Air India unions reject 'abominable' compulsory leave without pay plan

National carrier has a debt of around Rs 70,000 cr and the government started the process to sell it to a private entity in January

The government should halt Air India’s “abominable” compulsory leave without pay (LWP) offer as it is not voluntary and is “illegal”, six employee unions of the airline wrote to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday. Air India, in an internal order on July 14, asked its departmental heads and regional directors to identify employees, based on various factors like efficiency, health and redundancy, who will be sent on LWP for up to five years.

Moreover, it said employees can voluntarily opt for the LWP scheme too.

“We are deeply ashamed to say that it seems that after praising our Air Indian Corona Warriors at grand functions, respectfully, the government has now turned a blind eye to this management’s ethnic cleansing of Air Indians at the lower levels, through compulsory LWP, redundancies and wage cuts,” the unions said in a joint letter to Puri.

“We once again request you to intervene and halt this abominable compulsory LWP scheme and grant us a meeting with yourself to discuss the way ahead for all of us together,” they said. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, LWP and firings of employees in order to conserve cash flow.

Aarogya Setu must, cabin baggage barred: rules ready for resuming flights

The civil aviation ministry has come out with a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for restarting commercial air passenger services in the country

Filling up a detailed questionnaire related to coronavirus, no cabin baggage, using Aarogya Setu app, and reaching airport at least two hours before a flight departure might well be among some of the requirements for air passengers during the initial phase after resumption of commercial flights. The civil aviation ministry has come out with a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for restarting commercial air passenger services in the country, which remain suspended since March 25 in the wake of the lockdown to curb spreading of coronavirus infections.

ALSO READ: Coronavirus LIVE: Govt says India’s Covid-19 mortality rate lowest globally

Green status on Aarogya Setu app, web check-in, and temperature checks for all domestic departing and arriving passengers have also been proposed. The draft SOP, accessed by PTI, has also mooted rostering the same set of cabin and cockpit crew as long as possible in order to prevent possible cross-contamination. Not just for passengers, the draft SOP has suggested measures that could be followed by security agencies as well as airport operators, including doing away with identity card checks at airport entry gates and ensuring social distancing requirements.

Billionaire Hinduja brothers set to bid for Jet Airways by Jan 15: Report

Thoughts are at beginning period and Hinduja Group may rule against offering, or different bidders may rise, the individuals said.

The Hinduja Group is setting up an offer to purchase grounded bearer Jet Airways India Ltd., as indicated by individuals acquainted with the issue. The U.K.- based gathering, run by siblings Gopichand Hinduja and Ashok Hinduja, plans to present a statement of enthusiasm by the Jan. 15 cutoff time, flagging its expectation to make a conventional offer, the individuals stated, asking not to be distinguished as the consultations are private. Hinduja is looking for an accomplice to offer, one of the individuals said.

Loan bosses are looking for crisp offers for Jet Airways after prior getting enthusiasm from just a solitary organization, Synergy Group Corp. The Mumbai-based aircraft, which was previously the nation’s biggest by advertise esteem, succumbed to a ferocious value war started by a large number of spending transporters and in the long run defaulted to banks, staff and lessors.

State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have asserted 82.3 billion rupees ($1.2 billion), while different leasers, similar to workers and lessors, are looking for 64 billion rupees from the carrier, which is 24% claimed by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways PJSC. Hinduja Group had recently considered offering for Jet Airways in organization with Etihad, yet Etihad casted off the proposition and Jet Airways was tipped into chapter 11. Gopichand Hinduja told the Mint paper this month that the gathering was available to purchasing Jet Airways whenever repaid from the carrier’s legitimate liabilities….

‘Golden age’ for aviation sector; huge opportunities ahead: IndiGo chief

Bringing ATF under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been a long pending demand of the airline industry

With strong fundamentals, India’s civil aviation sector is in its “golden age” and there is also healthy competition among domestic carriers, IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta has said. Interestingly, the country’s civil aviation sector has been experiencing lower growth in traffic compared to previous years and there has also been softness in fares in October, according to industry experts.

The traffic grew just 1.18 per cent in September, as per the latest available official data.IndiGo, owned by InterGlobe Aviation, is the country’s largest airline with a market share of 48.2 per cent in September. While acknowledging that there are problems, including high taxes on jet fuel, Dutta said there are huge opportunities going forward.

“We are in the golden age of Indian aviation and there are huge opportunities going forward… There are always problems, there are always issues and economic cycles. (But) The fundamentals are strong,” he told PTI in an interview. According to him, tax on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is 30 per cent higher than rest of the world. Bringing ATF under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been a long pending demand of the airline industry. “Then there are throughput charges for which we should be getting credit for taxes paid,” he added.

IndiGo has been aggressively expanding its operations and has started 11 overseas routes in the last one year. Recently, it placed an order for 300 more planes from Airbus and is also considering wide-body aircraft for long haul routes. On whether there is healthy competition among local carriers, Dutta replied in the affirmative…

A widening financial toll for Boeing from fallout of 737 Max grounding

Since the March 10 crash of an Ethiopian Airlines 737 Max 8 jet, Boeing has dropped 15%

International News: Boeing Co intends to report a $4.9 billion bookkeeping accuse of its second-quarter results one week from now, an indication of the augmenting money related toll from the organization’s ambushed 737 Max jetliner.

The after-charge writedown, proportional to $8.74 an offer, covers potential concessions and contemplations for carrier clients who have been compelled to drop flights and line up substitution air ship as the Max’s establishing enters its fifth month, Boeing said in an announcement Thursday. The costs will cut $5.6 billion from income and pretax profit in the quarter.

The suspicions behind the bookkeeping charge additionally gave a look at Boeing’s recuperation plan for its top rated fly, which smashed twice in a five-month range and immersed the US planemaker in one of the most noticeably terrible emergencies of its century-long history. The organization assessed that the Max will be endorsed to come back to support in the US and different nations starting “right off the bat in the final quarter,” facilitating fears that the timetable would slip to 2020.

“This is a vital crossroads for Boeing,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said in the announcement. “Nothing is more imperative to us than the security of the flight teams and travelers who fly on our planes. The Max establishing presents noteworthy headwinds and the monetary effect perceived this quarter mirrors the present difficulties and addresses future budgetary dangers…

Read More: Boeing 737 Max