by Devesh Agarwal Through non-official channels a promotional video by Air India of their new Boeing 787. Now that the airline has a new toy to play with, all the 777s procured just a few years ago lie forgotten and rotting on the tarmac. Read my op-ed piece here. You can also see our cabin…
by Devesh Agarwal The announcement that AirAsia is joining hands with the Tatas and Bhatias with the intention to start a new airline in India will put the a significant policy dilemma in front of the Government of India related to foreign direct investment (FDI) in civil aviation by foreign airlines, and might just land-up…
The past couple of years have not been kind to the global aviation industry. Whether it’s the European union implementing a misguided carbon taxation scheme, the Indian government crushing its nascent airline industry under the weight of oppressive regulations and heavy fuel taxation, increased “NIMBY” (not-in-my-backyard : a term used to describe local residents who…
Late last week, a report published in the Business Standard suggested that India’s erstwhile Ministry of Civil Aviation may finally loosen its rules governing Air Service Agreements (ASAs – or bilateral) by removing the aircraft type clauses from such agreements and restricting only seats, frequencies, and route pairs allowed. What this means in effect, is…
After much delay Air India has finally taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft. The airline has taken out full page advertisements in most major newspapers across the nation, extolling the virtues of the aircraft. There are many short-comings at the airline that need correcting. The most important being political and bureaucratic meddling…
The topic of the week is the on-going pilot’s strike at national carrier Air India by members of the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) which began last month on the 7th making this strike almost a month old. The strike has caused estimated losses exceeding Rs.350 Crore ($64 million) to airline. This at a time when…
The newly travelling youngsters may not have the pathos, but the Maharaja of national carrier Air India is a brand cherished by most persons of my age, with ties to India. We remember, with pride, the fact that Air India was the first all jet airline in the world; one of the earliest adopters of…
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