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Singapore Airlines will make an additional investment of Rs 3,194.5 crore in Tata Group-owned Air India post-merger of Vistara in November. The merger, announced on November 29, 2022, and set to be completed on November 11, 2024, will result in Singapore Airlines having a 25.1% stake in the enlarged Air India. Full-service carrier Vistara, which started flying on January 9, 2015, is a joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines, where the latter holds a 49% shareholding. Vistara's last flight will take off tomorrow i.e. November 11, 2024. Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group on Friday said its consideration for the merger comprises the 49% interest in Vistara and Rs 20,585 million (Rs 2,058.5 crore) in cash in exchange for a 25.1% equity interest in the enlarged Air India. Post-merger, SIA expects to recognize a non-cash accounting gain of around 1.1 billion Singapore dollars and also start equity accounting for its share of Air India's financial results. According to a release on Friday, the merger includes an agreement for SIA to contribute its share of any funding previously provided by Tata prior to the completion of the merger, together with relevant funding costs up to Rs 5,020 crore that would allow it to maintain a 25.1% stake in Air India. "SIA's additional capital injection is expected to be Rs 31,945 million (equivalent to SGD 498 million), based on Tata's funding to Air India to date. This will occur after the completion of the merger and within November 2024 through subscription to new Air India shares. "Future capital injections will be considered based on Air India's requirements and available funding options," according to the release issued while announcing the airline's financial performance for the six months ended September 2024. The merger of Vistara with Air India will mark a major consolidation in the fast-growing Indian aviation space. SIA said the merged entity will have a significant presence across all key Indian air travel segments, including domestic, international, full-service, and low-cost operations. "This will strengthen SIA's multi-hub strategy, allowing it to continue participating directly in India's large and fast-growing aviation market," it added. Recently, Air India and SIA agreed to significantly expand their codeshare agreement, adding 11 Indian cities and another 40 international destinations to their network.

Singapore Airlines to invest additional Rs 3,195 cr in Air India post-Vistara merger

<keyword id="19923231" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Air-India-Express" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India Express" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Air India Express">Air India Express</keyword>, part of the <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword>, is set to reconfigure its aircraft starting in April 2025 and will be focusing solely on <keyword id="23932064" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="economy-class-seating" source="keywords">economy class seating</keyword>, a PTI report says. This follows the merger of AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India) with Air India Express on October 1, marking a major step in Tata’s broader consolidation of its airline operations. Currently operating a fleet of 90 aircraft, including Boeing 737s and A320s, Air India Express has plans to expand its reach, particularly to smaller cities and towns. The airline aims to simplify its fleet by eliminating <keyword id="21350335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="business-class" source="keywords">business class</keyword> seats, opting instead for a uniform economy layout across its narrow-body planes. The decision comes as the airline faces supply chain challenges that have delayed the delivery of new aircraft. To bridge the gap, it has already inducted 35 white-tail Boeing 737-8 planes, with plans to add 15 more in the coming months. White-tail aircraft are planes originally manufactured for other carriers and later repurposed by Air India Express. These planes, often with varying business class configurations, will be reconfigured to fit the airline’s new model. The PTI report adds that by eliminating business class, the airline aims to better serve its core market—connecting <keyword id="20567886" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tier-2-and-Tier-3-cities" source="keywords">Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities</keyword> with major metropolitan hubs, while expanding its international network. In addition to strengthening its domestic routes, Air India Express plans to focus on regional international flights, particularly to destinations in the Gulf, Southeast Asia, and eventually South Asia. Air India Express’ network strategy is closely aligned with that of the larger Tata Group’s airline portfolio, which includes Air India, Vistara, and the recently merged AIX Connect. As part of this consolidation, Air India Express aims to meet growing demand for affordable travel between smaller towns and metros, a market segment identified as a key growth area. The move towards an economy-only fleet reflects broader industry trends, with many <keyword id="20314404" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="low-cost-carriers" source="keywords">low-cost carriers</keyword> focusing on streamlining operations to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Air India Express plans to increase its fleet to over 110 aircraft by the end of the financial year, with further additions expected in the future. (with PTI inputs)

