04 February 2007


Date: 04. Feb. 2007
Two pilots of Air Sahara were caught inebriated before they were to operate flights out of Delhi on Friday. The airline, however, declined to say which flights the pilots were scheduled to fly.
This is the second time in the past few weeks that heightened Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) surveillance has led to drunk pilots getting caught.
On New Year's eve, two pilots of a private airliner were caught inebriated in Chennai. They have been suspended for up to six months.
"To ensure that the air traffic boom does not compromise passenger safety, strict pre-flight checks are being carried out under our surveillance by airlines on cabin crew. In addition, the airlines' operational and engineering practices are also under scrutiny. Action could soon be taken against some airlines who are found wanting,"said Kanu Gohain, DGCA director-general.
Crew members are subjected to breathanalyser and alcometer test before being allowed to operate their flights. These tests are carried out by airline doctors in the presence of DGCA officials.
If there's a suspicion that the crew member has consumed alcohol, he or she is held back from duty and then subjected to a secondary test after 15 to 20 minutes.
If this test also comes positive, the guilty are de-rostered and disciplinary action like suspension follows.
According to rules, the following officials — pilots, commanders, navigators, engineers and cabin crew — are not supposed to have liquor, sedatives, narcotics or stimulants within 12 hours of the flight they are supposed to operate.
The DGCA has also grounded eight pilots of Indian (Airlines). These pilots are alleged to have flown more than the permitted 1,000 hours per year.
The airline is learnt to be scrutinising their records as it feels some pilots may have claimed to be on duty without flying.
For example, it is seeing if a pilot has flown from Delhi to Mumbai in the passenger cabin to operate a flight out of there and if the on-duty flying time from Delhi to Mumbai has also been counted.
In fact, Gohain is learnt to be keen on changing the flight time duty limitation (FTDL) rules. "At present, pilots flying in cabin to operate a flight from some other city may count this time in their duty hours. Similarly, pilots on the national sector of a flight like Delhi-Mumbai-London may ask for leave and pay of operating an international sector. Keeping in mind the shortage of pilots, in national interest the FTDL rules need to be changed,"said an official.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com


Date: 04. Feb. 2007
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet said on Friday that it will start offering web check-in service from Delhi to 14 destinations across the country.
Passengers travelling from Delhi to select destinations would be able to check-in, choose preferred seats and print boarding passes through SpiceJet website, SpiceJet said in a release.
The service once availed on a ticket would restrict cancellations or any modifications on that ticket, the release said, adding the service would not be available for passengers travelling with infants, unaccompanied minors and persons using wheelchairs.
"SpiceJet's web check-in service provides hassle free air travel experience. The new service would also help in making check-in counters at airports less crowded," SpiceJet CEO Siddhanta Sharma said in a statement.
Source: http://www.tech2.com


Date: 04. Feb. 2007
Cutbacks in the size of planes and what passengers say is poor service are causing travelers using Air India to complain bitterly about their experiences.
"Complaints are so common now that I don't know what to say," said Sonny Chatrath, manager of Air Savings in Edison.
Complaints about very late departures, flight cancelations, and poor communications between the airline and its customers have become a chorus.
Passengers say the airline has canceled flights without giving prior notice to its passengers.
Chatrath said a flight to India recently left Newark at 2 a.m., six hours after its scheduled time.
Chatrath thinks that at least the local Air India office should call about the delay and cancelation of the flight. But they never bother to do so Chatrath said.
"Passengers just complain, complain and complain, about Air India once they come back," Chatrath said.
The problems began in December when Air India failed to renew its lease with Boeing and shifted to 777 aircraft from the 747s it was flying.
The move cut about 100 seats from each flight.
S. Venkat, executive director-finance and spokesperson for India, said in an e-mail that the airline made the change in planes flying between Newark and Mumbai, and canceled some of its flights.
Venkat said it's 3-year-lease expired on the large planes and "despite our best efforts to locate replacement capacity in the market, we could not do so due to a tough lease market for wide bodied aircraft."
However, he said by this summer, the wide-bodied 747 service to Newark will be restored.
Venkat did not comment on the flight cancelations and allegations of poor service and late departures.
Pradip "Peter" Kothari, owner of Quick Travel in Iselin, who is a frequent flier on Air India, said planes always get delayed during winter due to bad weather, but Air India should keep back-up planes available if an aircraft fails to reach the U.S on time.
"They have two aircrafts and by chance one gets into technical problem then the other flight is either delayed or canceled," Kothari said.
He said people go on tight schedule to India and if flights get delayed or canceled, it disturbs the whole trip.
But he questioned whether Air India could afford to keep back-up planes in reserve in the U.S..
Kapil Shah of T.K Travel in Piscataway said with two more airlines in the market, Air India is facing a tough time. Delta and Continental recently began service from Newark to Mumbai and Delhi. Shah believes Air India lost the 747 lease because of tough competition.
Summer is a peak season and people travel to India, Shah said. "So in summer they will replace smaller aircraft with jumbo jet," Shah said.
Chatrath, however, fears that even if Air India goes directly to India with better and bigger aircraft, he has lost his clients due to Air India's mismanagement. Many, he said, will never fly with Air India.
Source: http://www.thnt.com