In a notable change of stance, Air India has decided not to oppose the scrapping of the ‘5/20 rule’, making it easier for the government to abolish the law.

In a recent meeting with the civil aviation ministry, Air India chairman and managing director Ashwani Lohani said the airline would not oppose the proposed scrapping the rule.

In one of the biggest pilot recruitment drives, state-run Air India will hire about 530 type-rated pilots on contract for the carrier’s narrow-body fleet, expected to grow to about 80 aircraft by March 2018.

The present strength of this fleet is 66.

Air India will introduce daily flight services from Dubai to Kochi from January 11, adhering to the long-pending demand of Indians living in Dubai, the company said.

"Air India will be operating Dubai-Kochi-Dubai sector with brand new A320 aircraft with a cap of 180 seats," said Melwin D'Silva, Regional Manager Gulf, Middle East and Africa of Air India.

In an all-cash deal, State Bank of India (SBI) is all set to buy four premium flats in Mumbai's posh Peddar Road area from the loss-making Air India (AI) for Rs 90 crore.

A legal team of Air India is preparing a draft sale agreement which will then be given to the counterparts from the SBI, the country’s largest lender. The Centre recently gave go-ahead to state-owned Air India to sell the flats to SBI for about Rs 90 crore as part the airline's asset monetisation plan.

New Delhi: An Air India plane flying to London was forced to return to Mumbai after passengers spotted a rat on board, the airline said on Thursday.

Though the rat was not found, the pilot returned to Mumbai on Wednesday keeping passenger safety in mind, Air India said in a statement.

In the new Air India offer announced today by the government-run airline, two special schemes enable passengers to ring in the New Year 2016 in style – these are ‘New Year Special’ and ‘Lucky First’.

Under the New Year Special offer, passengers will get an all-inclusive one-way fare of Rs 5,016 for travel between the metros on flights departing between 8 pm on December 31, and 8 am on January 1, the national carrier said in a statement.

Minister of State for Culture and Tourism and Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma on Saturday said that recent circular by Air India has been misinterpreted and there is no change in the previous orders and only some upgradations have been made.

"It has been misinterpreted. The real truth is that in short halt flights where the time span is between 60-90 minutes, we used to serve sandwiches and snacks which used to be vegetarian. Only thing was that there was a long demand that there should be some hot food as well," Sharma told ANI.

National passenger carrier Air India on Friday increased its regional connectivity by commencing flight operations to Surat and Gwalior from Mumbai.

According to the airline, both flights — Mumbai-Surat-Mumbai and Mumbai-Gwalior-Mumbai will operate three times a week on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Kerala Governor Justice P Sathasivam failed to board an Air India flight from Kochi to the state capital after the pilot reportedly refused to wait for the dignitary and took off.

Raj Bhavan sources said the Governor reached Nedumbassery International airport about 10 minutes before the flight was to depart at 11:40 PM yesterday, but the "step ladder had been removed and the flight was pushing back".

The government has taken steps to prevent poaching of pilots of Air India by its competitors with the national carrier facing a shortage of 180 trained pilots due to resignation and natural attrition, Rajya Sabha was informed today.

"There is a shortage of approximately 180 trained pilots due to resignations/attrition in the recent past and ensuing fleet augmentation," Minister of State for Civil Aviation Mahesh Sharma said in reply to a questioning Rajya Sabha.

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