Air India Express to bid adieu to business class seats next year, will turn into economy only airlines

Gurugram: <keyword id="22345435" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="TATA-SIA-Airlines-Limited" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="TATA SIA Airlines Limited" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="TATA SIA Airlines Limited">TATA SIA Airlines Limited</keyword>, known by the brand name of <keyword id="20018887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vistara" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Vistara" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Vistara">Vistara</keyword> announced its merger with <keyword id="19896871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Air India">Air India</keyword> on Friday. The company said in a statement that customers will not be able to make <keyword id="19916663" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="bookings" source="keywords">bookings</keyword> with Vistara for travel on or after November 12. "Starting 03 September 2024, customers will, progressively, no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after 12 November 2024," the company said. However, Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till 11 November 2024. All Vistara aircraft will be operated by Air India and bookings for the routes operated by these aircraft will be redirected to Air India's website, the company informed. During this transition period, both Vistara and Air India will ensure necessary support, consistent communication, and convenience to all customers, every step of the way. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, "We are immensely grateful to all our customers for their support and patronage over the last 10 years. As we progress further in our growth journey, we want to emphasize that this merger is about offering them more choice with a larger fleet and a wider network, while elevating the overall travel experience. Vistara and Air India are committed to ensuring that this transition is smooth and hassle-free. We are excited about this new phase in our journey and look forward to welcoming our customers again soon - as Air India." Campbell Wilson, Chief Executive Officer &amp; Managing Director, Air India, said, "Cross-functional teams from Air India and Vistara have been working together for many months to make the transition of aircraft, flying crew, ground-based colleagues and, most importantly, our valued customers, into the new Air India as seamless as possible. The joint team looks forward to offering our guests an expanded network, additional flight options, an enhanced frequent flyer program and the best of both antecedent airlines and are grateful for the support of our loyal customers through this next phase of building a world class, world scale, global airline with an Indian heart." On August 10, Both companies secured the CAR (Civil Aviation Requirement) 145 approval from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (<keyword id="19899185" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dgca" source="keywords">DGCA</keyword>) to integrate their aircraft line maintenance operations, as per an official release.

Vistara-Air India merger: Bookings for Vistara to stop from Sept 3, unified operations start from Nov 12

Singapore: <keyword id="20036942" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Singapore-Airlines" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Singapore Airlines" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Singapore Airlines">Singapore Airlines</keyword> on Friday said it has received approval from the Indian government for the foreign direct investment as part of the proposed merger of <keyword id="20018887" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vistara" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Vistara" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Vistara">Vistara</keyword> with <keyword id="19896871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Air India">Air India</keyword>, a deal that will create one of the world's largest airline groups. With the clearance in place, the merger that will see Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The proposed merger was announced in November 2022. Air India is owned by <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="83" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword> and Vistara is a 51:49 joint venture between Tatas and Singapore Airlines. In a regulatory filing on Friday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it has received approval from the Government of India for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the enlarged Air India as part of the proposed merger. "The FDI approval, together with anti-trust and merger control clearances and approvals, as well as other governmental and <keyword id="19941849" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="regulatory-approvals" source="keywords">regulatory approvals</keyword> received to-date, represent a significant development towards the completion of the proposed merger," the airline said in the filing to the Singapore Stock Exchange. The airline also said the completion of the merger continues to be subject to compliance by the parties with applicable Indian laws, which is currently expected to be completed in the next few months. "At this juncture, completion of the proposed merger is anticipated to occur by the end of 2024," it added. According to Singapore Airlines, the parties are in discussions to extend the long stop date for the completion of the merger. Earlier, it was expected to be October 31, 2024. The merger, which will create one of the biggest airline groups, was approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in June. In March, Singapore's competition regulator CCCS gave a conditional nod for the proposed deal. Prior to that in September 2023, the deal received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI), subject to certain conditions. "SIA will make the necessary announcement(s) upon completion of the proposed merger or in the event that there are other significant developments," the filing said on Friday.

