Air India will be positioning a team of officials including lawyers to Mangalore, who will be assisting the survivors and the relatives of the victims of the Air India Express flight IX 812 of 22nd May 2010, which met with an accident in Mangalore, in their claim for compensation. Mr. Sunil Kishen, Executive Director (Southern Region) will be coordinating the activities. The team will be in Mangalore, initially, for two days from 28th May 2010.

The helpline numbers in Mangalore are:
0824 – 2452306
0824 – 2452307
0824 – 2452308

Air India has already published an advertisement, in all leading dailies, giving details of the offices to be contacted, application download and submission etc, for the interim claim.

The Angels of Air India, drawn from different sections of Air India employees are in Mangalore since the crash, assisting the survivors, relatives of the victims in all their requirements. Air India has also arranged counseling sessions by for the survivors and the relatives to get over the trauma.

Air India would like to take this opportunity to thank all the employees, unions and associations who have extended unstinted support in all its activities during this hour of crisis.

A team of Air India officials, led by Executive Director (Finance) Mr. S. Kundra, has reached Mangalore today to assist the survivors and the relatives of the victims in their claim for compensation.

The team, accompanied by officials of M/s Mulla and Mulla, will meet the relatives of the deceased in batches to provide clarifications regarding compensation, procedures, documentation etc. Additional Help lines (0824 – 2452306, 2452307, 2452308) have also been provided in Mangalore for any assistance.

A separate e mail id ix812@airindia.in has been created for all related correspondence.

Air India has arranged Art of Living (AOL) counselling and healing sessions for the traumatized cabin crew, family members of the deceased, staff and the villagers who assisted in the rescue and recovery operations.

The airline will continue to extend full assistance and support to all survivors, relatives of the crash victims, relatives of the crew members in all activities post crash including hospitalization and care of the survivors, counseling for trauma, recovery and handing over of the bodies to the relatives, interim compensation, and disbursal of personal effects etc.

The accident to Air India Express flight IX 812 from Dubai to Mangalore on May 22, 2010 claimed 158 lives and only eight passengers survived. While 136 bodies have been handed over to the relatives, DNA samples of twenty two bodies, which remained unidentified, were sent to Hyderabad. Subsequently, nine bodies including two of crew members were identified and handed over to the relatives. DNA matching for the remaining bodies is on and would be handed over to the relatives after identification.

Volunteers from Air India (called Angels of Air India) were attached to each survivor and the family members to provide all assistance to the bereaved.

Capt. Zlatko Glusica, a Serbian national, employed with Air India Charters Limited since 2008, was in command of the ill-fated flight. He had over 10000 hours of flying experience. Capt. Glusica’s family was contacted by Air India officials and offered all help to travel to Mangalore. The human remains of Capt. Glusica, accompanied by officials from Air India, was flown to Belgrade via Delhi and Frankfurt.

Air India extended full assistance in fulfilling the requisite formalities at the Serbian Embassy in Delhi. Two Serbian commanders, who are also flying with Air India Express, along with Air India officials accompanied the body from Mangalore to Belgrade via Frankfurt. The body was flown to Frankfurt, from where the Son and the Brother of the deceased Captain also accompanied the body to Belgrade. The cremation was held with full honours.

Capt. H S Ahluwalia, from Mumbai, was the First Officer of the flight. He also had to his credit over 3500 hours of flying experience. He is survived by his mother, two brothers and one sister. Capt. Ahluwalia’s body was flown in to Mumbai and handed over to his relatives with full honours. A large number of Air India employees participated in the funeral.

Three of the four cabin crew members - Ms. Tejal Anil Kamulkar, Mr. Mohammad Ali, and Mr. Yugantar Rana - whose bodies have been identified so far have been handed over to their relatives with full honours and assistance from Air India. Air India is also in constant touch with the Laboratory in Hyderabad to get the identification results of the remaining 12 bodies, which include one cabin crew Ms. Sujata Siddharth Survase.

Air India would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one, who helped and supported us, in this hour of crisis.

Air India has resumed the normal schedule of operations across the entire network from today; with the total passenger bookings on the IC coded flights crossing 32,000.

