has seen a steady increase in the recent past.
Air India Express flights departing from Chennai and Singapore will follow standardised departure and arrival times. The flight will depart from Chennai at 11:55 hrs and arrive at Singapore at 18:20 hrs. The return flight will depart at 19:25 hrs and arrive in Chennai at 20:50 hrs.
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Air India has geared up for the upcoming fog problem that airlines face in winters in the northern region. It will reschedule a few of its flights in order to minimise inconvenience to passengers. The rescheduling is as follows:
· US Flights: There is no change in the flight schedule.
· UK & Canada: The Delhi/Dhaka/Kolkata/London flights will originate from Mumbai. Inbound flights from the UK will, however, operate from Delhi and terminate in Mumbai. The Toronto bound flight via Amritsar and Birmingham will originate and terminate in Mumbai omitting Delhi in both directions.
· East bound Flights: Seoul and Osaka bound flights originating from Mumbai via Delhi and Hong Kong will depart an hour earlier than the original scheduled time. The Mumbai/Delhi/Bangkok/Shanghai flights will operate 3 hrs and 15 minutes behind schedule.
· S.E. Asia: The AI-480/481 will operate on Sunday and Thursday instead of Monday and Friday in order to connect to the Dubai bound flight AI-747/746 departing from Delhi.
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AIR-INDIA
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Best International West Bound Airline out of India for the 2nd consecutive year
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Maharaja welcomes the new member in his family
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Air India has been awarded the “Best International West Bound Airline out of India” for the second consecutive year by Galileo Express Travel World Awards 2006 in New Delhi. The Special Category Award recognises the Most Significant Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative (CSR) taken by an organisation.
The Galileo Express Travel World Awards are conferred on all those in the Indian travel and tourism industry who aspire to reach the ultimate pinnacle of proven expertise. This year, Air India also adds an addiditional feather in the cap by being the recipient of the award in the Special Category (CSR). These CSR initiatives are in the areas of environmental conservation, social welfare, education and community development among others.
The Galileo Express Travel World Awards is now in the fourth edition this year. Twenty-two awards, against seventeen last year, were announced. Constant feedback and popular demand from the industry has seen the introduction of these five new award categories.
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Air-India today celebrated the delivery of the first of its planned order of 68 Boeing jetliners at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. The Boeing Next Generation 737-800 commercial jetliner arrived amidst traditional Indian revelry and the august presence of Praful Patel, Minister of State for Civil Aviation (Independent charge) and senior Air India officials.
The digitally designed Boeing 737-800 NG jetliner is part of the largest commercial airplane order in India’s civil aviation history placed by Air India in December 2005. The aircraft will join the existing fleet of B 737-800’s of Air-India Express, a low-cost airline subsidiary of Air India.
Speaking on the occasion V. Thulasidas, chairman and managing director, Air India, said “The arrival of the plane is a significant landmark for Air India and is befitting that it coincides with the 75 year celebrations of Air India’s glorious service. The 737’s reliability, low operating costs and passenger comfort will provide value for both the airline and its customers.”
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| Air India welcomes second aircraft for Air India Express fleet |
Air India signs agreement with Alteon |
Air-India has received the second Boeing 737-800 aircraft which will be inducted into the fleet of its low cost subsidiary, Air India Express.
The first aircraft was inducted on December 6, 2006. This increases the fleet size of Air India Express to nine aircraft, seven of which are on lease.
Commenting on the fleet expansion, P.P Singh, COO Air India Charters Ltd, said, “With the induction of this aircraft into the fleet, Air India Express can now commence operations between Bahrain, Doha and Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode from January 2007.”
As in the past, the tail designs are an innovative and novel feature of Air India Express aircraft. This aircraft has the designs of Solah Singar—a miniature painting depicting 16 traditional ways of decorating the Indian Bride on one side; and Ragini Todi—a miniature painting depicting one raga of Indian classical music and its soothing effect on the environment, especially flora and fauna, on the other side. |
Air India has signed an agreement with Alteon Training, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Boeing Company. Alteon will deliver a Boeing 737NG simulator to Air India’s facility in Mumbai. The agreement was signed by P.P.Singh, chief operating officer, Air India Charters Ltd, and Christina Bohl of Alteon. The simulator will be used primarily to support the operations of Air India Express.
“At Air India, we are rapidly expanding our fleet to meet the increasing demands of air travel in India and we have been working closely with Alteon to identify and develop the most suitable training solutions for our new airplane orders,” said T.T. Manilal, general manager-training of Air India. “We are pleased with the creative solutions Alteon is providing us so that pilots and crew will be well trained and ready to operate the new aircraft in a safe and efficient manner.”
“Air India has committed to a large airplane order consisting mostly of Boeing 777s and Boeing 787s and Boeing 737NGs and Alteon has been working closely with them to ensure that we continue to satisfy their training needs,” said Sherry Carbary, Alteon president. |
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