Rats on a plane force Air India to ground aircraft

Air India has been forced to ground one of its planes after crew spotted rats scurrying around the cabin, The Times of India reported on Tuesday. The plane was on its way from New Delhi to Calcutta when staff became aware of the infestation, the paper said.

"Rats on board an aircraft can lead to a catastrophe if they start chewing up electric wires," the paper quoted an unnamed airline official as saying. "If that happens, pilots will have no control on any system on board leading to a disaster."

No one at the airline was immediately available for comment, but an Air India official speaking on condition of anonymity said rats on planes were a "common phenomenon" worldwide and could "get in anywhere". The official added, "They follow the catering vans into the plane when they smell the food."

It is not the first time that India's loss-making carrier has suffered a rodent infestation.
Rats reportedly delayed a domestic flight from Mumbai by almost two hours in February, and in 2009 a flight to Toronto was delayed for 11 hours as staff tried to catch rats.

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Air India pares loss but no privatisation on horizon

State-run carrier Air India has pared its losses thanks to a better all-round performance, but the new right-wing government has no plans to privatise the flagship airline, a statement said.

Air India, once the country's monopoly airline, now holds just 20 per cent of the passenger market as once-loyal travellers fly nimbler private-sector rivals in the midst of cut-throat price wars.

Air India's net loss narrowed to 53.8 billion rupees ($894 million) in the financial year to March 31, from a loss of 54.9 billion rupees a year earlier, junior civil aviation minister G M Siddeswara told parliament in a statement late on Tuesday.

Siddeswara added that there were no plans to sell off Air India "under consideration", despite proposals by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government to increase privatisation revenues generally to cut a yawning fiscal deficit.

Analysts have long cited Air India as a problem for the government which is dependent on taxpayer funds.

Showing a strong improvement, the airline's operating loss narrowed to 21.20 billion rupees from 38 billion rupees in 2012-13 and 51.40 billion rupees in 2011-2012.

The operating result gives the clearest guide to performance, showing operating expenses against sales revenue, stripping out one-off income or spending.

All but one of India's main half-dozen carriers, Indigo, are losing money, smarting from fare rivalry, high fuel costs and hefty debts.

The government in 2012 gave the carrier a $5.85-billion bailout package.

Air India, which hasn't reported an annual profit since 2007, has "shown improvement in its financial parameters" since the government bailout, the minister said.

Air India has been keen to improve its reputation after a string of recent technical glitches, including last weekend when an India-bound flight from New Jersey in the US was forced to return when an engine caught fire.

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Air India joins global aviation alliance

Air India has joined the Star Alliance network of global airlines seven years after its first attempt, the Indian government announced Tuesday, in a major boost for the loss-making state-run carrier.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju told reporters in New Delhi that Air India would increase its revenue by about five percent by entering the alliance which includes Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines and Air Canada.

"It is a new beginning for Air India and we wish they fly higher than they have already flown," said Raju, according to the PTI news agency.

The deal is expected to be formalised next month and will give Air India access to the 26-member alliance's network, which covers more than 1,300 destinations.

The Star Alliance of global airlines shares a fleet of more than 4,000 aircraft serving an estimated 640 million passengers annually with over 22,000 daily flights.

Negotiations started in 2007 but hit a roadblock three years ago when Air India failed to meet the minimum joining requirements.

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Boeing says talks with India's Jet on 'right' track

Aviation giant Boeing said on Thursday talks appeared on track for the multi-billion-dollar sale of its 737 MAX planes to India's Jet Airways, a day after sealing a major transaction with another domestic carrier.

Sale discussions with Jet -- India's leading premium carrier -- "are probably moving in the right direction", Boeing senior vice president Dinesh Keskar said on Thursday.

Keskar declined further comment on the status of the talks with Jet, a longstanding Boeing customer in which Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways recently picked up a 24 per cent stake.

Discussions were also under way with state-run Air India about the sale of the single-aisle 737 MAX jets but they could take far longer to come to any conclusion, Keskar said by telephone from an airshow in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.

"Jet and Air India are obviously candidates for the MAX," said Keskar, speaking after Boeing sealed a $4.4-billion order on Wednesday from fourth-place no-frills carrier SpiceJet for 42 of the MAX jets, a more fuel-efficient version of the widely used 737s.

Boeing's talks with Jet involve the sale of 50 MAX planes with a total list price of around $5 billion, according to local media reports, but bulk orders always command discounts.

With Air India, "right now, we are working on delivery of the Dreamliner and working out issues", Keskar said.

Air India has ordered 27 of the high-tech 787 Dreamliners from Chicago-based Boeing and so far received 13, which have been hit by a string of technical snags.