Singapore Airlines gets FDI nod from Indian govt for Vistara-Air India merger

<keyword id="20018887" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vistara" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Vistara" meta.hostid="346" meta.entityid="Vistara">Vistara</keyword> will operate the last flight under its brand on November 11 and the full-service carrier's operations will be unified with <keyword id="19896871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India" meta.hostid="346" meta.entityid="Air India">Air India</keyword> from November 12. The government has given its nod for the foreign direct investment by <keyword id="20036942" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Singapore-Airlines" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Singapore Airlines" meta.hostid="346" meta.entityid="Singapore Airlines">Singapore Airlines</keyword> as part of the Air India-Vistara <keyword id="20035800" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="merger" source="keywords">merger</keyword>. Vistara is a joint venture between <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="346" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword> and Singapore Airlines. Air India is owned by Tata Group. "Starting 03 September 2024, customers will, progressively, no longer be able to make bookings with Vistara for travel on or after 12 November 2024," Vistara said in a release on Friday. Thereafter, Vistara aircraft will be operated by Air India and bookings for the routes operated by these planes will be redirected to Air India's website. "Vistara will continue to take bookings and operate flights as usual till 11 November 2024," the release said. The merger of Vistara with Air India was announced in November 2022 and post-completion of the deal, Singapore Airlines will have a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India. Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan said the merger is about offering passengers more choice with a larger fleet and a wider network while elevating the overall travel experience. "Cross-functional teams from Air India and Vistara have been working together for many months to make the transition of aircraft, flying crew, ground-based colleagues and, most importantly, our valued customers, into the new Air India as seamless as possible," Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson said. In a separate release, Air India welcomed the Union Cabinet's approval for the foreign direct investment by Singapore Airlines in the airline. "This is an important milestone that facilitates the merger process between Vistara and Air India, and the broader transformation of the Air India Group," it said.

Vistara to operate last flight under its brand on November 11

<keyword id="6378232" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India-Express" source="Orion">Air India Express</keyword> has cancelled "scores of flights" due to a shortage of cabin crew members as a section of them are reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, according to sources. Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself. The sources on Wednesday said several cabin crew members started reporting sick since Monday evening and as there are not enough cabin crew members, "scores of flights" have been cancelled at various airports, including Kochi, Calicut and Bangalore. Late last month, a union representing a section of the Air India Express cabin crew alleged that the airline is being mismanaged and there is a lack of equality in the treatment of the staff. Air India Express Employees Union (AIXEU), a registered union, which claims to represent around 300 cabin crew members, mostly seniors, had also alleged that mismanagement of the affairs has affected the morale of the employees. Many passengers took to social media on Wednesday complaining about the sudden cancellation of flights. In response to a passenger's post on X about flight cancellation, Air India Express apologised and said the flight was cancelled "due to operational reasons". "As part of our service recovery process, you can either opt to reschedule the flight within the next 7 days or request a full refund through our chat bot Tia...," the airline said in a post on X. The development at Air India Express comes a month after <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword> full-service carrier Vistara witnessed pilot woes, forcing it to temporarily cut down capacity by 10 per cent or 25-30 flights daily. As part of consolidating its airline business, Tata Group is merging Air India Express and AIX Connect, as well as Vistara with Air India. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/aadhar-housing-finance-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109919298.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/webstories/aadhar-housing-finance-ipo-price-band-to-risk-factors-all-you-need-to-know/slidelist/109919298.cms" target="_blank">Aadhar Housing Finance IPO – Price band to risk factors, all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank">Top-selling cars in India in April 2024 – Tata Punch continues to dominate</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/worldwide-tablet-shipments-grow-in-q1-2024-after-two-years-of-decline/articleshow/109876390.cms" target="_blank">Worldwide tablet shipments grow in Q1 2024 after two years of decline</a>