The daily average passenger carriage for May 2010 stands at 29,070, up from an average of 24,350 in May 2009.

Relief flight for rail mishap victims

Air India pressed into service a special relief aircraft to rush aid for victims of the rail mishap near Jhargram in West Bengal.

A 48-seater ATR-42 aircraft VT ABC took off from Kolkata airport at 11.20 am for the Kalaikunda Indian Air Force airstrip near the site of the disaster. On board was a 43-member team of the National Disaster Management wing and 500 kgs of relief material. Two officials of Air India, including an engineer, were also on board to extend logistical support.

Air India Express sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to delay of its flight IX 206 of May 28, 2010 from Mumbai to Chennai. The flight scheduled for departure at 1800 hrs was rescheduled to leave at 2100 hrs due to a technical snag. By the time the snag was rectified, the flight duty time limitation of the crew came into effect. The airline, therefore, had to arrange a fresh set of crew leading to the flight leaving Mumbai in the early hours of today (May 29, 2010). The passengers were served light refreshments and dinner on ground.

Air India Express once again sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers.

Some section of the media has reported of an incident of Air India Express flight IX-212 of May 26, 2010. In this connection we would like to clarify as under :

Air India Express flight IX-212 of May 26, 2010 from Dubai to Pune, during flight, lost some height (not 15,000 ft. as reported). There are no reports of any injuries to passengers and crew. The pilots have been de-rostered to enable them to participate in the enquiry. The matter is being investigated.

CMD Air India, Arvind Jadhav, along with the senior management team, today met the office bearers of the various Unions and Associations at Corporate Headquarters, Mumbai.

The objective of the meeting was to keep the employees’ representatives abreast of the developments in Air India. In his introductory remarks, Mr Jadhav expressed his appreciation at the manner in which all employees responded to the tragic incident involving an Air India Express flight.

Time for consolidation; not confrontation

While congratulating the employees for the team spirit shown during those crucial days, Mr Jadhav also touched upon the recent illegal strike by a section of the employees. He said, "I am deeply pained and saddened by the strike. It was totally avoidable, to say the least. We are still coming to terms with a tragedy. A large majority of employees also feel that there should not be any disruption. We are also striving hard for improved performance. This is the time for consolidation; not confrontation.” The focus of the Management will be on :

• Financial restructuring
• Organisational transformation

CMD assured the employees that the newly constituted Board Sub Committees will review the entire gamut of operational issues; so that productivity can be increased by adopting international work practices.

With the inauguration of the state-of-the-art Terminal T3 at IGI Airport New Delhi, Air India will have the first mover advantage of integrated domestic and international operations from the most modern airport terminal in the world.

The Commonwealth Games to be held in Delhi from 3rd to 14th October will offer the airline a grandstand opportunity to show case Brand Air India to an international audience. By the end of the year, the airline will have put in place all processes to join Star Alliance and become a truly Global Carrier.

Mr Jadhav urged the employees, "it is time for 30,000 employees to come together and work towards a bright and prosperous future that is rightfully yours!”

The response from the Unions and Associations was very positive and they individually and collectively expressed their whole- hearted support to the turnaround initiatives of the Management.

Air India has disbursed claims of Rs. 7.56 crores to 84 families till today evening, as part of the interim relief to the survivors and the relatives of the victims of the Air India Express IX-812 crash in Mangalore on 22nd May 2010.

Air India’s special team of officials led by Executive Director (Finance) Mr. S. Kundra, is in Mangalore from 3rd June 2010. Over the last two days an amount of Rs. 57 lakhs was disbursed to 30 people - 28 families of the victims and two survivors - being the relief announced by the Central Government out of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund in respect of the above accident. The Government had announced a payment of Rs. 2 lakhs for the family of a deceased and Rs. 50,000/- for a survivor from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. This amount will also be paid to those who have claimed the Air India’s interim relief on 28th and 29th May 2010.

Air India’s team of senior officials had earlier visited Mangalore on 28th and 29th May 2010 to assist the survivors and the relatives of the victims in their claim for compensation.