The Press Trust of India reported Air India might seek compensation for the Dreamliners because it found the planes less fuel efficient than it expected, in addition to undisclosed compensation the airline has already received for delivery delays.

All major Indian airlines, except leading budget carrier IndiGo, are haemorrhaging red ink amid price wars and a sharply slowing economy.

But the sector still is in high-growth mode thanks to vast, untapped potential and a growing middle class and will need a huge number of new planes, experts say.

According to aviation consultancy CAPA, Indian airlines are expected to order a combined 400 planes this year -- over double the number now in service with the five national carriers.

"We've just touched the tip of the aviation iceberg," said Amber Dubey, global consultancy KPMG's India aerospace head, noting "access to aviation is still a dream for nearly 99.5 per cent" of India's 1.2 billion population.

Boeing in a report earlier on Thursday projected demand for over 1,600 new airplanes in India during the next 20 years, valued at $205 billion.

"India's demographics are highly favourable to growth of air transportation" while "the share of India's large population entering the workforce is growing,"Keskar said.

Boeing projects passenger airlines in India will rely primarily on single-aisle planes such as the Next-Generation 737 and the 737 MAX to link cities.

European rival Airbus said in a separate forecast India's carriers will need 1,290 new passenger aircraft valued at $190 billion between now and 2032 to satisfy surging demand.

Indian annual passenger traffic growth rates of 8.6 per cent are well above the regional Asia-Pacific average growth rate of 6.1 per cent and the world average of 4.7 per cent, Airbus noted.

The manufacturers' reports were released to coincide with the five-day air show which winds up this weekend.

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India "disappointed" after US downgrades air safety ranking

US aviation authorities have downgraded India's safety ranking in a "disappointing" and "surprising" move that will hit air links between the countries, India's aviation minister said on Friday.

The US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded India after conducting an audit last year of the country's aviation regulator that found 31 issues of safety concern, a ministry statement said.

The issues include the need for more and better trained full-time inspectors employed by the regulator tasked with carrying out safety checks on all types of aircraft and helicopters in India, it said.

"They have downgraded us to category 2. It is very disappointing and also surprising," Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said at a press conference in New Delhi.

The FAA has "determined that India at this time is not in compliance with the international standards for aviation safety oversight," according to FAA notes given to Indian regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The rating downgrade brings India below Pakistan and on a par with countries like Bangladesh, Ghana and Indonesia, according to FAA.

The downgrading effectively bars Air India and Jet Airways from increasing flights to the US, and additional safety checks will now be imposed on existing flights to the United States, the FAA's website shows.

Currently, Air India has 21 flights to the US per week while Jet Airway flies seven.

Indian airlines will also have to snap ties with US airlines, according to the website, but DGCA chief Prabhat Kumar said the downgrade would not affect the code-share agreement.

Jet has a code-share agreement with United Airlines currently, while Air India is joining Star Alliance.

Singh said 95 per cent of issues raised by the FAA have been resolved, while the remainder were expected to be resolved by March, adding it was the first time India had suffered a downgrade.

"They (FAA) should have based their decision on the situation now," said Singh, adding that the FAA's downgrade was based on air safety in September.
Diplomatic spat

The downgrade is the latest controversy between the US and India, which are attempting to put diplomatic relations back on track after outrage in December over the arrest and strip search of an Indian envoy in New York.

The envoy, Devyani Khobragade, was arrested on charges of visa fraud involving her domestic servant and lying about how much she paid her. Khobragande denied any wrongdoing and eventually returned to India after a deal was struck between the two nations to mend their relations.

In a bid to head off the downgrade, the government announced two days ago that 75 new positions would be created in the DGCA to carry out safety inspections.

"This is an important step that will aid in India regaining its former Category 1 status in the future," the FAA said in its notes to the DCGA and released by the minister.

"The United States Government commends the Indian government for taking these important actions and looks forward to continued progress by Indian authorities," the FAA said.

India's aviation sector has grown enormously in the last decade, as the 1.2-billion population becomes more affluent, boosting the number of international and domestic passengers.

But the sector has been hit in the past by safety scandals, including over fake pilots flying with fake qualifications in 2001.

Police made several arrests over the scandal involving cases of pilots exaggerating their flying time while training and other irregularities.

In one such case, a captain who made several bad landings was found to have submitted faked paperwork to gain her licence.

Experts said they expected the downgrade as the aviation regulator had failed to address earlier FAA warnings in a given period of time.

"The decision of the FAA to downgrade is both embarrassing and disgraceful... but one could see it coming," former Air India executive director Jitendra Bhargava told AFP. "The DGCA should take this as a wake up call."

