Air India plans UAE maintenance centre

Air India will shift the maintenance and repair operations (MRO) of its aircraft running in the India-Gulf sector to the UAE and keep a fleet of five to six aircraft ready for emergency use during technical snags and flight delays, said its top executive yesterday.

Speaking to the media after a meeting of the regional heads of Air India from the various emirates in the UAE and other countries in the region, Arvind Jadhav, Chairman and Managing Director of the airline, said most of the flight delays in the India-Gulf sector were due to technical snags and delay in getting engineering support and spare parts from Air India's Mumbai hub.

He said the airline was overhauling its operations in the Middle East and plans to phase out old aircraft from service.

Indian Ambassador to the UAE MK Lokesh, Consul General in Dubai Sanjay Verma and the new Air India independent director and businessman MA Yousuf Ali, participated in the regional country heads' meeting in Dubai.

"Air India Express is taking several steps to improve the on-time performance of flights. Engineering spare parts are being positioned at various stations, including Dubai and tie-ups are being finalised with other local airlines and agencies to enable faster rectification of technical snags. A control cell is also being set up to operate round the clock to efficiently mange flight disruptions," said Jadhav. "Flight schedules are also being rationalised to improve schedule integrity and keep one aircraft with crew on standby."

The airline's future plans in the region include improved connectivity, more non-stop services and improved flight schedules. It will progressively replace old A320/A310 aircraft with new and fuel efficient aircraft on the India-Gulf routes. This process has already begun, with the transfer of many of the A320 routes to new IFE fitted A319 aircraft that have been inducted in the airline's fleet over the past two years.

A call centre will also be introduced to address flight issues. Air India, which has suffered major losses and a public relations crisis following the recent Air India Express crash in Mangalore, has reviewed its operations to the region and come out with many suggestions for improvement, Jadhav said.

Air India and its low-cost arm Air India Express together operate about 317 flights per week on India-Gulf routes, offering a little more than 60,000 seats in each direction. The airline has more than 5,000 engineers and technicians capable of undertaking maintenance of all aircraft and engines currently in its fleet, but when a delay or technical snag occurs, engineering staff are flown in from Mumbai along with spare parts that are sometimes not available locally.

Air India has about 40 per cent market share in the India-Gulf sector and operates 317 flights per week, Jadhav said.

He added that Air India attaches great importance to the Gulf operations. "We operate more flights per week and offer more seats per week on the India-Gulf routes compared to any other international sector.

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