The team, accompanied by the solicitor officials of M/s Mulla and Mulla, is meeting the survivors and relatives of the deceased in batches to provide clarifications regarding compensation, procedures, documentation etc.

Air India arranged disbursement of interim compensation of Rs. 4.82 crores to 54 families during 28th and 29th May 2010. This included one of the eight survivors. On June 3, 2010, interim compensation of Rs. 1.82 crores was disbursed to 20 families, including a survivor. Today, interim compensation of Rs. 92 lakhs was disbursed to 10 families, including one survivor. Earlier, Air India had announced an interim compensation of Rs.10 lakhs for the family members of a deceased adult (of above 12 years of age), Rs. 5 lakhs for a child (below 12 years of age) and Rs. 2 lakhs for a survivor.

The airline will continue to extend full assistance and support to all survivors, relatives of the crash victims, relatives of the crew members in all activities post crash including hospitalization and care of the survivors, counseling for trauma, interim compensation and disbursal of personal effects etc.

Air India has disbursed claims of Rs. 11.29 crores to 129 families as on June 5, 2010, as part of the interim relief to the survivors and the relatives of the victims of the Air India Express IX-812 crash in Mangalore on 22nd May 2010.

We have also disbursed an amount of Rs. 1.47 crores to 74 families of victims being the relief by the Central Government out of the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.

Air India’s special team of officials comprising of Executive Director (South) Mr. Sunil Kishen and Executive Director (Finance) Mr. S. Kundra, were in Mangalore on June 4th and 5th, 2010 along with the solicitor officials of M/s Mulla and Mulla led by Advocate Mr. H D Nanavati to settle the above cases. This team would again visit on 9th and 10th June, 2010 to complete the interim process.

It is also proposed to disburse the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund to the remaining families of victims and survivors.

Air India and Maharashtra Airport Development Company Ltd. (MADC), on 8th June 2010, has signed a Land Lease Agreement for 50 acres of land in the SEZ area near Nagpur Airport. This is an important step in setting up an aircraft maintenance base at Nagpur in which investments to the tune of Rs.500 crores will be made in the next three years. Boeing Company will facilitate the construction and equipping the facility. This state of the art technology facility would be used for major maintenance of the Boeing 777 & 787 fleet by NACIL as well as service third party operations.

Mr.K.M.Unni, SBU Head and Board Member of Air India and Dr.R.C.Sinha, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of MADC have signed the lease agreement. Dr.Sinha expressed his happiness in welcoming the Air India project to Nagpur and extended all the co-operation. Mr.Unni said this project is an important move in realizing the potential of MRO business in India and meeting the future requirement. Mr.Suvendoo Ray of Boeing was also present for the signing ceremony.

Air India team of officials headed by Mr. Sunil Kishen, Executive Director, Southern Region and Mr. S.K.Kundra Executive Director (Finance) along with its solicitors Mulla & Mulla Associates led by Mr. H.D.Nanavati, has paid the interim compensation amounting to Rs. 14.06 crores, to the families of 151 victims.

An amount of Rs 3.06 crores was also dispersed from the Prime Ministers’ Relief Fund to the families of 151 victims and 8 survivors of the tragic air accident at Mangalore on May 22, 2010.

Compensation to one family is pending, as the claimant who is currently out of the country has confirmed to us that he would contact our attorneys at Mumbai shortly.

The interim compensation payment process, which began on the 28th of May, was completed within twenty days, in three sittings viz., May 28 & 29; June 3, 4 & 5 and June 9 & 10.

There were only 8 survivors in the tragedy which claimed 158 lives. A total of 166 people were on board the flight including six crew members.

Air India Express compliance in key areas viz. Operations, Maintenance, Safety, Security and Commercial were reviewed in a meeting convened by the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in Delhi, recently. Dr. Nasim Zaidi, DGCA, Mr. Arvind Jadhav, Chairman & Managing Director, Air India Express and officials from DGCA and Air India Express attended the meeting.

