Air India may shift some aircraft maintenance away from govt company after fatal crash
'Fleet expansion'
Advt
Audit findings
Air India plans to lean on shareholder Singapore Airlines, or SIA, to move some aircraft maintenance services in-house instead of outsourcing them to a state-owned company, according to people familiar with the matter.The Indian airline is preparing to take on pre-flight and daily aircraft inspections, minor repair work and other troubleshooting activities from state-owned AI Engineering Services Ltd., or AIESL, said the people, who weren't authorised to discuss the matter publicly.The phased move away from AIESL follows a deadly crash in June — the cause of which remains unknown , a sectorwide safety audit and a temporary safety-related pause in service.Air India was in the midst of a transformation under its new owners — the Tata Group bought the unprofitable former state-run carrier in 2022 — when flight AI 171 crashed in the western city of Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 people on board.Gaining control of maintenance services was a part of Air India's restructuring plan even before the plane crash, but it had been put off in favor of getting more aircraft flying regularly and improving the experience on-board, the people said.Concerns had been raised internally in the past as well about the service provided by AIESL — formerly a subsidiary when the carrier was state-owned — citing problems such as clogged toilets on flights, they said.The Indian carrier 'continues to work closely with AIESL. However, with our fleet expansion — 570 aircraft including a significant number of widebody jets— India's current MRO infrastructure is not equipped to support this scale,' an Air India spokesperson said in an email. MRO refers to Maintenance Repair and Overhaul services.'To meet the demands of our future operations and ensure world-class reliability and safety, we must invest in building robust MRO capabilities and capacity within the country,' the spokesperson added.SIA, which owns 25.1 per cent share of Air India, will help in the transition of those maintenance tasks to the airline's staff, the people said.'As a significant minority shareholder in Air India, Singapore Airlines has been working closely' to support Air India's transformation plan, a SIA spokesperson said in an email. 'This includes providing our expertise and support to Air India, where necessary.'Air India's relationship with SIA in terms of assistance with aircraft maintenance comes full circle as it had been the one helping the Singapore-based airline during the 1970s.Recent issues with Air India have also impacted SIA's earnings, contributing to a 59 per cent drop in profit for the quarter ended June 30.The Air India plane crash also brought sharp scrutiny in the sector on issues like the maintenance of aircraft.A recent audit report by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed Air India Group had the most issues among Indian carriers, according to an annual safety audit that began much before the crash.A total of 93 findings were reported for Air India as part of regular surveillance under a safety oversight program, India's aviation regulator said July 30. That far exceeded the 23 findings for rivals IndiGo and 14 for SpiceJet Ltd.Air India has a fleet of 191 aircraft while its low-cost subsidiary – Air India Express - operates 115 planes, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. The carriers fly a mix of Airbus SE and Boeing Inc. aircraft.>
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India.com
12 minutes ago
- India.com
Impact Of Tariffs On US: Womans Viral Footage Highlights Soaring Prices
The United States administration, under the leadership of President Donald Trump, has been imposing trade tariffs on various nations. A user on Instagram shared a video from inside a shopping center and claimed that the prices of the items there have been hiked after the tariff imposition. The post captioned "Donald Trump's tariffs are in full swing!" has sparked a wave of mixed reactions in the comments section, ranging from strong support to sharp criticism. 'But… wasn't China supposed to pay those tariffs? (Sarcasm),' a comment read. 'Was it worth it? Are we great yet?,' another one wrote. 'Have patience till 2028,' a user commented. US-India Tariff Row Earlier, US President Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25 percent tariff on imports from India, citing the country's continued purchase of Russian oil. In the order, Trump said the decision is aimed at boosting measures taken under earlier sanctions against Russia following its actions in Ukraine. It also stated that India is directly or indirectly importing oil from Russia, which Washington considers a threat to its national security and foreign policy. After the announcement of additional tariffs, India reiterated that the latest tariff actions by the US are "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable". "We reiterate that these actions are unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable. India will take all actions necessary to protect its national interests," an MEA spokesperson said in a statement. "We have already made clear our position on these issues, including the fact that our imports are based on market factors and done with the overall objective of ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion people of India," the MEA spokesperson said. "It is therefore extremely unfortunate that the US should choose to impose additional tariffs on India for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest," said the official statement. As per IANS, the new tariffs will be applied to all eligible Indian goods entering the US from 21 days after the order's signing, except for shipments already in transit before the deadline and cleared before September 17.
