Weekend Platter

Weekend Platter

What they said about….Our Air India …..……

1.       Shri Ajit Singh – Hon’ Minister of Civil Aviation – on F.D.I. in airlines :   

…..Indigo already has 49 per cent FDI. That leaves SpiceJet and GoAir only. Air India already has such good investment from government. No FDI can beat that……

2.       Times of India - On Governments Move to Impose Restrictions in Unbundling :

…..one of the main reasons for the government`s current approach is its interest in helping out Air India…..because the government is apprehensive of budget airlines cutting into Air India's market share, that it wants to micro-regulate ….(TIMES VIEW- JUNE 1, 2013 )

3.       Mr Gurcharan Das- AI Board Member designate :

…..I think we should try to bring efficiencies ( in Air India ) by privatising some of the services….as much as we can…..

4.       Ms Renuka Ramnath- AI Board Member designate :

…..we would like to identify the issues and pick the champions in the company and give them specific targets…..

5.       Mr Prem Virat – AI Board Member designate :

……the only big idea is systemic improvement-to be able to improve the quality of service given to the customers at all levels…..

6.       Air Marshal K.K. Nohwar – AI Board Member designate :

….operations will be more in line with what I have done in the last 40 years……

7.       Mr Satyanand Mishra, C.I.C. – on the letter of ex-CMD Sunil Arora to M.O.C.A. :

….. Mishra has pulled up Civil Aviation Ministry for creating a “self generated” impasse and using ”diversionary tactic” to block the information on the complaint against its then Minister Patel……

 

What happened in…..Our Air India …..……

8.       Air India on World Environment Day- June 05, 2013 :

The theme this year was No Plastic Day, and AI’s message to all its employees was to discontinue using plastic bags which pose an environment hazard…….

9.       SAP- New 8 Digit Staff Numbers for all employees

While SAP integration has been done in employee payrolls, and new 8 digit staff numbers have been established, however these numbers and the old staff numbers will run concurrently and operate parallel, till HR integration is complete. Therefore employees can continue to use and refer old numbers. New ID Cards will be issued in a phased manner after complete integration of SAP , till then old ID cards will be valid …..

10.   ZED Ticket travel on US Carriers within USA – listing issues …….

Some of our members had raised queries regarding listing on US Carriers for Z tickets. I am quoting some of the comments / clarifications received …..

·         For listing online for United/American Airlines the website is ifc.id90.com user id: aiemp password is: 098.once the site opens fill in all details incl number of persons accompanying select flights after all this is done u will get ur PNR NO.for other carriers like US Airways,Delta,etc go to website flyzed.com user id is: aic password: 098 and follow the same procedure.i hope this will be helpful.

·         There is a change 4 listing on US-Delta. Flyzed does not work anymore. Go to WWW.Myidtravel.com/myidlisting User: AISTAFF , PW:098 , rest is all self-explanatory mask to be filled in. Hope this will be helpful.Happy ZED flying….

·         …. DL still requires paper tickets, so beware…… Make sure ZED ticket is not closed or restricted to one airline only….

What’s happening with….Our Country Cousins …..……

11.   Neil Mills – CEO Spice Jet – on the resignation of Chief Commercial Officer…..

….. Kutty had resigned for “personal reasons”, denying the exit had anything to do with the loss or the discounts on fares offered in January this year …..

12.   Mr Nick Kardassis- Jet Airways - C.E.O. resigns……

…. Nikos Kardassis has resigned with effect from June 5," the airline said in a statement to the stock exchanges….the carrier's chief operating officer Hameed Ali will be the "acting CEO", until a replacement for Kardassis is appointed……

13.   Vijay Mallya- Kingfisher…..at last Vijay Mallya speaks…….

……I don’t have the money to pay your salary dues, because I cannot use the proceeds from the United Spirits-Diageo deal for this …..Mr Mallya reportedly told the striking employees…

14.   Neil Mills – CEO Spice Jet – on Unbundling of Fares……

….. A customer would be happy to pay to sit next to a person, so let us charge for the convenience. In any case Rs100 or Rs200 is a small amount for this….

What’s the industry buzzing with….

15.   Mr Tony Tyler- DG & CEO, IATA….on the earnings of Airlines……

….. an average airline would earn about US$4 a passenger "less than the cost of a sandwich in most places"……

16.   Mr Tim Clark- President, Emirates- on the Etihad deal……

…. We need more seats….We've been asking for revision of traffic rights into India for five years since 2008. Our request predates theirs and the die has been cast in that direction…

17.   Mr Akbar Al Baker, CEO, Qatar Airways…..

We are interested to expand further in India. But this depends on the strategy of the government of India. How they want the aviation industry to evolve in this great country of yours. We are requesting for additional traffic rights,……

18.   On Unbundling of Services & Related Charges……

The global practice of charging separately for various airline services….like pre-selection of the best seats, extra charges for check-in baggage, check-in baggage in general, using airline lounges, special charges for music and sound equipment, and even a special fee to declare valuable or delicate baggage ……has finally come to India…..

19.   Is Air Asia the Reason for Introduction of Unbundling Charges…..?

…. It seems so….. after allowing for FDI in the sector, international giants such as Air Asia have entered the Indian market, bringing with them the best global practices in aviation, forcing the aviation regulatory to allow the domestic carriers to charge separately for each service….(THE  TELEGRAPH – MAY 31, 2013 )  

20.   Malindo Air, Malaysia – a Hybrid Airline to start India Ops by August 2013……

…..is seen by many as a threat to both Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia from the product and low fares standpoint……It offers Full service like an FS Carrier and low fares like an LCC….

Whoa !!! What about some tantalising ADVENTURE….

21.   Now DRIVE DOWN to Bangkok….Yes its true……

If you like burning the rubber….and are a freak at the wheels, then Get..!Set….!Go…!!! The trilateral hi-way covering India, Myanmar and Thailand, is all set to become operational by 2015-16, said Mr Anand Sharma, Minister for Commerce & Industry….. The highway will be—from Moreh in Manipur to Mae Sot in Thailand, via Myanmar ( TBM- Mumbai June 2013 )

22.   Get Set for Worlds Longest Non-stop flight- Europe to Australia…..

Turkish Airways is all set to launch a new route from Istanbul to Sydney, which will be the longest commercial flight in the world, spanning 8,076 nautical miles (14,956 kilometres)…. (Air Transport World)

 & What about a little Laughter- Airline Ishtyle …..……

23.   In-Flight Announcement after Landing :

" As you exit the plane, please make sure to gather all of your belongings. Anything left behind will be distributed evenly among the flight attendants. Please do not leave children or spouses."