North Charleston: Representatives from Air India took delivery on Friday of the first Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner made in South Carolina and the first manufactured outside Boeing Commercial Airplane's headquarters in Washington state. The delivery marks another milestone in Boeing's efforts to broaden its production base beyond Washington, where all of its other jets have been built. The 787 is largely outsourced to other countries, with wings and other parts...
09:30 AM, Oct 06, 2012
New Delhi: Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines got a lifeline as banks agreed to release Rs 60 crore for the airline to pay its employees. Kingfisher Airlines will be able to pay its employees salaries with half that amount. But the lockout has been extended till October 12. The airline management will be meeting employees again on Friday after talks failed on Thursday. The move to release the money came after the...
07:18 AM, Oct 05, 2012
Mumbai: The Kingfisher Airlines has decided to extend its partial lockout till October 12. The airlines issued a statement on Thursday in this regard saying it "constrained to extend the partial lockout". The cash-strapped airline blamed the extension of the lockout on the "illegal strike that has not been withdrawn". The airline said that it was forced to declare the lockout "in view of the illegal strike perpetrated and continued...
11:19 PM, Oct 04, 2012
Kargil: Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday promised air connectivity for Ladakhis from the remote region within the next three months. Addressing a gathering on the first day of his two-day trip to Jammu and Kashmir, Rahul said air connectivity was important for the people of Ladakh because on numerous occasions local people who fell sick could not be given best possible medical care in time because of its...
09:07 PM, Oct 04, 2012
Gurgaon: The Kingfisher Airlines management met with striking employees on Thursday in Gurgaon but failed to end the empasse. There was more confusion after the meeting as a Kingfisher Airlines official claimed that 100 employees were ready to resume work, but the airlines denied any such development. Kingfisher lenders will be holding an emergency meeting later on Thursday in Mumbai at the SBI Bhawan. Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson denied the statement...
12:40 PM, Oct 04, 2012
New Delhi: The resumption of Kingfisher Airlines' flight four days after its lock-down seems to be under a cloud after talks between the airline management and employees failed. Sources said that the staff who have not been paid their salaries since March demanded to be paid in full on Wednesday and this was turned down by the management. Sources added that CEO Sanjay Aggarwal requested his employees for 20 more...
08:34 AM, Oct 04, 2012
New Delhi: The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday submitted its report on the Kingfisher Airlines to the Civil Aviation Minister. The DGCA, in its report, alleged that the safety of Kingfisher Airlines operations was seriously jeopardised. The DGCA has also raised serious concerns over the non-payment of salaries to its employees, asking Kingfisher to submit concrete plan before resuming operations. The aviation regulator has reiterated that the...
08:44 PM, Oct 03, 2012
New Delhi: Several airports in Tier-II cities are likely to be designated international if a Civil Aviation Ministry proposal on the issue is approved by the Union Cabinet on Thursday. According to sources, the airports likely to be in the list are those in Lucknow, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Mangalore and Coimbatore. Conversion of a domestic airport into an international one primarily entails creation of immigration facilities and deploying manpower to carry...
07:08 PM, Oct 03, 2012
New Delhi: The deadlock between the Kingfisher Airlines management and its pilots and engineers continues as talks failed between them. A representative of the striking Kingfisher engineers and pilots said the strike will continue as the management has failed to give any commitment on payment of salaries. This came even as Kingfisher CEO Sanjay Agarwal met the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and promised to restart operations by Friday....
04:03 PM, Oct 03, 2012
New Delhi: The CEO of the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, Sanjay Agarwal, said on Tuesday that flight operations are expected to begin on October 4, soon after his meeting with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) ended. Speaking to reporters, Agarwal said that the company will first discuss the matter with its employees and then take a decision. The CEO further said that salaries of half the 4000 employees had...
12:41 PM, Oct 02, 2012
New Delhi: Aviation Minister Ajit Singh on Tuesday reiterated that Kingfisher Airlines will not be allowed to operate flights until its engineers report back to work and they certify on the flights' safety. "Passenger safety cannot be compromised. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is talking to them today. They will send a report and a decision will be taken after that," he said. The CEO of the cash-strapped...
11:46 AM, Oct 02, 2012
New Delhi: The CEO of the cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines is expected to meet the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Tuesday. The CEO was summoned by the DGCA after all of Kingfisher Airlines flights were cancelled on Monday after its pilots and engineers refused to report to work over non-payment of salaries since March this year. Kingfisher Airlines was forced to declare a temporary lockout of its operations till...
08:19 AM, Oct 02, 2012
New Delhi: Sources in the Aviation Ministry said on Monday that the CEO of the Kingfisher Airlines had been summoned by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after all of its flights were grounded after pilots refused to work over non-payment of salaries. The meeting will be held on Tuesday. The sources added that the Aviation Ministry will soon take a call on shutting down the airline that is...
03:10 PM, Oct 01, 2012
New Delhi: Airlines wanting prime-time departure and arrival slots at airports may have to bid for their preferred choices as the government is mulling to auction these slots as part of a shake-up in civil aviation policy. "We will be coming up with a new computerised system of slot allotment at airports, which is currently allotted to airlines by the airports. There is no transparency in it. We are also...
11:49 AM, Sep 30, 2012
New Delhi: Airlines flying to Indian airports could face an auction for peak-time landing slots in a shake-up of aviation policy under the government's economic reform drive. Authorities are also in talks with suppliers to cut taxes on aircraft fuel, a move that would help local carriers which posted losses of $2.5 billion last year as they grappled with high airport charges and below-cost fares. Debt-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, once India's...
09:59 AM, Sep 29, 2012
New Delhi: The government plans to introduce a bill to replace aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with a more autonomous body in the Winter Session of Parliament as part of a host of measures to meet fresh challenges in the aviation sector. Among the measures being considered by the Civil Aviation Ministry is auctioning of some prime-time flying slots to end the opaqueness in their allocation by...
07:34 PM, Sep 28, 2012
Mumbai: Kingfisher Airlines continues to default on its service tax outstandings, amounting of over Rs 60 crore, and the government move to allow FDI policy in civil aviation sector offers the "only ray of hope" to recover the dues from the debt-ridden airline, according to a top tax official. Kingfisher has said it is in talks with foreign carriers for bringing in FDI, a move that is expected help it...
11:21 AM, Sep 27, 2012
New York: The US has reacted positively to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's big bang reforms. Speaking to CNN-IBN, Robert Blake, US Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, said the US welcomes the move. "The undersecretary for Economic and Business Affairs gave a speech this week welcoming the steps taken by the Indian government, particularly the opening of retail sector. It is of great interest to our companies, and...
08:40 AM, Sep 27, 2012
Chief Economic Advisor Raghuram Rajan says after the controversial FDI decisions, the government must now focus on banking reforms. ...
08:10 AM, Sep 26, 2012
Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Shourie has supported Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's decision of the diesel price hike and stays neutral on FDI in aviation and retail. Speaking to IBN18 Editor-in-Chief Rajdeep Sardesai, Shourie also said that Prime Minister should go ahead with more reforms and take decision without waiting for legislation. Shourie also pointed out that adversarial politics has been taken to an absurd level in India. "Whatever you...
12:39 PM, Sep 24, 2012