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Air India to start talks on joining Star Alliance

Star Alliance has lifted the suspension on Air India's entry into the global airline body, the national carrier said on Friday, bringing hopes for the loss-making airline to expand its global presence even as its margins are getting squeezed in the domestic market.

"With this decision, final process for eventual entry of Air India has begun. Once the airline becomes a member, Air India passengers will enjoy enormous benefits, including seamless transfers while travelling across the world, more frequent flyer mileage points, code sharing leading to a wider choice of flights and access to facilities at over 1,000 lounges worldwide," said the carrier in a statement.

 "The market in India is now showing signs of stabilisation. Today we see an Air India which has successfully completed its merger with Indian Airlines and is building up a new fleet that forms the basis for a much improved level of service. This is why we believe the time is now right to recommence the integration process," said Mark Schwab, CEO of Star Alliance, after the board meeting.

"The re-integration process will begin now. There have been some fresh requirements brought into the structure since 2011. We will have to do a gap analysis to integrate with the system," said Pankaj Srivastava, director commercial at Air India.

The 28-member alliance's network offers 21,900 daily flights to 1,328 airports in 195 countries. It is the world's biggest airline alliance with a 12.9% share of the global airline market, according to data from Sydney-based CAPA-Centre for Aviation.

Air India's entry into the alliance is crucial for the airline to take on the massive competition from international carriers such as Etihad Airways which recently announced a doubling of its flights to India, under enhanced bilateral rights between India and Abu Dhabi.

Etihad has bought a 24% stake in Jet Airways, India's second-largest carrier by market share. Jet Airways too plans to connect 23 cities to Abu Dhabi.

The country is also set to enhance bilateral rights with Qatar, which means Qatar Airways too will significantly enhance capacity to India gaining a large share of its international traffic.

China, Dubai and Bahrain, too, have sought an increase in bilateral seat entitlements.

Moreover Singapore Airlines and AirAsia are also setting local carriers in India and may seek international flying rights.

The government is looking at relaxing its current rule under which a domestic carrier has to complete five years of domestic operations and have a fleet of 20 planes in order to be eligible for flying overseas.

Back home, Air India's margins have been hit by high input costs, slow traffic growth, cutthroat competition and its own problems of an inflated salary bill and the interest burden of an earlier plane purchase worth $15 billion.

The carrier has been making losses since 2007 after it was merged with erstwhile state-run domestic carrier Indian Airlines and has been over the last few years surviving largely on cash handouts from the government.

The airline recently gave an extension to its former director Deepak Brara to spearhead the airline's pitch to become a member of the alliance.

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Air India Dreamliner windshield cracks while landing

An Air India Dreamliner windshield cracked while landing in Australia, an airline official said on Monday, the latest in a string of mishaps the aircraft has suffered in recent times.

The Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney-Delhi flight, carrying 74 passengers, developed a crack late Sunday while landing in Melbourne city, Air India spokesman Praveen Bhatnagar told AFP Monday.

"The cockpit windscreen developed a crack while landing. It was a small incident. The windscreen has already been replaced," said Bhatnagar, adding that there was no risk to the safety of passengers.

While all passengers were transferred on Sunday to another flight to Delhi, Air India flew in a new windshield from India to replace the cracked one.

Air India Dreamliner touched down in Australia in September after a 16-year gap, marking the resumption of direct flights to Australia.

However, the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet has been suffering technical glitches of late, including an incident where the fuselage panel of a jet fell off last month while landing in the southern city of Bangalore.

The Dreamliner has encountered several serious difficulties since entering operation two years ago, especially with its batteries, causing the entire fleet to be grounded for about four months earlier this year.

But Air India dismissed any claims of technical glitches on the Melbourne-bound flight.

"It was no aircraft glitch. This may have happened due to rapid change in temperatures or some other particles on the windscreen while landing," said Bhatnagar.

Scandinavian operator Norwegian Air Shuttle has also criticised the plane's reliability after it found a flaw in the electrical system.

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Air India set to resume Dreamliner flights

India's national carrier is set to resume flights of the Dreamliner aircraft next week, an airline source said on Wednesday, after the regulator gave the green light following safety modifications.

Air India owns six Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which Indian regulators had grounded from January 17 in line with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advisory to cease flying the aircraft.

"We have started test flights today. Commercial flights are set to start next week," an Air India official said Wednesday, declining to be named, adding that international flights may start by the third week of May.

World regulators grounded all 50 operating Dreamliners after a fire aboard a parked Japan Airlines 787 in January and a smoking battery that forced the emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787 the same month.