Air India Express cancels flights due to cabin crew shortage: Sources

Billionaire <keyword id="19916798" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani" source="keywords">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>'s Reliance Industries and <keyword id="19924335" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Tata Group" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Tata Group">Tata Group</keyword> have made it to the prestigious TIME's list of 100 World's Most Influential Companies of 2024. TIME called Reliance 'India's Juggernaut'. This is the second time that Reliance has found its way into the TIME list. Jio Platforms, the firm that holds digital properties of the conglomerate, was included in the inaugural TIME 100 Most Influential Companies List of 2021. Serum Institute is the other Indian company on the list. TIME listed Reliance in the 'Titans' category (one of the five categories under which the companies were divided, other being Leaders, Disrupters, Innovators, and Pioneers). Tata was listed in 'Titan's' category while Serum under 'Pioneers'. "Reliance Industries was founded as a textile and polyester company 58 years ago by Dhirubhai Ambani. Today the sprawling conglomerate -- which has aligned its growth with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a 'self-reliant' India -- is the country's most valuable company, with a market capitalisation of more than USD 200 billion," TIME said. Now led by Dhirubhai's son Mukesh, the Mumbai-based company has ventures in energy, retail, and telecommunications, among others, and has made its chairman Asia's richest man, it said. The publication went on to stated that in February, Reliance came out on top in a fiercely competitive race to dominate India's burgeoning streaming market by striking a USD 8.5 billion merger deal with Disney's India business. "The deal will bring together more than 100 television channels and give the combined group around a 31 per cent share of India's streaming market compared to rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime with 8 per cent each," according to analytics firm Comscore. Reliance has revolutionised several economic sectors in the world's most populous country by making world-class products and services available at affordable prices with multiple innovations. Under Mukesh Ambani, the firm's telecom arm Jio revolutionised India's digital landscape and drove digital inclusion on an unprecedented scale with the most affordable mobile data tariffs in the world. It set up the world's largest single location refining complex. Reliance Retail is ranked among the top 100 retailers globally and in FY24 it registered 1.06 billion footfalls across its 18,800+ stores (67 per cent of which are in small towns and villages). Reliance is investing USD 10 billion in building the most comprehensive ecosystem for new energy and new materials in India and has set an ambitious goal to reach net-zero carbon by 2035. TIME described Serum as the world's biggest vaccine maker, churning out billions of vaccines. The company makes 3.5 billion doses every year, including for measles, polio, and most recently, HPV. "Serum's CEO Adar Poonawalla says the company's success can largely be chalked up to its private ownership. Not being beholden to shareholders allows it to keep vaccine prices low (the R21 will cost USD 4 a shot)," the publication said. Tata Group, it said, was founded in 1868 and has a vast portfolio extending from steel, software, watches, subsea cables, and chemicals, to salt, grains, air-conditioners, fashion, and hotels. "But as rivals have aggressively courted new businesses, it struggled to keep up with stiff competition. In 2017, after over a century of family management, N Chandrasekaran took over as chairman despite having no personal ties to the family -- highly unusual when India's business landscape is ruled by family succession plans," TIME said. As chair, he has transformed the group by investing in tech manufacturing, AI, and semiconductor chips. In 2023, it became the first Indian company to assemble iPhones, and is building another plant, it said, adding that in September, Tata announced a partnership with Nvidia to develop an AI cloud in India. "And this year, it announced plans for the country's first major semiconductor manufacturing facility. The moves seem to be paying off: in February, Tata's combined market capitalisation reached a whopping USD 365 billion, more than the entire economy of India's neighbour and rival, Pakistan," it added. This is the fourth edition of annual TIME100 Most Influential Companies list, highlighting companies making an extraordinary impact around the world. To assemble the list, TIME solicited nominations across sectors, and polled its global network of contributors and correspondents, as well as outside experts. Then, TIME editors evaluated each on key factors, including impact, innovation, ambition, and success. The result is a diverse group of 100 businesses helping chart an essential path forward. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lok-sabha-exit-poll-2024-what-are-they-when-will-they-be-announced-and-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/110565608.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/lok-sabha-exit-poll-2024-what-are-they-when-will-they-be-announced-and-all-you-need-to-know/articleshow/110565608.cms" target="_blank">Lok Sabha Exit Poll 2024 – what are they, when will they be announced and all you need to know</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/truecaller-can-now-detect-if-the-caller-is-using-ai-how-to-use-it-to-prevent-ai-call-scams/articleshow/110556100.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/truecaller-can-now-detect-if-the-caller-is-using-ai-how-to-use-it-to-prevent-ai-call-scams/articleshow/110556100.cms" target="_blank">Truecaller can now detect if the caller is using AI – How to use it to prevent AI call scams</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/indias-t20-world-cup-team-matches-and-everything-you-need-to-know/slidelist/110551798.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/sports/webstories/indias-t20-world-cup-team-matches-and-everything-you-need-to-know/slidelist/110551798.cms" target="_blank">India’s T20 World Cup team, matches and everything you need to know</a>

