NEW DELHI: An Air India aircraft flying from Chennai to Singapore on Monday suffered an engine shutdown just as it was approaching its destination. The twin-engine plane landed safely on one engine and is now grounded there.

"The pilot got an indication of low oil pressure in one of the aircraft's GE engines. To avoid damaging the engine by running it dry, which could lead to seizure, the pilot switched it off and landed in Singapore on one engine," said a source.

NEW DELHI: Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the US, Air India on Sunday announced it was starting the only non-stop link with America's west coast with a flight between Delhi and San Francisco from December 2.

"San Francisco will become Air India's fourth destination in the United States. Air India operates daily non-stop flights to New York (JFK), Newark (EWR) and Chicago (ORD)," a statement said. The service is looking to cater to the large Indian community in Silicon Valley, where Modi paid a visit.

An Air India Boeing 787 plane on the Delhi-Hong Kong route made an emergency landing in Kolkata in early hours of Tuesday after passengers complained of smoke inside the aircraft cabin.

The Boeing 787 is the latest aircraft in Air India’s fleet but in recent weeks its serviceability has been impacted due to snags.

Air India on September 20 announced it has set up a dedicated monitoring team under an executive director which would conduct surprise checks to ensure safe travel and better service delivery to its passengers.

"Senior executives will undertake surprise checks to monitor and supervise the safety and cleanliness inside and outside the aircraft. They will ensure increased servicing of equipment onboard the aircraft," the national carrier said in a release.

India’s national carrier Air India, the brand that today encompasses both the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India, has posted a loss (Rs 5,547 crore) for the eighth successive year since its merger in March 2007.

The accumulated loss is now more than Rs 44,000 crore ($7.3 billion)–equal to India’s annual health budget–and borrowing has grown to more than Rs 38,000 crore ($6.3 billion), according to data compiled by IndiaSpend from the Department of Public Enterprises.

Air India pilots have voted in favour of a strike to protest the management's notification stripping commanders of "workman" status.

However, the pilots are yet to issue a strike notice.

Mumbai: Air India Ltd’s new chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani said India’s oldest airline should target at least 90% on-time performance as it tries to revive its reputation.

In his first letter to employees on Friday, Lohani said it was important to ensure very high levels of OTP. “While the target will always remain 100%, at the initial stage, we should guarantee at least 90%,” he wrote in the letter, a copy of which was seen by Mint.

Mumbai: The morning after an Air India plane flying in from Varanasi made an emergency landing at Delhi’s airport due to a hydraulic leak, the aircraft had a surprise visitor: Ashwani Lohani, who joined as the state-run airline’s new chairman and managing director just a week ago.

Ever since he took charge of the country’s ailing flag carrier, the 1980 batch Indian Railways Service officer has been on his feet, meeting everyone from baggage loaders to board directors as he tries to feel the pulse of the airline, multiple Air India executives who regularly interact with him said.

NEW DELHI: The old Airbus A-320 which made an emergency landing in Delhi on Monday night-leaving 20 passengers injured-had given signs of trouble earlier in the day, but these were either ignored or hastily addressed by the airline.

Author William Dalrymple, who was on this Khajuraho-Varanasi-Delhi flight, told the media that the flight was first cancelled in Khajuraho. All passengers were returned their check-in bags at the airport.

Mumbai: One of state-run Air India Ltd’s pilot unions on Wednesday has extended the date to conduct a secret ballot on whether to declare a strike or not.

The Indian Commercial Pilots’ Association (ICPA) had told its members that “the central executive committee is of the strong judgement to declare strike”, adding that “a secret ballot is called for this purpose from 31 August to 6 September for a mandate as the Constitution of ICPA”.

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