AIR INDIA

Air India was invited to be a part of the Star Alliance in 2007. Air India completed the merger
with Indian Airlines and some part of the agreed upgrades in its service and membership
systems by 2011. In August 2011, Air Indias invitation to join Star Alliance was suspended as a
result of its failure to meet the minimum standards for the membership. However, in October
2011, talks between the airline and Star Alliance resumed. On 13 December 2013, Star Alliance
announced that Air India and the alliance have resumed the integration process and the airline
became the 27th member of Star Alliance on 11 July 2014.
Air India has code shares with a few Star Alliance members such as Lufthansa, Singapore
Airlines, Swiss, Turkish Airlines, Egypt Air, Ethiopian Airlines, South Africa Airways and Asiana
Airlines. But most existing agreements cover international routes, not Air Indias domestic
network. For instance, Air India puts its code on Lufthansa-operated flights to Germany, Europe
and the US, but Lufthansa does not put its code on Air Indias domestic flights. The exceptions
are South African Airways, Turkish Airlines and Egypt Air, which have code shares on a few of
Air Indias domestic routes.
.
A foreign airlines decision to code share on Air Indias domestic routes will be guided by its
commercial interests. Lufthansa is said to be eager to code share on some Air India routes.

AIRLINE ALLIANCE
An airline alliance is an agreement between two or more airlines to cooperate on a substantial
level. Most of the largest passenger airlines worldwide are members of one of three major
alliances: the Star Alliance, Oneworld, or SkyTeam. Alliances also form between cargo airlines,
such as that of WOW Alliance, SkyTeam Cargo, and ANA/UPS Alliance. Alliances provide a
network of connectivity and convenience for international passengers and international
packages. Alliances also provide convenient marketing branding to facilitate travelers making
inter-airline codeshare connections within countries. This branding goes as far as to even
include unified aircraft liveries among member airlines.
Benefits of air alliances can consist of:
an extended network: this is often realised through code sharing agreements. Many
alliances started as only a code sharing network.

Cost reduction from sharing of:

Sales offices
Maintenance facilities
Operational facilities, e.g. catering or computer systems.
Operational staff, e.g. ground handling personnel, at check-in and boarding
desks.
Investments and purchases, e.g. in order to negotiate extra volume discounts.

Traveler benefits can include:

Lower prices due to lowered operational costs for a given route.
More departure times to choose from on a given route.
More destinations within easy reach.

Shorter travel times as a result of optimized transfers.

A wider range of airport lounges shared with alliance members
Faster mileage rewards by earning miles for a single account on several different
carriers.

Air India has total 40 wide body aircraft in which there is 38 Boeing & 2 airbuses. It has 60
narrow bodied aircraft with 60 Airbuses. Also it has 8 regional aircraft including 4 CRJ and 4
ATR, so, total fleet size is 108.
Air India Air Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) is a Public Sector Undertaking of the
Government of India. AIATSL is a subsidiary of Air India and is headquartered in Mumbai; India.
The company provides ground handling services (cargo, passenger, baggage) at various
airports in India. The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the company was Captain Gustav
Baldauf. Captain Gustav Baldauf resigned as COO of AIATSL during February 2011 citing his
remarks against the government of India.

CODE SHARE AGREEMENTS

A codeshare agreement, sometimes simply codeshare, is an aviation business arrangement
where two or more airlines share the same flight. (Sharing in this sense means that each airline
publish and market the flight under its own airline designator and flight number as part of its
published time table/schedule.) A seat can be purchased on each airlines designator and flight
number, but is operated by only one of these cooperating airlines, commonly called the
operating carrier or more precisely (and in line with definitions in IATA Standard Schedules
Information Manual): Administrating carrier. The term code refers to the identifier used in
flight schedule, generally the two-character IATA airline designator code and flight number.
Thus, XX123 (flight number 123 operated by the airline XX), might also be sold by airline YY as
YY456 and by ZZ as ZZ9876. Airlines YY and ZZ are
in this case called Marketing airlines (sometimes abbreviated MKT CXR for marketing
carrier). Most of the major airlines today have code sharing partnerships with other airlines, and
code sharing is a key feature of the major airline alliances. Typically, code-sharing agreements
are also a part of the commercial agreements between airlines in the same airline alliances.
Under a code sharing agreement, the airline that administrates the flight (the one holding the
operational permissions, airport slots and planning/controlling the flight and responsible for the
ground handling services) is commonly called the operating carrier, often abbreviated OPE
CXR, even though ths IATA SSIM term Administrating carrier is more precise. The reason for
this is that a third carrier is involved, typically in the case that the airline originally planning to
operate the flight needs to hire a subcontractor to operate the flight on their behalf (typically a
wet lease, meaning an aircraft is leased with crew and all facilities to fly, commonly due to
capacity limitations, technical problems etc.) In this case, the airline carrying the passenger
should be designated the operating
carrier, since it is the one carrying the passengers/cargo. When a flight is sold under several
designators and flight numbers as described above, the one published by the
Administrating carrier is commonly called a prime flight (as opposed to a codeshare
marketing flight).

