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”.

Air India and its subsidiaries will now have six recognised unions following an election to reduce the number of trade unions in the airline. Prior to the elections there were fourteen recognised trade unions in the airline and two subsidiaries.

The rationale behind the move to recognise fewer unions was that it would lead to better decision making and efficiency.

A section of Air India’s pilots is agitating against their being declassified as workmen and proposed pay cuts. This led to the airline’s flights getting delayed on Friday. While Directorate General of Civil Aviation sources said 10 flights were delayed, the airline claimed only three were impacted. “Out of the 300 flights operated today (Friday), so far only three have been delayed, due to non-reporting of crew on time. All our flights are operating smoothly as per schedule,” Air India officials told Business Standard.

The commanders are protesting against a clarification by the labour ministry on Tuesday, excluding them from the workmen category in the Industrial Disputes Act. They can no longer be part of trade unions, their service conditions can be changed, and they will not be able to raise a dispute against their employers.

Air India's new chief Ashwani Lohani already has a challenge on his hands even before assuming charge.

Pilots of the national carrier have decided to 'go slow', leading to delays in both domestic and international operations.

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