The FAA approved Boeing's new battery system design last month, which allowed airlines around the world to begin modifying the Dreamliner planes.

On Tuesday, India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation gave the go-ahead to the planes after a joint meeting of officials from Air India and Dreamliner-maker Boeing.

"We have allowed them to fly," the DGCA chief Arun Mishra told AFP, adding that he was "satisfied" with the technical reports and modifications made in the jet's battery systems, which were initially identified as a concern.

Air India bought 27 Dreamliners as part of a multi-billion-dollar deal in 2005. It received the first plane last September and now has six, with the remaining 21 due to arrive by 2016.

Boeing has insisted that its Dreamliners are safe.

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Another airline is bringing the Dreamliner back into the skies. Let's hope everything goes well

Air India pilot, crew suspended over mid-air "distraction"

State-run carrier Air India said on Saturday it had suspended a pilot and two female flight attendants after a passenger jet's autopilot system was accidentally switched off "due to distraction".

The event occurred on an Air India Airbus flight to New Delhi from Bangkok last month carrying over 160 passengers and followed a series of other safety-related incidents involving the airline.

Air India denied media reports the pilot and co-pilot had taken a 40-minute cockpit break to snooze in business class seats and left two attendants in their places to operate the plane in their absence.

But it did say the pilot and two air hostesses had been suspended pending the outcome of an investigation and that the two airline attendants had overstayed the allowed length of time in the cockpit.

There was an "overstay of the cabin crew in the cockpit," the airline said, and "due to distraction the co-pilot had touched the autopilot disconnect button momentarily, but the same was connected back".

The airline did not reveal the nature of the distraction but the Times of India newspaper quoted an unnamed Air India source as saying the crew members' actions had "made a mockery of air safety".

Indian media reports alleged the pilots were giving the flight attendants flying lessons.

"At no point of time was the cockpit left unattended by the cockpit crew," the airline statement added.

Earlier this year, Air India suspended a senior pilot caught drunk just before he was to fly a passenger aircraft. Also in the last few years, authorities have discovered at least half a dozen Indian pilots flying aircraft using faked documents, including an Air India pilot.

Air India is the country's fourth-largest airline by market share and has been hit hard by rising fuel prices and fierce competition from private carriers that have added to its legacy of labour problems and crushing debts.

In March, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN aviation watchdog, expressed grave concerns about India's air safety, placing it among the 13 worst-performing nations.

An investigation into the auto-pilot incident is being carried out by India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

"Following a safety violation, the airline has already suspended the people in question," said the agency.

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Lazy pilots don't deserve to be pilots. They take safety for granted and did not spare a thought for the safety of paying passengers in the cabin. This is very irresponsible and totally broke the conduct of being a professional aviator.

Air India flew Dreamliners despite grounding order: official

India's national carrier Air India flew two Dreamliner aircraft without passengers even after US regulators grounded the global fleet last month due to technical problems, an official said on Monday.

The Boeing aircraft owned by Air India were allowed to fly from New Delhi to Mumbai for maintenance reasons, said Arun Mishra, director general of India's civil aviation regulator.

"They did not carry any passengers, just two pilots were allowed inside each aircraft and we only gave them the permission to fly because the company was paying very high parking charges at the Delhi airport," said Mishra, declining to say when the flights were made.

Air India did not respond to calls by AFP.

Indian regulators had grounded Air India's six Dreamliner jets on January 17 in line with the US Federal Aviation Administration's advisory to cease flying the aircraft.

Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had demanded that US giant Boeing compensate the ailing Air India after the grounding order.

Air India and Boeing had earlier concluded negotiations for an undisclosed sum in compensation over a four-year delay in delivery of the Dreamliner to India because of production problems at the company.

Indian officials had said they were seeking up to US$1 billion in compensation for the delays but neither side has disclosed whether the money has been paid.

Air India bought 27 Dreamliners as part of a 2005 multi-billion-dollar deal.

It received the first plane last September and now has six, with the remaining 21 due to arrive by 2016.

Boeing's troubled next-generation model has suffered a series of glitches, although Boeing insists the plane is safe.

World regulators grounded all 50 operating Dreamliners after a fire aboard a parked Japan Airlines 787 on January 7 and a smoking battery that forced the emergency landing of an All Nippon Airways 787 on January 16.

Investigations continue into what caused the potentially catastrophic battery meltdown.

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Maintenance and high parking costs forced the airline to fly their aircraft from New Delhi to Mumbai with two pilots and no passengers. I wonder how much "risk allowance" they paid the pilots to fly the problematic Dreamliners.