
New Delhi: Air India chief Rohit Nandan on Saturday warned that the airline may not be able to survive in the long run if its pilots don't end their 26-day-old strike. "If the airline has to survive in the long run, achieve the turnaround, it is essential for the pilots to come back," Nandan told IANS. "They (pilots) should think about the long-term impact this strike will have on the...

07:56 AM, Jun 03, 2012

New Delhi/Mumbai: The Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), leading the Air India pilots' strike, on Saturday said it was ready to set aside all demands to end the strike if the government restored recognition to the union. "As Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has assured us that our demands will be looked into, we all are ready to set aside our other demands and resume duties forthwith. But then we want...

02:40 AM, Jun 03, 2012

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday made public the Dharmadhikari Report and said that the demands of striking Air India pilots will be looked into only after they end their strike unconditionally. Singh also said that the ministry has set up a core panel to implement the recommendations of the Dharmadhikari report on the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India. There will be parity between the...

01:59 PM, Jun 01, 2012

New Delhi: Aviation regulator DGCA on Thursday asked three office-bearers of the de-recognised Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), leading the pilots' strike, to appear before it on Monday and explain as to why their flying licenses should not be cancelled for not joining duty. As the strike led by the IPG entered the 25th day, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation asked the three office-bearers to appear before it on June...

10:48 PM, May 31, 2012

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused the striking Air India pilots to train on Boeing 777 while hearing a plea filed by the airline management. The High Court said that it would consider the pilots request to train on the aircraft only after they end their 23-day long strike. The High Court also said that pilots have no right to disobey and go for the training as...

01:12 PM, May 30, 2012

New Delhi: It is day 23 of the Air India pilots' strike and Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has reiterated that the pilots' demands will be considered only when they return back to work. Meanwhile, from June 1, the airline will drop seven international flights - so out of 45 flights the airline will operate only 38. The national carrier has lost over Rs 310 crores due to the strike....

10:36 AM, May 30, 2012

New Delhi: Air India, which is operating a curtailed global flight schedule due to the pilots' strike, is likely to reopen international bookings and firm up a fresh operating schedule by this weekend with the help of 130 executive pilots. The airline said the three-week agitation by over 200 pilots has seen a drop in the number of its international passengers by about 3,000 and that its financial loss had...

07:47 PM, May 28, 2012

Mumbai: Air India board will meet in Mumbai on Monday to discuss the nearly three-week-old strike by over 200 pilots and a host of financial issues. Airline sources said the board is likely to consider the next steps to be taken to deal with the strike, spearheaded by the now derecognised Indian Pilots Guild. The airline has sacked 101 pilots and is mulling hiring new pilots to restore normalcy its...

05:34 AM, May 28, 2012

New Delhi: Financially stressed Air India has proposed a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) for its executive cadre employees to bring down manpower costs. The Air India Board will deliberate on the scheme at a meeting on Monday. "This is the first time that VRS is being proposed for AI employees. It is a big step for cutting manpower in the best possible way," a senior civil aviation ministry official told...

04:38 PM, May 27, 2012

New Delhi/Mumbai: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday told Air India's striking pilots that the airline may begin hiring new pilots if the 18-day-old strike continued. "We are not waiting for them, (we) can even begin hiring new pilots," the minister told after meeting some of the striking pilots. "I have told them my stand, now they need to think," Singh said. "We are now flying half the international...

01:16 AM, May 26, 2012

Mumbai: Citing the inconvenience being caused to people due to their agitation, the Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Indian Pilots Guild to first comply with the Delhi High Court order restraining them from continuing their "illegal strike" before sorting out the issues with the management. "You (IPG) may have problems but first comply with the Delhi High Court order. Then you can go sort out your issues. You...

04:56 PM, May 25, 2012

New Delhi: A truce between Air India management and striking pilots may be on the cards after Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Friday met the pilots. Sources told CNN-IBN that the sacked pilots may be taken back on the case-to-case basis. The Air India management is also likely to hire pilots for international operations soon. Taking a tough stand on the issue earlier, the Aviation Minister had blamed...

01:55 PM, May 25, 2012

New Delhi/Mumbai: Softening its stand, striking Air India pilots on Thursday welcomed Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh's offer to hold talks with them, indicating that they are ready to return to work if the 101 sacked pilots are reinstated. A day after Singh's fresh appeal to them to end their strike which has entered the 17th day, the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) sought an appointment with the minister to "clarify...

08:30 PM, May 24, 2012

New Delhi: It's the 16th day of the Air India crisis and cracks between the airline management and the Pilots Guild getting deeper. A contempt notice was issued to Air India pilots on Wednesday. The notice said that the pilots have to reply by July 13 and if they don't join work, they'll continue in contempt till then. If their contempt is upheld after they file their reply on July...

04:22 PM, May 23, 2012

New Delhi: It's the 16th day of the Air India crisis. The cracks between the airline management and the Indian Pilots Guild seemed to have gone deeper. The Pilots Guild accused the management of indulging in financial malpractice and mismanagement that has caused the airline losses worth Rs 4,300 crore. "Mismanagement of the company's resources, hostility towards the welfare of erstwhile Air India employees and forced merger are the main...

02:16 PM, May 23, 2012