Reliance, Tata on TIME's list of world's most influential companies

<keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-india" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> plans to introduce sophisticated features to its generative artificial intelligence virtual agent that handles more than 6,000 customer queries daily. The Tata Group-owned airline is using ChatGPT to analyse even some complex questions it may not be able to immediately answer to improve customer experience in later interactions and is helping it to become more attuned to natural language. In a release on Friday, Air India said it has become the world's first airline to have successfully deployed a Generative AI virtual agent '<keyword id="6388899" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="maharaja" source="Orion">Maharaja</keyword>', powered by Microsoft's Azure OpenAI service. The agent has successfully answered over half a million customer queries since its pilot launch in March 2023, and today manages over 6,000 queries a day in four languages, the release said. According to the airline, 'Maharaja' manages an extensive spectrum of customer queries across 1,300 areas, including those related to flight status, baggage allowances, packing restrictions, check-in, frequent flyer awards, airport lounge access, flight changes and refunds. The agent speaks Hindi, English, French, and German. "Of the 6,000-plus questions received each day, over 80 per cent are successfully answered in seconds. About 15 per cent of customer queries today require additional assistance, and Maharaja recognises this automatically and orchestrates a seamless handoff to Air India's contact centre agents," the release said. In the coming months, the airline plans to launch a host of sophisticated features, driven by patent-pending technologies. "This includes a novel user experience that changes the way customers interact with AI agents with a combination of textual and graphical interactions that can potentially further speed up customer interactions... Air India also plans to enhance the current AI agent with data-driven deep-personalisation capabilities," the release said. Satya Ramaswamy, Chief Digital and Technology Officer at Air India, said that after the emergence of Large Language Model driven generative AI capabilities, it is increasingly seeing a definitive shift in guest preferences to use chat interactions to get the information and support they need quickly. Air India also said that generative AI solutions help automate repetitive and mundane tasks such as booking, cancellation and confirmation, and free up bandwidth for human agents to focus on more complex and value-adding interactions. The full service carrier has embarked on an ambitious expansion plan. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ex-apple-employees-launch-ai-pin-a-wearable-which-wants-to-replace-your-smartphone/articleshow/105113255.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ex-apple-employees-launch-ai-pin-a-wearable-which-wants-to-replace-your-smartphone/articleshow/105113255.cms" target="_blank">Ex-Apple employees launch AI-Pin, a wearable which wants to replace your smartphone</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/protean-egov-technologies-ipo-how-to-check-allotment-and-gmp-value/articleshow/105093386.cms">Protean eGov Technologies IPO allotment – how to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/multilingual-global-office-calls-might-soon-become-easier-with-ai-live-translate-call/articleshow/105087029.cms">Multilingual global office calls might soon become easier with AI Live Translate Call</a>

Air India bets on generative AI, to introduce more AI features to address customer queries

