
Air India Pushes Jet Upgrade to Lure Back Disgruntled Passengers
Air India long languished under government ownership while cash-rich Middle Eastern rivals siphoned off travelers. Now the airline is trying to even the score with cheaper fares, fresh cabins and lounges as well as shorter layover times.
The multi-year turnaround program will initially focus on the airline's 27 Boeing Co. 787-8 Dreamliners that are more than 10 years old in some cases, with Air India seeking to complete a refit in early 2027. A second stage, involving older Boeing 777 widebodies, will start late next year, though that step is proving more complex because of issues with seat suppliers, Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said.

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Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Paris Airshow opens under cloud of India crash, Mideast conflict
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Yahoo
4 hours ago
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FAA Makes Telling Decision on Boeing 787s After Air India Crash
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New York Post
7 hours ago
- New York Post
Fast-casual food places conquering Midtown as workers return to office
Fast-casual food spots are fast conquering Midtown to fill long-empty storefronts — buoyed by more office workers returning to their desks five days a week. The boom includes not only familiar names such as Pret a Manger and Sweetgreen, but also brands new to New York. 'Coming soon' signs just went up in the windows of 40 W. 53rd St. for Farmer J, a UK-based, health-focused chain with 11 locations in London and expanding to the U.S. for the first time. Pollo Campero, which its broker, Meridian Retail Leasing president James Famularo, called 'the Chick-fil-A of Guatemala,' was unknown here until it opened at 966 Sixth Ave. and at 714 Lexington Ave. about a year ago. Famularo also brought Springbone Kitchen, a bone broth operation, to 25 E. 51st where he represented the landlord. 3 British health-focused chain Farmer J will open its first store in the U.S. at 714 Lexington Ave Steve Cuozzo Landlords and retail brokers attribute the boom to the return of five-day office workweeks for many employees. 'A lot of this is a function of people returning five days a week, and major companies believe Midtown and the Financial District are viable again,' said Patrick A. Smith, vice chairman of retail brokerage for JLL. Five-day work schedules are crucial to casual food businesses because, Smith explained, 'They mostly have to survive on one meal a day — lunch. They can't do it on only three days a week.' Famularo agreed, saying, 'The big story is that people are back in the offices. This is after years of hearing the city will never be back to five days a week, which was the biggest impediment we found when we showed midtown spaces.' CBRE's Henry Rossignol, who represented Joe & the Juice in its latest lease at 1195 Sixth Ave., also attributed operators' confidence to data they get from delivery services such as Uber Eats and Door Dash, 'which tells them exactly where the demand is at a particular location.' The newest Joe is right across from the next outpost of Naya, the popular Middle Eastern chain that's gobbling up storefronts everywhere. 3 Joe & the Juice at 1195 Sixth Ave. Steve Cuozzo Cushman & Wakefield's Steven Soutenidjk, who represented Carrot Express in its lease at 600 Lexington Ave. two years ago, said the corner location is the Florida-based chain's best performer. He said as a result of the fast-casual spread, 'There's basically no space available for any more between Lexington and Seventh avenues,' Soutenidkj said. Some of the new arrivals are taking over spaces that were dark for years. A bagel operation called Scoop is coming to previously vacant 7 E. 53rd St. Also new to the scene are Yumpling, a Taiwanese spot at 16 E. 52nd St.; British coffee-and-snacks chain WatchHouse, which just signed a lease at the Chrysler Building on the heels of its success at 660 Fifth Ave.; and Bagizza, a pizza-and-bagels hybrid at 424 Madison Ave. 3 Bagel shop Scoop will open at 7 E. 53rd Street. Steve Cuozzo Asking rents vary a lot depending on location. But most brokers said they range in Midtown from $150 to $300 per square foot. After years of struggling with a shrunken retail-space markets, landlords are thrilled that fast-casual is helping take up the slack. 'The tides are finally turning,' Famularo said. 'What was a glut of inventory, now is slowly disappearing every week.'