Hindustan Times
12 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
'Only places he didn't charge...': Late-night comics fire shots at Trump tariffs against India
Late-night show hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon have criticised US President Donald Trump for imposing tariffs on trading partners, including a 50% levy on Indian goods. Late-night show hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Fallon have criticised US President Donald Trump for imposing tariffs.(Instagram and Reuters) Jimmy Fallon, during his "The Tonight Show" on Thursday night, said that Trump has imposed tariffs on more than 90 countries and joked that the only places left were North Korea and Epstein Island – a reference to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's private island Little St. James. 'Today, more of President Trump's tariffs hit over 90 countries, including Canada, Brazil, and India,' Fallon kicked off his standup. He added, 'The only places Trump didn't charge are North Korea and Epstein's island.' Also Read | India plans tariff response to US over steel, aluminium levy Fallon also warned that Trump's tariffs on Brazil could escalate the prices of bananas, mangoes, and pineapples in the country. 'Fifty per cent tariffs on Brazil will skyrocket prices for bananas, mangoes, and pineapples,' he said and joked, 'Edible Arrangements are safe, as long as you don't hike the price of cantaloupe and long toothpicks.' Late-night show host Stephen Colbert followed suit on Saturday night and said that Trump's tariffs on India will raise the price of items like gauze, bandages, and wading. Also Read | Tariffs on India led to 'worst outcome' for US, says former Trump aide 'Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50%, which will raise the price of items like gauze, bandages, and wading. Yeah, yeah. Perfect time to introduce my new product, Steve's wad. What's in them? What do you care? You're bleeding. It's a wad.' Trump's tariff on India US President Donald Trump last week announced an additional 25 per cent tariff on US imports from India -- raising the overall duty to 50 per cent -- as a penalty for the country's continued imports of Russian oil. Trump has railed against India and Russia over the past few days for the trade and energy relations between the two countries and pressured New Delhi to cut its Russian oil purchases. Russia accounts for nearly 60% of India's armed forces' inventory and has become one of the largest suppliers of energy to India, providing 35% of its needs in the first half of 2025. India has defended its energy purchases from Russia and criticised the US and the European Union for singling out New Delhi at a time when other countries buying Russian energy haven't faced penalties from the Trump administration. India also flagged that the United States continues to import uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers, as well as chemicals, from Russia.
The Hindu
12 minutes ago
- The Hindu
FPIs withdraw close to ₹18,000 crore from equities in August on trade tension, disappointing earnings
Foreign investors have pulled out nearly ₹18,000 crore from Indian equities so far this month, weighed down by escalating U.S.-India trade tensions, disappointing first-quarter corporate earnings, and a weakening Indian rupee. With this, the total outflow by Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) in equities has reached ₹1.13 lakh crore so far in 2025, according to data from the depositories. Going forward, FPI sentiment is expected to remain "fragile and in risk-off mode," with tariffs and trade negotiations emerging as key factors to watch out for in the coming week, according to Vaqarjaved Khan, CFA, Senior Fundamental Analyst at Angel One. The data showed that FPIs withdrew a net sum of ₹17,924 crore from equities in this month (till August 8). Foreign investors had pulled out ₹17,741 crore on a net basis in July. Before that, FPIs invested ₹38,673 crore in the preceding three months from March to June. The latest outflows were primarily due to escalating U.S.-India trade tensions, disappointing first-quarter corporate earnings and a weakening Indian rupee, Himanshu Srivastava, Associate Director - Manager Research, Morningstar Investment Research India, said. From August 1, the U.S. imposed a 25% tariff on Indian goods and increased these tariffs by an additional 25% during the current week. This spooked the markets and FPIs, leading to a massive sell-off in Indian equities, Angel One's Khan said. Along with tariffs, rising U.S. Treasury yields also led to foreign money moving towards treasuries, he added. On the other hand, FPIs invested ₹3,432 crore in the debt general limit and put in ₹58 crore in the debt voluntary retention route during the period under review.