DGCA highlighted certain issues relating to positioning of officers in Operations, Safety and Training areas, Pilots on the regular roll of Air India Express, Flight dispatch, Crew rostering and monitoring of their Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL), Internal auditors, pre-flight medical, requirement of more mechanics etc. during the meeting.

Air India Express has already acted upon these issues viz. issuance of office order for appointment of the Chief of Operations, order to have the pilots deputed to Air India Express to continue for a period of five years, deployment of the trainee pilots, under training now, on Boeing 737s, Computerization and automation of the Crew rostering system & FDTL monitoring, ensuring implementation of regulations with regard to Pre-flight medical, recruitment of additional mechanics from Defence etc.

Memorandum of Understanding already exists between NACIL and Air India Express regarding Flight Dispatch, Ramp and Traffic Handling.

The Chief Operating Officer, NACIL will soon issue Standard Operating Procedures including strict compliance with training schedule on monsoon and ALAR tool kit, regulations on special precautions during take-offs and landings, 100% FOQA, Crew Resource Management & optimal use of First Officers, strict implementation of regulations on simulation of unsafe situation during training, strict adherence to approach parameters and Voluntary safety reporting system.

Air India will be operating direct air services between Melbourne and Delhi from the Winter Schedule 2010. The services will meet a long-felt demand for direct connectivity between India and Australia.

Air India will be resuming services to Australia after a lapse of over a decade. Apart from serving the Indian Diaspora in the region, the new link will cater to the growing demand of business travelers not only between the two countries but also beyond India to the Gulf and Europe.

The services will be operated with B-777 aircraft on a daily basis. The air services are expected to begin by late October/early November this year.

National carrier Air India has been presented the Gold Award in the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand 2010 Survey, India in the airlines’ category, for a record fifth consecutive year.

Mr K.D.Row, General Manager (Sales & Marketing), Western India, received the award on behalf of Air India, at a function held in Mumbai on June 29, 2010 from Ms. Suzanne M Grimes, President, North American Affinities & India, The Reader’s Digest Association Inc.

This is the fifth year in a row that Air India has received the award, testimony to the consumers’ reaffirmation of their confidence in Air India and, an impetus to the airline’s continued efforts at ensuring customer satisfaction. Air India is all set to join the Star Alliance club early next year.

The award has a well-established reputation as the premier consumer-based international measure of brand preference. A consumer poll covering several parameters was carried out simultaneously in Hong Kong, India, China, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand and analysed by the independent research house, Synovate. The results are based solely on thousands of consumer votes across the region, to ensure accuracy and integrity.

Air India, India’s national carrier celebrated its Platinum Jubilee in 2007. Since the first flight on October 15, 1932, Air India has grown to become a mega international airline with a network of 51 destinations across the USA, Europe, Canada, Far-East and South-East Asia and the Gulf. The airline’s domestic network covers 63 destinations, including far-flung areas of the North-East, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Air India’s present fleet of 143 aircraft comprises a mix of the wide-body B777s, B747s, A330s and the narrow body Airbus A321s, A320s, A319s and the B737s.

The inauguration of T-3 was a moment of pride and jubilation for India as a nation, but even more so for its national carrier, Air India. The airline is currently in the middle of implementing its turnaround plan, which aims at re-positioning a fundamentally different carrier, with an increased focus on providing a seamless passenger experience, while also connecting maximum passengers through non-stop and one stop routes to destinations on its network.

The launch of T-3 provides Air India an opportunity to be the first mover to develop a formidable primary hub, from which it will be able to connect ‘India to the World’. The goal for Air India is to establish a dominant domestic carrier that would use narrow-body aircraft to seamlessly feed into the medium-haul and long-haul wide-body aircraft. Together, the combined network would provide the customer with an end-to-end offering that could be matched neither by the domestic-only low-cost carrier (LCC) nor the hub-based international long haul carriers.

Successful operation of T-3 also requires a flawless integration of international and domestic operations so as to provide passengers with a seamless, integrated experience when they choose Air India over its competitors. Much work has been done in the past few months on preparing for this move. Teams have worked tirelessly to develop revised schedules, airport agreements, and improved customer centric processes.

