Air India News
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Air India News
vin2basketball Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:32 pm
Air India Promotional Pictures
Indian National Carrier Launches with Great Ceremony
May 8th, 1994 Delhi,India
The ceremonial ribbon was cut today at Indira Gandhi International Airport, as Air India opened their $5 billion new Terminal 3. The state of the art terminal has the ability to serve up to 34 million passengers a year. The terminal will be initially leased to Air India by the Indian government, and then transferred to the ownership of the airline by 1995.
Air India's airplanes also got the traditional water jets, as the airline launched its own operations with 3 Boeing 737 aircraft. An initial investment of $50 million was placed in the airline by US Airways.
India's national airline got going in style, with 31 destinations being opened the first month, 8 international and 23 domestic. With a daily traffic flow of 8,040 passengers per day, Air India is already the third largest carrier in the world by passengers carried.
The short haul routes for Air India will be handled by subsidiary Indian Airlines. When asked why they chose such a path, newly appointed CEO Vinay Bhaskara said, "The name Indian Airlines represents a strong brand choice (defunct national airline) that our citizens identify with... Air India, on the other hand, is preferred by our management. So a compromise was struck.
When asked for fleet and revenue guidance, Bhaskara responded, "Initially, the revenues are going to be tough to come by, because the smaller destinations around Delhi are rather low on demand. But profitability will be solid, and we are looking forward to solid growth. The fleet, on the other hand is much easier to predict. We will be using the 737 almost exclusively on short haul routes. We currently have taken options on 25 of the aircraft. Furthermore, we will be able to get planes for a lower price from our good friend Bryce Rea."
The airline also confirmed that they would be joining Star Alliance once it was formed by US Airways.
The Mission of Air India: To serve every Indian destination, and connect Mumbai and Delhi with the world!
Air India's Route Map
"Your Palace in the Sky"- Air India
Indian National Carrier Launches with Great Ceremony
May 8th, 1994 Delhi,India
The ceremonial ribbon was cut today at Indira Gandhi International Airport, as Air India opened their $5 billion new Terminal 3. The state of the art terminal has the ability to serve up to 34 million passengers a year. The terminal will be initially leased to Air India by the Indian government, and then transferred to the ownership of the airline by 1995.
Air India's airplanes also got the traditional water jets, as the airline launched its own operations with 3 Boeing 737 aircraft. An initial investment of $50 million was placed in the airline by US Airways.
India's national airline got going in style, with 31 destinations being opened the first month, 8 international and 23 domestic. With a daily traffic flow of 8,040 passengers per day, Air India is already the third largest carrier in the world by passengers carried.
The short haul routes for Air India will be handled by subsidiary Indian Airlines. When asked why they chose such a path, newly appointed CEO Vinay Bhaskara said, "The name Indian Airlines represents a strong brand choice (defunct national airline) that our citizens identify with... Air India, on the other hand, is preferred by our management. So a compromise was struck.
When asked for fleet and revenue guidance, Bhaskara responded, "Initially, the revenues are going to be tough to come by, because the smaller destinations around Delhi are rather low on demand. But profitability will be solid, and we are looking forward to solid growth. The fleet, on the other hand is much easier to predict. We will be using the 737 almost exclusively on short haul routes. We currently have taken options on 25 of the aircraft. Furthermore, we will be able to get planes for a lower price from our good friend Bryce Rea."
The airline also confirmed that they would be joining Star Alliance once it was formed by US Airways.
The Mission of Air India: To serve every Indian destination, and connect Mumbai and Delhi with the world!
Air India's Route Map
"Your Palace in the Sky"- Air India
vin2basketball- Posts : 48
Join date : 2010-08-16
GoldDragonFly- Posts : 38
Join date : 2010-08-14
Location : London, United Kingdom
Re: Air India News
vin2basketball Fri Aug 20, 2010 10:20 am
Air India Spreads Its Wings; Announces Bold Plan for the Future
August 8th, 1994 Singapore
Air India Group CEO Vinay Bhaskara stood on the grounds of Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi International Airport as he gave a press conference to celebrate the opening of the direct link between India and Singapore, formed upon the delivery of Air India's newest 737-300, which was brokered by partner airline USAir's brokerage division. The route marks the first direct connection between the two Asian members of Star Alliance; Air India and Singapore Airlines. The two airlines also announced a far reaching codeshare agreement, which covers every route operated by Air India and its subsidiaries, and the same for Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir.
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/0/5/1/1414150.jpg" alt="" />www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/7/7/1/1748177.jpg" alt="" />The new route was just one of many announced by Bhaskara today, as he unveiled to the world the new "Jai Hind" route planning strategy. The first phase of his strategy was completed today, as the delivery of two additional Boeing 737 aircraft were put to full use, spreading the Air India name to 13 new cities. Pune, Ahmadabad, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and Kolkata were the key destinations on the domestic front, while international cities Kathamandu, Islamabad, Karrachi, Kabul, and Singapore were added as well.
The plan is set up into four additional phases. Phase two will be to continue to expand large domestic and regional international routes. When asked about phase two, Bhaskara responded, "The most important priority right now is getting the links with the important Southern cities like Bengaluru up and running, and spreading to most of the regional destinations. Another priority will be the Middle Eastern destinations, and Southeast Asian ones such as Singapore. These will allow us to convert Delhi and potentially Mumbai as well into regional connecting hubs.
