http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/07-18-2006/0004398425&EDATE=
Air-India Charters Introduces Blended Winglets(TM) on 22 Boeing 737-800s 

 India's Newest Low-Cost Carrier Specifies Aviation Partners Boeing Blended
             Winglet Technology to Lower Costs and Boost Range

    SEATTLE, July 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Air-India Charters, a subsidiary of
flag carrier Air India, has ordered 18 Blended Winglet Shipsets to be
installed by Boeing as Buyer Furnished Equipment beginning in October 2006.
In addition, the carrier has also taken delivery of 4 new Blended Winglet
Equipped 737-800s, on lease from ILFC. While return on investment, based on
fuel savings alone, is projected to be just three years the economic and
performance benefits of Blended Winglet Technology will be with Air-India
Charters for the life of their aircraft.
    "Air-India Charters is a newcomer to the low-cost market in the region
and they're planning on significant growth over the next couple of years,"
says Aviation Partners Boeing Vice President of Sales Patrick LaMoria.
"We're very happy to be a partner with Air-India Charters as they introduce
a new era of airline service to India and extend their reach with the
benefits of Blended Winglet Technology."
    With fuel prices today in India over $2 per gallon, the business case
for Blended Winglet Technology makes more and more sense. Another plus,
however, is the high-tech image of this visible technology. "Low-cost
carriers in the region are trying hard to tap into a growing Indian middle
class market that's very tech-savvy," says Aviation Partners Boeing
Director of Sales Christopher Stafford. "The high-tech dimension of Blended
Winglet Technology is of value to Air-India Charters and helps to visibly
differentiate their product from the competition."
    Air-India Charters, founded in 1993, has been expanding its route
network throughout the Middle East and Gulf region. As Blended Winglet
Equipped 737-800 join the fleet early next year the carrier will begin to
expand its route network to include destinations in the Far East such as
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta.
    For Air-India Charters, Blended Winglet Equipped NG 737-800s are just
the right choice in terms of minimizing operating costs and maximizing
opportunities. "Profitability of a budget airline can be greatly enhanced
with Blended Winglet Technology," says Aviation Partners President and CEO,
John Reimers. "Our technology helps airlines lower costs, maximize returns
and pull ahead of other carriers in terms of return on investment."
    Over 80% of new Boeing 737-700/800 aircraft will be delivered with
Aviation Partners Boeing Blended Winglets Systems. Blended Winglets are
also certified on the Boeing 737-300 and 757-200. Aviation Partners Boeing
is currently seeking a launch customer to certify Blended Winglets for the
767-300ER. Over 1,150 Blended Winglet Systems are already installed and in
service on Boeing aircraft with orders and options approaching 2,000
additional shipsets.
     http://www.aviationpartnersboeing.com               Patent No. 5348253

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Air India Express to operate extra flights to Gulf during Onam

New Delhi, Aug 18 (UNI)

Air India Express will operate additional flights from Kerala to the Gulf during the Onam festival season, Air India Chairman and Managing Director Vasudevan Thulasidas today said.

The extra flights will fly between Kozhikode and Dubai and Kochi and Dubai, Mr Thulasidas told a ’Meet the Press’ programme organised by the Kerala Union of Working Journalists at the Kerala House.

The Kozhikode-Dubai additional flights will operate from August 22 followed by the Kochi-Dubai flights from August 29, he said.

He said Air India Express would operate more flights in the Kerala-Gulf sector if it could overcome the pilot shortage.

The Air India chief justified the increase in the fares in the Kerala-Gulf sector during the Onam season saying the fares went up because of high demand, which is applicable to all sectors at different times.

Gulf passengers have been protesting against the increase in fares by many airlines even up to 50 per cent taking advantage of the rush due to the festival season as well as the vacation time in the Gulf countries.

Mr Thulasidas said Air India would join one of the three global airline alliances to enhance passenger facilities like single window for destinations around the world and a formal announcement would be made in December.

Asked about the Kerala government’s plan to launch its own airlines for the benefit of the Gulf passengers, he said it was up to the central government to accord clearance and Air India did not have a monopoly in the sector as many would believe.

According to him, the Kerala-Gulf sector accounts for the largest number of passengers, but in terms of revenue, the India-US sector comes on the top.

Mr Thulasidas said the Air India-Indian Airlines merger could become a reality by March next year, creating the ‘‘largest airlines in Asia’’.

The first of the 68 Boeing planes ordered by Air India and Air India Express would join their fleet by November, he said.

The airlines was also trying to improve its customer-friendly image by recruiting more young women and men as cabin crew, he said adding presently one-third of the Air India cabin crew are young people, ‘‘most of them women’’.

‘‘This ratio will go up to 50 per cent in two-three years,’’ Mr Thulasidas said.  

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Air India Express from Mangalore soon

Mangalore, Aug 25 (UNI)

Air India Express is expected to commence its international flight service from the airport during the first week of October. It is to operate a 737 service from Mangalore to Dubai.

http://www.hindu.com/2006/08/30/stories/2006083005102100.htm
Business    

Air-India Express to operate more flights to Gulf

A Correspondent

Kochi, August 30, 2006

`AIE fares much lower than that offered by its competitors' 

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`Air-India ready to cooperate with all expansion projects of Kochi airport'

New reservation system named CUTE (Common User Terminal Equipment) at Kochi airport soon
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NEDUMBASSERY: Air-India Express (AIE), the no-frills subsidiary of Air-India, is set to increase the number of services from Kerala to the Gulf region during the forthcoming winter schedule, Company Secretary and the General Manager (Public Relations), Air India, S. Venkat said here on Monday.