The Air India Hub will grow to its full potential over the next two seasons. Air India has partnered with DIAL to provide an unmatched choice of destinations and schedules out of its Delhi hub. The hallmark of restructured operations would be the introduction of non-stop services between Delhi and Melbourne which would be the only non-stop link between India and Australia. Also part of the plan is to introduce non-stop services from Delhi to Toronto and Chicago in addition to the existing non-stop services to New York.

With the commencement of services to Melbourne and Chicago and resumption of services to Seoul, AI would be serving a total of 22 international destinations from Delhi comprising New York, Chicago, Toronto, London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Melbourne, Hong Kong, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Jeddah, Riyadh, Dammam, Kathmandu and Kabul.

With the planned increases, AI would be operating 143 international services per week offering about 33000 seats per week in each direction on services out of Delhi, up from 22500 seats per week currently representing an increase of nearly 50%. The increase in capacity offered on international routes has been achieved with the help of increase in frequencies on several of Air India’s existing internationals services from / to Delhi such as Delhi-London (up from 10/wk to 14/wk), Delhi-Paris (up from 3/wk to daily), Delhi-Tokyo (up from 4/wk to daily) besides the new daily non-stop services planned for Melbourne, Chicago and Toronto.

On the domestic front, AI’s operations from Delhi would be further strengthened with the introduction of daily non-stop service between Delhi and Goa and increased frequency of operations between Delhi and various domestic destinations - 14 flights/day to Mumbai, 5 flights/day each to Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, 4 flights/day to Amritsar, 3 flights/day to Patna and 2 flights/day each to Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Cochin.

Air India would be connecting Delhi to 47 domestic destinations by means of non-stop / direct services. The total number of domestic services is planned to be increased from 62 per day currently to 71per day with the capacity offered going up from 8600 seats per day to 10200 seats per day in each direction. Consequently, seats offered by Air India on all its services from Delhi will stand increased from about 82000 seats per week to about 104000 seats per week in each direction, an increase of more than 25% which is expected to give the airline a dominant position in the domestic and international market to / from Delhi.

One of the major benefits that is expected to accrue to Air India on account of the state of the art transfer facilities available at T3 in Delhi airport would be reduced Minimum Connecting Time (MCT). With the help of the reduced MCTs and the strengthening of its operations, AI would be in a better position to serve more number of markets in a competitive manner than what has been possible with the current infrastructure. As a result, Air India plans to not only improve feeder traffic between its domestic and international network but also focus on large 6th freedom markets such as London-Melbourne, Bangkok-London, Bangkok-Paris, Bangkok-Frankfurt, London-Kathmandu, etc.

The Angels of Air India have handed over identified personal items of the victims to the families as provided by M/s. Kenyon International, the agency appointed by Air India to identify the personal effects recovered from the crash site.

The unassociated / unidentified items including yellow metal/gold recovered from the crash site by the police have been handed over to Air India. The catalogue for the same is under preparation by M/s Kenyon International. Once the catalogue is ready, the families of the victims will be contacted and requested to provide the details of yellow metal/gold items so that they can be matched with the catalogue. After proper identification, the same will be handed over to the families concerned in the presence of the police and Custom authorities. Air India would also request members of the Mangalore Air Crash Victims Families Association to help in identification of the yellow metal/gold items.

The National Aviation Company of India Ltd, operating under the brand name "Air India," has signed an agreement with Pratt & Whitney to establish an EcoPower® engine wash service at Mumbai International Airport. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX).

With this agreement, Air India will be able to perform EcoPower engine washes on various engines in its fleet of aircraft. In addition it will offer the services to other carriers in the region. The service center will have the ability to perform washes on nearly all commercial engines in service today, including the PW4000, CFM56-5/-7, V2500, CF6-80C2 and GE90-100.

"Air India will offer to its customers the unique advantage of EcoPower engine wash services in India," said Mr. K.M. Unni, SBU Head (MRO-Airframe). This will help airlines reduce their operating costs and emissions."

"This partnership will expand the availability of EcoPower engine wash services to India, one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets," said Joanne Hastings, director, Line Maintenance Services, Pratt & Whitney. "The service is especially valued since fuel prices in India are among the highest in the world."

