Indian carriers, Air India and Jet Airways, will avoid the airspace of war-torn eastern Ukraine following a directive issued to them by the DGCA in the wake of reported shooting down of a Malaysian airliner in which all 295 people on board were killed today.

The aviation regulator, Director General of Civil Aviation issued instructions to Air India and Jet Airways, the only two Indian carriers that fly to Europe and North America, to avoid Ukrainian airspace while flying to and from destinations in both the continents, official sources said here.

In a move that will help cut operating expenses, Air India has invited bids to sell three Boeing 777-200LR planes. Last October, the national carrier sold five planes of the same type to Etihad Airways for about $350 million. Etihad operates the planes on the Abu Dhabi-Los Angeles route.

State-owned Air India, which is focusing on its turnaround plan, has stopped flying on nine unprofitable routes in the last two years to cut down on its losses.

According to information submitted in Parliament recently, the airline was not able to meet even variable costs like fuel on such routes and losses on them since 2011 had accumulated to Rs 455 crore.

NEW DELHI: The Modi government is likely to extend the term of Rohit Nandan as Air India's chairman and managing director (CMD). The aviation ministry has asked the UP government to allow Nandan, a UP cadre IAS officer, to stay in the central deputation job as he has already spent five years out of the state. Usually states give an extension of two more years, commonly known as "five plus two" practice in bureaucratic parlance.

An Air India flight with 313 passengers onboard was forced to return to Newark Liberty International Airport on Sunday after an engine on the Boeing 777 appeared to overheat and catch fire, according to airport officials.

The officials previously said a bird strike may have caused the fire but later ruled that out after conducting an investigation, said Erica Dumas, a spokeswoman for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

An Indigo flight from Bagdogra came close to a descending Air India plane over Bagdogra in West Bengal this afternoon, raising the spectre of a collision and giving scare to about 250 passengers on board the two aircraft.

The Air Traffic Control (ATC) had given clearance to both the aircraft, according to Indigo airline spokesperson.

The government today allocated Rs 9,474 crore to the Civil Aviation Ministry, out of which an equity infusion of Rs 6,500 crore was earmarked for Air India.

Overall, the government has allocated Rs 9,474 crore for the ministry including investments in public enterprises for the financial year 2014-15, up from revised estimate of Rs 8,502 crore in FY'14.

National carrier Air India has called a meeting of its two pilot unions in New Delhi on Monday to discuss various issues, including integration of unions and salaries, sources said on Sunday.

The meeting assumes significance as it comes days before Air India formally gets inducted as the 27th member of the global airlines' club, Star Alliance, later this week.

Celebrating its 60th year of flying to Singapore, Air India is adding another Boeing 787 'Dreamliner' aircraft on its Singapore-Chennai-Mumbai sector from next month.

"The Indian national carrier has seen a big increase in passengers on its latest aircrafts from Singapore to India," Country Manager Nirbhik Narang told PTI today.

Air India and Jet Airways have started offering an additional four per cent incentive since last week to agents for selling business class seats on domestic routes. The move to increase sales comes ahead of Tata- Singapore Airlines’ entry in the domestic market.

The additional incentives are being offered for sale till September-end. Air India and Jet Airways also offer one per cent regular commission. Agents also earn productivity-linked commission for meeting sales targets.

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