Faced with <keyword id="21571465" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cabin-crew-shortage" source="keywords">cabin crew shortage</keyword>, <keyword id="19923231" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India-Express" source="keywords">Air India Express</keyword> on Thursday cancelled 74 <keyword id="19980901" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flights" source="keywords">flights</keyword> and said <keyword id="19896871" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Air India">Air India</keyword> will operate services on 20 of its routes to minimise disruptions. A section of cabin crew has reported sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the airline, which has resulted in the cancellation of more than 90 flights since Tuesday night. "We will be operating 292 flights today. We have mobilised all resources and Air India will support us by operating on 20 of our routes. However, 74 of our flights stand cancelled and we urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport," the airline said in a statement. In case their flight is cancelled or delayed beyond three hours, the carrier said the passengers may opt for a full refund or reschedule to a later date without any fees. The number of <keyword id="632671" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cancelled-flights" source="Orion">cancelled flights</keyword> at 74 translates to around 20 per cent of the airline's scheduled daily flights. Earlier in the day, sources said the airline has issued termination notices to 25 cabin crew members who had reported sick and asked others to join back for duty by 4 pm on Thursday. Against this backdrop, Air India Express said it is taking appropriate steps against certain individuals. "While we will continue to engage with our cabin crew colleagues with a commitment to address any concern, we are taking appropriate steps against certain individuals as their actions have caused grave inconvenience to thousands of our guests," it added. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indegene-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/109952516.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indegene-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/109952516.cms" target="_blank">Indegene IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-wallet-launched-in-india-store-your-loyalty-cards-boarding-passes-and-more/articleshow/109941139.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-wallet-launched-in-india-store-your-loyalty-cards-boarding-passes-and-more/articleshow/109941139.cms" target="_blank">Google Wallet launched in India – store your loyalty cards, boarding passes and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank">Top-selling cars in India in April 2024 – Tata Punch continues to dominate</a>

Air India Express cancels 74 flights due to cabin crew shortage, to operate 292 flights

Senior Cabin crew members of Tata-owned <keyword id="6378232" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-india-express" source="Orion">Air India Express</keyword> (AIX) have voiced concerns over alleged breach of code of conduct by the company and sought the Union Civil Aviation Ministry's intervention in the matter. Senior staff claim that they are facing mental harassment and abrupt contract reductions, raising doubts about the airline's management practices. "As per the latest employment letter issued by the management, cabin crew members are not permitted to take part of any trade union activities. This decision has been made to break the unity and stop Union work in the name of Air India Express Employees Union registered under BMS," reads the letter sent by the AIX employees union to Civil Aviation Minister <keyword id="29632" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="jyotiraditya-scindia" source="Orion">Jyotiraditya Scindia</keyword>. The letter further claims that as per the recent decision taken by the HR team led by <keyword id="211858" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="anjali-chatterjee" source="Orion">Anjali Chatterjee</keyword>, contracts of four cabin crew members did not recommend for renewal without any reason of justification. The decision has been taken after conducting the assessment programme for contract renewal even after fulfilling all parameter's stipulated by management, the union claimed. "Nine numbers of cabin crew contracts were curtailed from five years to one and other members of the cabin crew received three years tenure. There is no parameter stipulated in company HR circular to issue conditional contract for one year. This curtailment was done based on the assessment program without revealing the cause of action. There was no transparency in Communication maintained," the union said. It further alleged harassment and torture by the company's assessment team. "During assessment led by <keyword id="19458308" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="megha-singhania" source="Orion">Megha Singhania</keyword>, cabin crew were asked and commented about their complexion, language and accent, and questioned the performance ability of female crew because of their motherhood who had reported post maternity leave. So this harassment creates mental stress for cabin crew when they are on duty which may affects the safety of passengers as well." The union also alleged that certain "unethical" practices have been observed within the organisation, including the manipulation of height measurements to affect BMI calculations for contract renewal. "The current height measurement equipment is non-calibrated, and this discrepancy has resulted in wrongful de-rostering of employees from duty. Furthermore, a distressing incident involving an Air India Express cabin crew member who suffered a spinal injury on duty and now faces a life in a wheelchair has brought to light issues of discrimination and lack of equal employment opportunities," reads the letter. "The employee's contract was terminated without considering ground work suitable for his limited abilities, leading to a legal dispute for justice. Although the Disability Commission ordered the allocation of an Assistant Operations role for one year, no actual job was assigned, and the contract termination was merely postponed. This situation contradicts the <keyword id="8555" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="tata" source="Orion">Tata</keyword> Code of Conduct's commitment to equal opportunities for all employees, regardless of disability," it added. The letter also suggested irregularities in recruitment and promotions by COO Pushpinder Singh. "Discrepancies in contract tenure for cabin crew members, favouritism, and monopolistic practices have raised concerns about fair labour practices within the organisation," the union alleged. "It is very shocking to know that under TATA banner Air India Express COO Capt. Pushpinder Singh running this organization as his own Whims and fancies. Pilot recruitment, Promotion etc. handling comes under him and he is mis utilising the authorities in a corrupted way. One of the cabin crew who has three warning letter in personal record and who is in good relation with him received full five year contract tenure where as other cabin crew who are part of union denied the justice and offered conditional contract for minor errors without a single warning letter. All these show how monopolistically he is driving the system in this reputed organisation," reads the letter. "Despite numerous attempts, our union has been denied the opportunity to discuss these concerns with CEO Mr. <keyword id="5778454" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="aloke-singh" source="Orion">Aloke Singh</keyword>, who appears resistant to addressing the issues raised. It is evident that there is a systemic problem, and we urge intervention to rectify the unjust treatment towards cabin crew employees at Air India Express Ltd. Your attention to this matter is crucial to upholding the principles of fairness, equality, and ethical conduct within the organisation," it added.