Pratt & Whitney's patented EcoPower engine wash system reduces fuel burn by as much as 1.2 percent, eliminating three pounds of carbon dioxide emissions for every pound of fuel saved, while also decreasing engine gas temperature thus increasing the amount of time an engine can stay on wing. Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

Air India is India's flag carrier that provides extensive MRO services in the field of line and base maintenance as well as overhaul/repair of engine and components in the south Asian region.

Air India has organized an All-Religion Memorial Service in memory of those who perished in the tragic crash of Air India Express flight IX-812 on 22 May 2010 at Mangalore as under:

Air India requests all family members, friends and well-wishers of the deceased to join us in prayer at the venue.

Shri. MM Nambiar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation and Shri. Arvind Jadhav, Chairman & Managing Director, Air India, will also be present on the occasion.

Special transport arrangements have been made to pick up and drop relatives from Bhatkal, Kasargod and Udipi as per details given below:

Air India’s has also provided Helpline Numbers in Mangalore 0824 – 2452306 / 2452307 / 2452308 for assistance to the relatives.

Air India organized an All-Religion Memorial Service today (27th July 2010) in memory of those who lost their lives in the tragic air crash of Air India Express IX-812 of 22nd May 2010 at the Dr. TMA Pai International Convention Hall, Mangalore.

Family members of the deceased passengers, survivors, friends and well-wishers attended the memorial service and paid tribute to the departed souls. Two-minute silence was observed as a mark of respect. Prayers by different religious heads formed the core part of the service.

Earlier in the day, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Mr. Madhavan Nambiar and Chairman & Managing Director, Air India, Mr. Arvind Jadhav, paid floral tributes to the victims at the newly erected Memorial (a plaque with the names of all the passengers who lost their lives) at the crash site.

After the prayer service, the family members of the victims were taken to the Memorial site to pay their respects.

National carrier Air India has formed three level Consumer Advisory Forums to provide a platform for structured interaction with its prime customers. The Forum, which will be an upgrade of the existing feedback mechanism, will proactively seek customer involvement and also act as a think tank for generating ideas to improve Air India’s product and services, besides the volume of business.

The Consumer Advisory Forum will operate at three levels:
1. Apex level forum to be headed by Mr Arvind Jadhav Chairman & Managing Director will cover entire Air India.
2. Regional level Forum – to cover all regions.
3. Station / Country level Forums to cover all domestic and international stations.

The forums will commission customer satisfaction surveys and undertake analysis of complaints to generate ideas for improvement and identify projects for implementation. The Apex level will submit a periodic report to the strategic Committee of the Air India board. The Secretary to the Apex forum will be a retired Air India official.

The forums will be represented by two members from each of the following categories: Most traveled Frequent Flyers for the last two years; Corporate Houses who have contributed maximum business in the last two years; Industry associations, travel agents, media, eminent persons and retired personnel from Air India, Indian Airlines and Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The winter schedule of Air India was also discussed and some of the issues concerning this were referred to a board sub-committee headed by a board member who is also the Additional Secretary F&A, Ministry of Civil Aviation.

Air India operated three special flights between Delhi and Leh on Sunday, 8th August 2010 to evacuate stranded tourists and passengers from Leh.

In these three special flights Air India flew out 331 passengers from Leh charging single economy class of fare of Rs. 9000/- (inclusive of all Taxes) instead of the regular fare of Rs. 11661/-.

Air India has also decided to operate four special flights on Monday, 09th August 2010 between Delhi and Leh with the first flight scheduled to leave Delhi at 0525 hrs, second at 0530hrs third at 0815 hrs and fourth flight at 0915 hrs. The special fare of Rs. 9000/- (including Taxes) in economy class will be applicable on all flights ex-Leh to Delhi. Besides these four flights, Air India will also operate one additional flight between Leh and Jammu and one flight between Srinagar and Leh.

Till date Air India has operated a total of six special flights to/from Leh, out of which five flights were for Delhi and one flight for Jammu and has flown out 553 passengers to Delhi and 103 passengers to Jammu.