News
Air India fined; SpiceJet “in talks” with Gulf investor as Vistara grows
December 4th 2015
Air India has again been caught violating cabin crew flight duty time limits (FDTLs). With the launch of the carrier’s triangular Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney B787 flights in 2013, Air India started a unique “experiment” by flying the same set of cabin crew on both sectors to test for the impact of fatigue, India’s DNA has reported. Read More »
According to the rules, a flight beyond 14 hours requires two sets of cockpit and cabin crew to handle emergencies. "The plane had two sets of cockpit crew while only one set of cabin crew," a source at the national carrier said, and added when FDTLs were extended to 17 hours for crew, fatigue increased significantly and compromised crew ability to evacuate passengers within 90 seconds in 90 emergency.
The carrier is reported to have told its cabin crew it had sought exemption from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to extend FDTLs on its Australia route, but the DGCA said it had never given any such dispensation.
In other Air India news, civil aviation minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, has said the flag carrier was “actively pursuing more connections cities in the U.S.,” with a new Delhi-Washington route in the pipeline. The Star Alliance airline serves New York, Newark and Chicago non-stop from India and launched a 17-hour Delhi-San Francisco service on Wednesday. "Air India connects the country like no other airline. Today, the Maharaja is the one of the most impoverished Indians, and I hope Air India comes out of its poverty," Raju said, alluding to the financial troubles of the national carrier, whose mascot is the Maharaja.
"Next year, we will launch many flights. Next year will be a year of consolidation and growth for Air India, " said the airline's chairman and managing director, Ashwani Lohani.
At SpiceJet, chairman and co-founder, Ajay Singh, has confirmed the budget airline was in talks with Airbus and Boeing to purchase up to 150 new A320neo and B737 MAX aircraft. Singh is rebuilding the airline after it almost collapsed last December. He said the carrier would decide on either model, as well as up to 50 ATR, Bombardier or Embraer regional jets, during the current financial year. "Spicejet is generating enough cash internally to sustain those orders," said Singh. "If we need to raise any money to fund them, which looks unlikely at this time, there are enough unutilised credit lines available to us."
Singh told Gulf News this week he was planning to establish the carrier’s first international base at Dubai World Central (DWC) as Dubai International was becoming more congested. Once operational, Singh said he wants to boost SpiceJet’s India-Dubai network from eight destinations to 15 and start operating 7th freedom flights to third countries.
Both flydubai and Qatar Airways have issued statements denying reports they were pursuing equity in SpiceJet.
In Delhi, Singapore Airlines (SIA)-Tata Sons joint venture, Vistara, has completed its 2015 aircraft induction plan with the addition of a ninth A320 into its fleet. Speaking on the 5/20 rule, SIA chief, Goh Choon Phong, said it was an impediment to Vistara’s expansion plans. “We believe that the rule will unnecessarily constrain Vistara from expanding and serving India. We hope the Prime Minister and his group will consider removing that rule altogether to allow the Indian carriers to actually serve, in a more comprehensive manner, the India population, as well as the people from international traffic," he said. According to Goh, India’s latest civil aviation policy was a step in the right direction. “We are appreciative of that, so we will also provide the feedback on the policy and hope that when it is finally determined, the 5/20 rule should is removed,” he said.
