AirAsia Bhd's planned joint venture in India with Tata Sons could face some procedural problems, Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday, without elaborating. However, Singh said he does not see any other major hurdles for the venture in India. ...
12:30 PM, Mar 06, 2013
With major carriers slashing airfares following Jet Airways' offering of 20 lakh seats at Rs 2250 for travel till the year-end, Air India on Wednesday said it might join the competition to bag more air travellers. However, the government did not expect the low fares to breach the lowest fare bucket given by the airlines to aviation regulator DGCA. ...
03:30 PM, Feb 20, 2013
A revival plan submitted to the aviation regulator by grounded carrier Kingfisher is not backed by a clear funding proposal, the aviation minister said on December 26. ...
04:41 PM, Dec 26, 2012
Pitching for the reinstatement of the 13 sacked Air India pilots, the erstwhile Indian Airlines' pilots body has urged Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to take a lenient view on the issue saying the pilots had been in "distress and facing hardships" for the past six months. "We wish to urge and humbly request you to kindly take a lenient view with regard to the termination of 13 fellow pilots...
04:11 PM, Dec 23, 2012
New Delhi: Air India's performance standards have improved and promotions to its employees, which had been stopped recently, will be started from next month, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh told Lok Sabha on Wednesday. He said during Question Hour, that though Air India was still suffering losses, its performance has improved and it has returned some of the loans taken from banks. "An oversight committee looks at performance standards of...
03:50 PM, Dec 05, 2012
New Delhi: Air India is going to induct about 100 new pilots in the next few months, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said on Wednesday while virtually shutting the doors for striking pilots, asking those sacked to apply afresh. Indicating that the 101 sacked pilots could be replaced by new ones, Singh said 90 pilots were currently undergoing training and would be available for flying in August. "We're making sure...
05:28 PM, Jun 06, 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: Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday said that Air India will have to perform to get a bailout package from the government and that it was the last chance for the national carrier. The civil aviation minister informed Parliament that Air India lost Rs 150 crore due to ongoing strike of the pilots. He further urged the pilots to get back to work, saying "if pilots...
08:17 PM, May 15, 2012
New Delhi: Accusing Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh of making policy statements on Air India outside Parliament during the session period, the CPM, the JDU and the BJP on Tuesday moved a privilege notice against him in the Lok Sabha. "We have tabled a notice of privilege against the Civil Aviation Minister (Ajit Singh) in the House and demanded that he come and explain why he made policy statements on...
04:39 PM, May 15, 2012
Mumbai: Under pressure from various quarters, the derecognised Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) on Thursday appealed to Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh to open channels of negotiation and accused the Air India management of backtracking on its commitments. "The ministry has failed to respond to the offer for talks. IPG is willing to meet with officials of management/ministry at any place at any time in order to resolve the impasse," the...
11:01 AM, May 10, 2012
New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Wednesday said that the government might now consider downsizing the Air India if the agitation by pilots continues. "Government has given them 30,000 crore of public money but that is not without strings. They have to prove their worth. Let me point out the example of Kingfisher. They downsized and since then they arr doing fine. Air India only has 17 per...
11:43 AM, May 09, 2012
New Delhi: Even as the Air India stalemate continues, Indian Pilots Guild President Jitendra Awhad has said that the pilots were ready to go back to work if 99 per cent of their demands were met. He also claimed that the government had closed its doors to talks on the issue. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, however, denied Awhad's allegations. Ajit Singh said that the government was open to talks....
10:52 AM, May 09, 2012
New Delhi: The crisis at Air India continues on Wednesday with no end to the stalemate between the management and the pilots. However, reports say that Air India's pilots may strike a deal with the government and return to work. This comes after the cash-strapped national career sacked 10 agitating pilots, derecognised their union, the Indian Pilots Guild, and sealed its offices as around 160 pilots failed to join duty....
07:38 AM, May 09, 2012
New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Civil Aviation was asked on Friday by the Supreme Court to respond to a plea challenging the Centre notification, which fixes Rs 7.5 lakhs as compensation in case of a domestic air passenger's death against Rs 75 lakhs for international fliers. A bench of Justices Dalveer Bhandari and Dipak Misra issued notice to the ministry on a plea challenging a 1973 notification of the...
07:54 PM, Feb 24, 2012
Bangalore: The trouble for the Kingfisher Airlines failed to end on Monday as 17 more flights were cancelled in Mumbai and Bangalore while two others were rescheduled in the morning. This came a day after as many as 28 flights were cancelled on Sunday. Meanwhile, Kingfisher operations at the Kolkata airport have been shut till March 3. The series of flight cancellations have landed Kingfisher airlines in trouble with the...
08:28 AM, Feb 20, 2012
New Delhi: The Civil Aviation ministry has recommended 49 per cent FDI in the airline sector. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh said a cabinet note allowing foreign airlines to invest in domestic carriers will be floated. "Government will float cabinet note allowing foreign airlines to invest 49 per cent," Ajit Singh said. Earlier, the ministry was pushing for 26 per cent FDI in airlines. Ajit Singh also said the government...
06:09 PM, Jan 17, 2012
New Delhi: Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) chief Ajit Singh will be sworn in as the new Civil Aviation Minister. This comes a day after Singh met UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to seal his party's tie-up with the Congress for the upcoming Uttar Pradesh elections. Later, the Congress had confirmed that Ajit Singhs would join UPA as an ally. "Sonia Gandhi has accepted in principle to make RLD a constituent of...
08:52 PM, Dec 12, 2011
New Delhi: Air India's acquisition plan for 27 Boeing 787 Dreamliner planes and for additional equity infusion of Rs 6,600 crore would be deliberated by the Union Cabinet after the RBI gives its views on debt restructuring plan for the ailing national carrier. "A report on (Air India's) debt restructuring prepared by the Committee of Officers will be reviewed by the RBI within a week. Only after that will any...
07:45 PM, Oct 28, 2011
New Delhi: Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel, who lost the Civil Aviation portfolio in the Cabinet reshuffle on Wednesday, said that he was happy with his new portfolio. Patel said, "I am very happy that I am getting a Cabinet berth. I think I deserve it as I have been an MP for the last 20 years. Portfolio allocation is the Prime Minister's prerogative but I had...
05:17 PM, Jan 19, 2011
New Delhi: Sending a strong signal to domestic carriers over abrupt hike in airfares by some of them during periods of high demand, Civil Aviation Ministry today warned them of action if they continued with such "predatory pricing". The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which issued a directive to all airlines earlier this week, has sent notices to them to explain why such high prices were being charged. "We...
01:56 PM, Nov 25, 2010