Air India Express crew members allege mental harassment, seek govt's intervention

<keyword id="19923231" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Air-India-Express" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Air India Express" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Air India Express">Air India Express</keyword> has termited at least 25 <keyword id="21572930" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cabin-crew-members" source="keywords">cabin crew members</keyword>, a day after hundreds of <keyword id="19916568" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="employees" source="keywords">employees</keyword> reported sick and failed to report to work that led to disruptions to <keyword id="19954208" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="flight-operations" source="keywords">flight operations</keyword>. According to sources within the airline, the management on Wednesday terminated cabin crew members who took <keyword id="20299395" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="sick-leave" source="keywords">sick leave</keyword> between Tuesday and Wednesday due to their unprofessional behaviour, which resulted in inconvenience to thousands of passengers. The <keyword id="21571427" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="mass-sick-leave" source="keywords">mass sick leave</keyword> was considered a pre-meditated and concerted abstention from work without any justifiable reason, violating Air India Express Limited employee service rules. The decision to terminate the employees was made as their actions violated the conditions outlined in their employment contracts, leading to their immediate termination. The disruption caused by the mass sick leave affected more than 95 flights of Air India Express between Tuesday evening and Wednesday, impacting over 10,000 passengers. The disruption in flight operations stemmed from the delay and cancellation of over 90 international and domestic flights due to cabin crew members reporting sick. In response to this, Air India Express CEO, Aloke Singh, announced plans to reduce flight operations in the coming days. Singh said that since Tuesday evening, "over 100 of cabin crew colleagues have reported sick prior to their rostered flight duty, at the last minute, severely disrupting our operations. Because this action was mostly by colleagues assigned L1 role, the impact was disproportionate, disrupting 90+ flights even though other colleagues reported for duty." He emphasised that the behaviour of a few does not represent the dedication of the majority of the airline's cabin crew, who continue to serve guests with dedication and pride. "This act is certainly not representative of the 2,000-odd cabin crew colleagues in the company who continue to respond to the call of duty and serve our guests with dedication and pride. I am thankful to all who are standing by the airline in this hour of crisis," he said in a statement. Singh invited staff for discussions to address any concerns they may have and assured that all communication channels are open. The cancellations and delays prompted the Ministry of Civil Aviation to seek a detailed report from Air India Express. The ministry urged the airline to promptly resolve the issues and ensure that passengers are provided with facilities as per DGCA norms. Sources within the ministry revealed that cancellations and delays began on Tuesday night, continuing into Wednesday morning, which led to flight operations being curtailed due to a sudden shortage of crew members. Some senior crew members allegedly switched off their mobile phones just before flight operations, citing health issues. SEE ALSO:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indegene-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/109952516.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/indegene-ipo-allotment-how-to-check-allotment-gmp-listing-date-and-more/articleshow/109952516.cms" target="_blank">Indegene IPO allotment – How to check allotment, GMP, listing date and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-wallet-launched-in-india-store-your-loyalty-cards-boarding-passes-and-more/articleshow/109941139.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/google-wallet-launched-in-india-store-your-loyalty-cards-boarding-passes-and-more/articleshow/109941139.cms" target="_blank">Google Wallet launched in India – store your loyalty cards, boarding passes and more</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/webstories/top-selling-cars-in-india-in-april-2024-tata-punch-continues-to-dominate/slidelist/109909744.cms" target="_blank">Top-selling cars in India in April 2024 – Tata Punch continues to dominate</a>