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/4/8/5/1705584.jpg" alt="" />Phase 3 is a rather large one... It involves three things; the setting up of a domestic subsidiary for regional routes, the opening of the Mumbai hub, and the leasing of wide-bodied aircraft to start up the links with the USA. Bhaskara was quite open about the audacity of the plan noting; " It will be very difficult to achieve all 3 parts of the plan at once, which is why we are looking to combine the regional subsidiary with the domestic expansion. The Boeing 747 plan is also difficult to achieve, because we as an airline cannot afford the maintenance on such a large airplane but... we might be able to secure favorable leasing terms with our partner USAir's brokerage division.
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/2/1/0/1760012.jpg" alt="" />He was also pressed over the Mumbai hub, and why he planned to expand there. "Well , he said, you have to look at it from our perspective. Sure we'd love to expand Delhi to a 1000 flight a day hub, but that's just not practical. Delhi is well suited to be a 200-250 flight a day hub, but with our current financial position, expansion is becoming much more pricey. We need to tap into the additional revenue potential in Mumbai, and you all need to understand that. Besides, we do have further expansion plans for both airports."
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/1/6/1/1755161.jpg" alt="" />The announcement of the hub coincided with a separate announcement made earlier today in Delhi, where the carrier opened their new Terminal 2E in Mumbai. The venture, which was the brainchild of Air India Airport Design- the airport operations and design division of Air India, was a smashing success, with the 10 gate terminal becoming the toast of the aviation press, and being featured on the cover of Architecture Weekly. The new venture has reportedly made a profit of over 100 million dollars, and rumors abound over future ventures in the US, EU, and more.
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/0/0/1/1348100.jpg" alt="" />The third and fourth phases were not fully unveiled, but he did hint any hubs in other Asian countries, and potentially the EU and USA
vin2basketball- Posts : 48
Join date : 2010-08-16
Re: Air India News
nikspyker Fri Aug 20, 2010 11:31 am
Excellent news, and great postAir India Group CEO Vinay Bhaskara stood on the grounds of Terminal 3 at Singapore Changi International Airport as he gave a press conference to celebrate the opening of the direct link between India and Singapore, formed upon the delivery of Air India's newest 737-300, which was brokered by partner airline USAir's brokerage division. The route marks the first direct connection between the two Asian members of Star Alliance; Air India and Singapore Airlines. The two airlines also announced a far reaching codeshare agreement, which covers every route operated by Air India and its subsidiaries, and the same for Singapore Airlines and its subsidiary SilkAir.
nikspyker- Posts : 13
Join date : 2010-08-16
Re: Air India News
vin2basketball Thu Aug 26, 2010 9:28 am
Air India Clears Hurdles, Wins Awards, Opens Mumbai Base
Mumbai, India 15th February,1995
Air India CEO Vinay Bhaskara has something very special up on the wall in his new office at the airlines' newly constructed headquarters here in Mumbai; it's the prestigious Cabin Services of the Year Award given to Air India at last month's SkyTrax airline awards banquet. "To me," Bhaskara says, "this is the one award that means the most. At the end of the day, an airline is still a member of the service industry. In their quest to grow ever larger, most airlines in the world seem to forget that; skimping on service. But not Air India. From our soon to fly widebody fleet, down to our smallest regional turboprops, Air India focuses on quality customer service first, then worries about making money. Skytrax awarding us this particular award is just a confirmation of that."
Air India also opened up their long rumored Mumbai hub, but so far only regional flights have showed. There are services to 34 Indian destinations, but outside of Delhi and perhaps Pune, there's nothing to the major cities of India. The airline is based at Terminal 2E, which has its own personal Emperor's Lounge. We caught up with Raj Chaupati, an airline industry analyst, to ask him what he thought of the move. "Air India is making a smart play here, by hedging its bets. The intercontinental corporate travel in India is very much split between Delhi and Mumbai, and as such, Air India needs to capture as much of that travel as it can get."
In fact on the intercontinental front, Bhaskara had two pieces of exciting news to share. "We have just placed the very first down-payment on two Airbus A310 widebodied aircraft to use on the service to the USA. While the downpayment is small, the order should be placed by the end of the year. We are still working out what the exact utilization will be for the aircraft, but we will do a through route through one of our partner hubs in Europe to get to the US. Also, we will utilize the aircraft on the first service to Dubai. Both Mumbai and Delhi will have a presence on the routes, and our first two US destinations will be New York and Atlanta. Which brings me to the second big piece of news... The US and India have very recently signed an ultra-liberal Openskies contract which allows free flights between the two nations, and allows airlines from both nations to have subsidiaries in either nation. So, due to this unique contract, we've seen a business opportunity and moved in; Air India Group now has a new member; Trans World Airlines. Trans World is based in the world's largest travel market; Atlanta, and we feel that it will take our business to new heights. We have started services with one Boeing 737-200HGW, and hope to grow the services quickly in the future through a mixture of regional and mainline aircraft."
www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/middle/5/3/3/1755335.jpg" alt="" />
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Join date : 2010-08-16
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