Neha Jain: http://indianairlinesnews.blogspot.com/m 13

1. Now, Air India pilot arrested for forging papers
NEW DELHI: The crime branch of Delhi police has arrested an Air India pilot JK Verma in the capital for allegedly using forged marksheets to procure a licence from country's airline regulator, the second such incident in the past four days.

Captain Verma allegedly forged marksheets of Pilot License Examination for obtaining the licence. An FIR has been registered against the Air India pilot who has been charged with cheating and fraud.

Verma was picked up by the crime branch for questioning on Saturday following investigations into a complaint filed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) which claimed that some of the pilots had forged marksheets to get licence.

He becomes the second pilot to be arrested after IndiGo airline's commander Parminder Kaur Gulati (38), for allegedly obtained the mandatory Airlines Transport Pilot License (ALTP) using on forged documents.

With ATPL, one can become a co-pilot and to get a full fledged commercial pilot licence one should have ATPL with adequate flying hours. Gulati was grounded on January 11 following an incident of hard landing of an Indigo in Goa.

During initial enquiry by DGCA, it was found that she had allegedly submitted forged result card of Pilot License Examination of January 2009 for obtaining ALTP. On the basis of the complaint, a case was registered.

The police have till now questioned four pilots on their licence papers.

The other two pilots under the scanner are Meenakshi Sehgal of IndiGo, a resident of Delhi and Swarn Singh Talwar of MDLR who is a resident of Jaipur.

TOI was the first to report about the three pilots using fraudulent means to obtain licences so that they could command an aircraft.

2. India’s notional carrier?

From undisputed king of the skies to an also-ran. No wonder the Maharaja looks frumpy these days. The spectre of yet another strike adds to his worries. Is the age of the national carrier over?

The latest findings offer a partial answer. According to figures from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Air India's market share has slipped to fourth place at 17.1%, with Jet Airways in the lead and Kingfisher and Indigo following. In December, its On-time Performance or punctuality was 65.3%, well behind Jet, Kingfisher and Indigo.

The maharaja seems out of step with the times. Kapil Arora, partner at Ernst & Young, a leading professional services organization, says that a national carrier's chief brand value lies in efficiency, passenger sensitivity and smart business acumen. He says these three qualities matter more than it being wholly or partially government-owned. "But AI's inefficiency in operations, skewed HR practices and demotivated employees leave a lot to be desired. Let's face it, the airline sector is a service industry and the bottomline is the passenger," he says. So where does that leave Air India? As no more than the carrier of choice for politicians and a supplier of jobs, says a civil aviation ministry official. "There is no pragmatic priceline and many freeloaders," he says.

It's a far cry from 1946, the year of Air India's birth. Anticipating independence, a hopeful India needed a national airline to reflect its hopes and dreams. Jitender Bhargava, a former executive director of AI, says the old-style work culture cannot survive in today's "cut-throat world unless you want to commit harakiri". But that's the way Air India has continued to work. "There is little fire in the belly, its sales teams don't visit customers or use new technology to get business. Even its ad announcing a uniform code, which should have targeted the passenger, doesn't reveal how it'll benefit him. AI unions, which held managements to ransom, would have been shown the door in a private carrier."

Roy Paul, former civil aviation secretary, says a national carrier makes sense if there is some pride in it. Paul was AI chairman when the Indian Pilots Guild was derecognized in 2003. He says, "AI's sad state is because its flights and seats were sold without any reciprocal basis and lucrative routes given to competitors." Sudhakar Reddy, president of the Air Passengers Association of India, adds that the airline has "been treated badly by politicians. Give it a level playing field, it can once again occupy pride of place in the skies."

Perhaps. But the truth is that Air India has little to recommend it now. Even the brownie points it scored by flying to uneconomical sectors that private carriers wouldn't touch have little relevance now. Once upon a time, Air India could proudly point to its record of ferrying Indians from flashpoints around the world — Kuwait in the 1990s for example. But now, the government expects private carriers to do this as well.

So what, asks civil aviation secretary Dr Nasim Zaidi. He says Air India is the nation's pride, which is why the government intends to give it Rs 5,000 cr as equity support. "This, along with a turnaround plan and financial restructuring will ensure its smooth running."

Bureaucrat Amitabh Kant who sold Kerala as a destination with the God's Own Country campaign, agrees that India needs a national carrier. A dynamic, vibrant national carrier can sell a country globally and give a boost to trade and tourism, he asserts. "See what Singapore Airlines has become for Singapore. India is a long-haul destination and 90% of inbound traffic is by air, so a national carrier can do wonders."

But ad filmmaker Prahlad Kakkar says Air India, once synonymous with discovery, beauty and hospitality, has lost its USP. Would he re-brand Air India? No, he says, explaining "my own credibility would be damaged. An ad has to be in sync with the product."

So what's the way forward? Make it a lean, mean airline and give it back to the Tatas, suggests a hopeful employee. Get E Sreedharan of Delhi Metro to run it, says another. Experts say the airline needs a strategic partner that can infuse money into it and give the management breathing space. After all, it is fighting a tough battle. Are the unions listening?

3. 'Air India's possible entry into Star Alliance will boost rev'
BERLIN:India's national carrier Air India's expected entry into the elite Star Alliancelater this year will expand its global footprint and boost its revenues,according to the airline's Frankfurt-based Regional Manager for Central EuropeRatan Bali.

The last major hurdle for Star Alliance membership wasremoved when Air India and the Indian Airlines completed the integration oftheir codes and began using a common code two weeks ago, Bali told PTI at thetravel trade show ITB Berlin.

The world's biggest fair, which kickedoff on March 9, concludes today.

A common code for both the airlineswas a condition for Air India to join the alliance, he added.

Theairline also started using a new reservation system in preparation of joiningthe alliance.

Star Alliance network is a global leading airlinenetwork, in terms of daily flights, destinations and countries flown to andmember airlines.

It was established in 1997 to offer customersworldwide reach and a smooth travel experience. In order to become a member, anairline must comply with the highest industry standards of customer service,security and technical infrastructure.

Bali said the planned deliveryof the first batch of Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft to Air India later thisyear will also play a crucial role in expanding the airline's internationaloperations.

These aircrafts, which have an eight-hour flight range,could be deployed in the Indo-European or Indo-far East sectors, headded.

Air India has placed orders for 27 'Dreamliners' and Boeinghad recently announced that the first batch of aircraft will be delivered by theend of this year.

Talking about revenue, he said Air India hasrecouped its revenue losses from the closure of the European Hub at theFrankfurt airport last year, by increasing the passenger volume and reducing itsoperational costs in Frankfurt.

As part of its operationalrestructuring process, the airline rerouted four flights operating from Delhi toChicago and from Mumbai to New York via Frankfurt airport as direct flights onthe India-US routes.

It closed down its European hub in Frankfurt atthe end of last year. Since then, the airline has been operating a dailynon-stop flight between Delhi and Frankfurt.

4. Air India cancels Tokyo flight

Japan tsunami|Japan earthquake
NEW DELHI: Air India Friday said it has cancelled one of its Tokyo flights following the earth quake and tsunami that hit the country but maintained that its seven-flight weekly operations will continue as scheduled.

"Air India flight AI-306 of March 11 to Tokyo stands cancelled in view of the situation due to the earthquake and floods in Japan. The flight AI-314 to Osaka is expected to operate as per schedule," said a statement by the airline.

According to the statement, Air India operates seven flights to Japan every week -- four flights to Tokyo's main international airport at Narita and three to Osaka.

NEHA JAIN

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