Air India Express terminates 25 employees, day after mass sick leave

<ul><li><keyword id="2573" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-india" source="Orion">Air India</keyword> passengers can book on-ground train and bus connections to over 100 cities and towns with their air ticket.</li><li>Baggage allowance will remain the same even for other forms of transportation.</li><li>Travel to smaller cities will become much easier and cheaper with this agreement. </li></ul> The next time you want to visit quaint cities in Europe without airports, you may want to book a ticket on Air India to get a comprehensive itinerary. The airline, now controlled by the <keyword id="6355725" type="General" weightage="40" keywordseo="Tata-Group" source="Orion">Tata group</keyword>, has entered an intermodal interline agreement with <keyword id="18493586" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="accesrail" source="Orion">AccesRail</keyword> to boost connectivity options for Air India passengers across Europe, including smaller cities without airports. Air India offers non-stop flights to major cities around the world, especially Europe, and this agreement will help passengers travel seamlessly across Europe on a single ticket. As per the agreement, Air India guests can travel on a single intermodal ticket and take seamless, on-ground train and bus connections to more than 100 cities and towns in Austria, Belgium, Germany, The Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, and the United Kingdom via its European gateways of Amsterdam, Birmingham, London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Milan, and Vienna. Passengers can enjoy the benefit of the same baggage allowance on these rail or bus operator services as offered by Air India on its own flights. Currently, intermodal tickets with Air India are available for booking through travel agents globally. The airline also plans to extend the facility to its own sales channels progressively. Explaining the benefit of this agreement, Nipun Aggarwal, Chief Commercial &amp; Transformation Officer at Air India, said: “The expansion of our global network is one of our key priorities in the ongoing, comprehensive transformation of Air India. This partnership with AccesRail not only helps us to provide our guests easy access to an extended network of destinations across Europe, but also to bridge the gaps in connectivity between India and Europe. Augmenting our network with an intermodal approach also underlines our commitment to environmental sustainability.” AccesRail is an IATA travel partner with its own designator code (9B), thus making intermodal journeys on a single ticket possible. AccesRail’s extensive network of rail and bus operators for Air India include Avanti West Coast (UK), Great Western Railways (UK), London North Eastern Railways (UK), National Express (UK), Trenitalia (Italy), ÖBB Austrian Railways (Austria), SNCB Belgian Railways, and Thalys (Netherlands/Belgium). Andrew Popescu, Vice President Business Development, AccesRail, said, “We are excited to be launching our Air India-AccesRail cooperation and look forward to continuing with Air India on a global scale with so many of our intermodal rail and coach partners. Through this enhanced AccesRail partnership, Air India will be able, now and in the future, to offer its customers more destinations and more possibilities in a more seamless fashion.” Air India is navigating through a major five-year transformation roadmap under the aegis of Vihaan.AI, with an ambition to become a world class airline with an Indian heart. The first phase of this transformation, the taxi phase was recently concluded, and focused on fixing the basics. These included bringing back to service many long grounded aircraft, addition of talent across flying and ground functions, rapid upgradation of technology and strengthening of customer care initiatives amongst others. A member of Star Alliance, the largest global airline consortium of leading international airlines, Air India offers seamless connectivity and facilities to passengers all over the world.

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