Defending itself against the criticism of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Air India has defended the sale of five Boeing 777-200 LR planes to Etihad, saying it was the best option to check loss and reduce debt.

The CAG has criticised Air India for selling the aircraft below its indicative market price, under-reporting its losses and poor initiatives to monetise its real estate.

An Air India Ahmedabad-London-Newark flight lost communication with the local Air Traffic Control and was escorted by fighter jets over Hungary, officials said here on Friday.

The flight AI-171 had departed from Ahmedabad at 7 a.m. on Friday with 231 passengers and 18 crew members.

India may need to reassess the amount of bailout funds given to Air India because the state-run carrier has breached loan limits set under a government restructuring plan, causing its finances to be squeezed, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) said in a report on Friday.

Heavily-indebted Air India, which was bailed out in 2012 with $5.8 billion of government funding, saw its short-term loans rising to four times the limits laid down in its turnaround plan, the CAG said.

NEW DELHI: The government-owned Air India has shunted out its controversial head of operations, A K Kathpalia, replacing him with A K Govil.

Last month, aviation regulator DGCA had suspended Kathpalia's flying licence for three months for allegedly skipping the mandatory pre and post-flight alcohol test.

A Kochi-bound Air India flight from Mumbai with 58 passengers and crew on board made an emergency landing at the airport in Mangalore on Monday due to a technical snag.

"The Air India flight coming from Mumbai and heading towards Kochi made an emergency landing at 7.50 PM at the Mangalore airport due to a technical snag," an airport official said.

Air India and SpiceJet came out with offers, including free tickets, to attract more fliers as the airlines look to increase seat occupancy amid stiff competition.

While Air India is giving one ticket free for every booking in First Class and Business Class, SpiceJet would be offering tickets priced as low as Rs 777 on select routes.

Air India has decided to operate an A-320 aircraft, having 168 seats, on the Delhi-Bhopal-Delhi route from February 20, an official said on Saturday.

Air India Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Ashwani Lohani took the decision to make an A-320 aircraft operational on the Delhi-Bhopal-Delhi route in evenings following his recent visit, said Vishrut Acharya, airline's General Manager of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. During the CMD's visit, travel agents told him that the present aircraft A-319, which has 122 seats, operating on the route was inadequate, he added.

In a major expansion drive, national passenger carrier Air India on Wednesday said it plans to add six new international destinations to its network in 2017.

"We are going to add six more international spots this year," said Ashwani Lohani, Chairman and Managing Director, Air India.

New Delhi, Feb. 12: The government should be cautious with its plan to merge state-owned oil companies such as ONGC and IOC, analysts said.

They pointed out at the botched-up merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, which resulted in the national carrier looking for government support to survive.

Air India Express (AIE), Air India's low-cost subsidiary that mainly caters to Gulf-based traffic, may soon be forced to do the inevitable.

The airline which has so far collaborated only with parent company is exploring an option of getting into business tie-ups with other airlines in order to compensate for dwindling passenger traffic to/from Gulf countries.

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