Aerospace Diary

News Aviation Daily Feb 04 , 2010 , p. 13 Neelam Mathews Ailing national carrier Air India, operated by the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd. (NACIL), has been refused an infusion of $260 million for 2010-11 by a group of ministers that included Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily and Minister of State for Civil Aviation Praful Patel. Arvind Jadhav, chairman and managing director, has been tasked with cost cutting and spinning off MRO, cargo and ground-handling departments into separate subsidiaries. The government had approved $173 million for Air India last month after reviewing its performance for November and December and had set a challenging target of achieving a cost saving of $432 million by March. Air India, which releases limited financial and operating data, posted a net loss of $318 million, a 9.7% improvement from the October-December quarter in 2008. Air India added 29 new aircraft in 2009, part of an $11 billion order to Boeing and ...

Saturday, January 30, 2010 Air Transport Aviation Week & Space Technology Feb 01 , 2010 , p. 52 Neelam Mathews New Delhi Air India has second thoughts barely a year after establishing its European hub in Frankfurt Printed headline: Hub Hesitancy High airline user rates at Germany’s big Frankfurt airport have sent Air India scrambling for a less expensive European and North American hub, but airport and airline executives warn the long-term costs of any such move are likely to outweigh any short-term benefits, especially after it joins the Star Alliance airline network. Air India headed for the heart of Europe when it made Frankfurt a hub, but now it views lower-priced Dublin as offering a potentially better deal, even if it is on the periphery of the continent . Credit: FRAPORT Air India (AI) is currently completing the membership requirements to join Star in December. The Indian carrier established residency at Frankfurt (Fraport) barely nine months ago but is having second though...