Mr. Venkat was in Kochi in connection with the launch of `meet and greet' facility introduced by the airline for its business class passengers. Addressing a press conference, he said the low cost carrier has performed exceedingly well in State during the last one-year since its launch in April 29, 2005.

Mr. Venkat said AIE flights from the State had consistently registered a load factor of over 90 per cent. The budget carrier started off with 26 services a week, which was gradually expanded to 38 services. In the yet to be announced 2006 winter schedule, this would be further increased to 44 services and a portion of this increase will be from the Kochi airport, he said.

Proposal to increase the frequency of services between Dubai and Kochi from the present eight to 12 a week is under consideration, K.M. Kurian, commercial manager (Kerala), of the airline said.

Presently the AIE operates 23 services in a week out of Kochi airport. At present the AIE's fleet comprises seven B737-800s taken on lease.

"We have placed orders for 18 more aircraft at a cost of nearly Rs.5000 crore. The first of these aircraft are expected by November or December this year while ten more new aircraft are likely to be received in the course of next year," he said.

Seats increased

The total number of seats from Kerala has been increased and a further increase during the winter schedule was being planned. Aircraft capacity has been increased by 18 per cent and the availability of economy class seats increased by 29 per cent in the current summer schedule compared to the summer schedule in the previous year, Mr. Kurian informed.

"B737-800s are new generation aircraft, the airline had to hire as many as 40 pilots on contract from different countries. However, we are now training our pilots and co-pilots so that there would be absolutely no shortage of pilots when new aircraft are inducted," e said.

Mr. Venkat said the AIE was awaiting clearances from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur for commencing services to these destinations from Chennai.

Growing market

Stating that Kerala was a growing aviation market, Mr. Venkat attributed it to two factors — affordable fares and increase in dispensable income.

"Affordable fares have enabled people to frequently," he pointed out.

Dispelling allegations that the airline was fleecing passengers during peak season by hiking fares, Mr. Venkat said despite the hike, the AIE fares were much lower than that offered by its competitors.

"Currently, the peak season fares offered by foreign carriers in the Kerala-Gulf sector are in the Rs.13,500-Rs.16,500 range. AIE charges only between Rs.8,999 and Rs.11,700 during the peak season," he said.

He justified the hike stating that it was normal for any industry to effect a hike during peak seasons.

He said Air-India, being an equity partner and the ground-handling agent of the Kochi airport, was willing to participate in any future expansion projects of the airport.

He said Air-India would introduce a new reservation system, named CUTE (Common User Terminal Equipment) at the Kochi airport in the next two or three months.

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Air India Express adds two more cities in its route

Mumbai, Sep 9 (UNI) Air India Express, India’s first International budget airline, will add two more cities in India to its route Network - Amritsar and Mangalore.

Effective from October 2, two weekly flights will commence between Amritsar and Dubai. With this, Air India Express has taken the first step to fulfill the requirement of the Punjab market for direct flights to the Gulf. These flights will be progressively stepped up in the near future, a release issued here today said.

Air India Express will also commence a twice weekly service on the Mangalore-Dubai-Mangalore route. This will be the first international service from Mangalore in Karnataka.

With the proposed operations from Amritsar and Mangalore, effective from October 2, the total number of flights to India-UAE-Oman will increase to 39 per week. Out of which 35 weekly flights will be operated from three cities of Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode to the UAE and Oman.

Air India Express operates flights to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Al-Ain, in the UAE and to Muscat and Salalah in Oman.

At present, the Air India Express flights operate with an all-economy-class-configuration Boeing 737-800 aircraft. 

These services are going to be partly sabotaged by Air India. Its tender for wet and dry lease has not been a success and its beginning to panic.

Strategy now is to hijack AIX and fly its planes on Air India routes to the Gulf and Far East. Plan also is to have some in 2-class. 

karatecatman wrote:

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These services are going to be partly sabotaged by Air India. Its tender for wet and dry lease has not been a success and its beginning to panic.

Strategy now is to hijack AIX and fly its planes on Air India routes to the Gulf and Far East. Plan also is to have some in 2-class. 

---

AI's taking over (lease) AIE's aircraft (hopefully short term) to plug the holes in AI's schedule--It's unfair but doesn't it make sense? Somewhere in this forum I read that 3 of AIE's 738s are not being used for long due to pilot shortage whereas the lease payments are being made.

If AI could use those 738s for Gulf and SE asia and release 310s for Europe, China, Japan etc- that would make sense in short term.

BTW, for some routes in the Middle east, AI uses 747s and/or 777s. Kuwait is one of them...and other destinations you guys know of?

Cheers!

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RAK Airways to launch India operations in January

Dubai, Sep 10 (UNI)

The UAE emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is targetting India as a major market for its airline, RAK Airways, which plans to start operations in January next year.

RAK Airways plans to start operations with a Boeing 737 it owns and a Boeing 757 on lease.

In its first year, the airline will fly twice a week to 15 destinations in India and Iran, said CEO Jack Romero, who indicated fleet expansion plan from two aircrafts to over 10 aircrafts in the short-term.

It is wooing passengers with liberal baggage rules, including a 45 kilogram free allowance and 10 kilogram hand baggage, media reports said.

It is also enticing passengers with pick up service to neighbouring emirates of Sharjah and Dubai.

The airline will primarily serve businessmen and tourists.

By the end of the third year, Mr Romero said, the carrier should turn in a profit even assuming oil at 100 dollars a barrel and 39 per cent occupancy on its flights.