Air India pilots ended their four-day wildcat strike yesterday after the government over-ruled management’s plan for massive wage cuts impacting up to 7,000 employees. Loss-making, state-run Air India had canceled a quarter of its international and domestic flights and was working to suspend bookings on more flights as a result of striking pilots unhappy with a recent Air India Board decision to cut employee incentive payments by between 25 and 50 per cent. About 250 pilots … [Read more...] about INDIA: Striking Air India pilots end crippling strike

Kingfisher Airlines kicked off its Asian expansion with new services between Mumbai – Hong Kong and Mumbai – Singapore. The Airline will operate a daily non-stop service between Hong Kong and India using Airbus A330-200s and in Hong Kong, Asia Airfreight Terminal (AAT) has been appointed as the ground-handling agent for its cargo and documentationservices. “Tourism and business between India and South East Asia are growing rapidly, driven by ongoing economic … [Read more...] about INDIA: Kingfisher begins HK, Singapore services

From 18 September Singapore Airlines increased frequency on its Singapore – Moscow (Domodedovo) – Houston service to five times a week from four. The additional flight will utilise a Boeing 777-300ER. … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines ups Moscow frequency

Singapore-based low cost carrier Tiger Airways is embarking on initiatives involving cargo pilot conversion and multi-pilot licensing (MPL). The cargo pilot training program will re-train cargo pilots who have lost their jobs due to the slump in the global air cargo industry and place them with Tiger, which has 56 A320 aircraft on order. The carrier is partnering the Singapore Aviation Training Academy and the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore to sponsor MPL and ensure all standards are met. … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: Tiger Air to retrain cargo pilots

Singapore Airlines Cargo has begun a weekly cargo flight to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport using 747-400 freighter aircraft which will return to Singapore via Europe and the Middle East. For the year through July, Hartsfield- Jackson recorded a 23 per cent drop in cargo volume compared with the same period of 2008. Passenger traffic had a much smaller decline of 2.8 per cent during the same period. The service is the first ‘around-theworld’ freighter service at … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: SIA starts new freighter service to Atlanta

Air China Cargo launched a new three times weekly route between China and Europe this week utilising Boeing 747 equipment on the route from Shanghai- Beijing to Vienna-Milan. “We have seen a recovery in the global cargo business, so we plan to enhance our presence in middle and southern Europe,” said Yao Jun, president of Air China Cargo. “But it’s still too early to predict when the route will be profitable because freight rates are still 20 per cent to 30 … [Read more...] about CHINA: Air China Cargo launches Europe service