Several types of codeshare exist, commonly three types:

Block space codeshare: A commercial (marketing) airline purchases a fixed number of
seats from the administrating (operating/prime) carrier. A fixed price is typically paid, and
the seats are kept away from the Administrating carriers own inventory. The marketing
airline decides on their own which booking classes the seats are sold in (the block of
seats are optimised just like another aircraft cabin).
Free flow codeshare: The airlines inventory and reservation systems communicate in
real-time by messaging, commonly IATA AIRIMP/PADIS messaging (TTY and
EDIFACT). A booking class mapping is defined between the airlines. No seats are locked
to any of the airlines, and any airline can sell
Capped free flow: Basically the same as above, but a capping (max number of seats)
are defined for each of the marketing airlines participating in the codeshare with the
Administrating (operating/prime)carrier.
Reasons and advantages
Under a code sharing agreement, participating airlines can present a common flight number for
several reasons, including:
For passengers

Connecting flights: This provides clearer routing for the customer, allowing a customer
to book travel from point A to C through point B under one carriers code, instead of a
customer booking from point A to B under one code, and from point B to C under another
code. This is not only a superficial addition as cooperating airlines also strive to
synchronize their schedules and coordinate luggage handling, which makes transfers
between connecting flights less time-consuming.

Shared responsibility between the carriers: When flying between two cities without a
single-airline connection, the passenger can pick a codeshared flight over two airlines or
two flights booked separately. If the flights are not codeshared, then the second airline
has no responsibility if the passenger or luggage misses the second flight due to a delay
with the first. Under a codeshared flight, the second airline is unlikely to charge extra
fees or deny boarding should the first, cooperating airline cause a delay.

For airlines

Flights from both airlines that fly the same route: this provides an apparent increase in
the frequency of service on the route by one airline

Perceived service to unserviced markets: this provides a method for carriers who do not
operate their own aircraft on a given route to gain exposure in the market through
display of their flight numbers.

When an airline sacrifices its capacity to other airlines as a code share partner, its
operational cost will generally be reduced to nil.

Competitive concerns
Much competition in the airline industry revolves around ticket sales (also known as seat
booking) strategies (revenue management, variable pricing, and geomarketing).
Criticism has been leveled against code sharing by consumer organizations and national
departments of trade since it is claimed it is confusing and not transparent to passengers.

Central Planning & Control System*Central Planning & Control System of Air India is an organization based on New Delhi &
Mumbai, which integrate Air Indias Network Planning & Scheduling, Crew Management,
Operations and Hub Control under a common platform.
*So, CPSC projects of Air India deals Integrated Operations Control Centre, Hub Control
Centre,
Crew Management System, On-Time Performance, Efficiency Control, Flight Dispatch-Flight
Following.
In 2010, Air India signed a broad ranging agreement for establishing its Central Planning &
Control IT System (CPCS).
M/S Sabre airlines Solutions and later SHEOREY DIGITAL SYSTEMS LIMITED, who are industry leaders in
this field were selected as system provider for a range of integrated state of the art systems
which cover Network planning & Scheduling, Flight operations Control (including operations
management & Hub management) and a comprehensive crew management System.

NETWORK PLANNING & SHEDULING

*In network planning & scheduling we talk about route structure, route forecasting, passenger
connectivity optimization, code share management, slot management and fleet management.
Network planning & scheduling plays a leading role in airlines brand, profitability and operational
success.

Integrated Operations Control Centre & HUB CONTROL CENTERThe airline operations control center (OCC), also referred to as the systems operations control
center (SOCC) or the integrated operations control center (IOCC),
The hub control center (HCC), also commonly known as the airport control center (ACC) or hub
control (HC).
The OCC is responsible for overall network operations and processes as well as people
involved in activities in the air. The HCC focuses on ground operations at a station.

*There are some objectives of these centers as that they monitor movement of aircraft, crew
and passengers with airlines solution systems based on the schedule. And the system supports
decision to quickly and successfully react to disruptions and support decisions to restore normal
operation. The system help reduces delay, enhance punctuality and reliability of operation,
which in turn reduce cost of operation, and provide improved passenger experience rebuilding
the airline market.
OCC/HCC Integration
Neither OCC nor HCC in isolation can successfully recover from a complex disruption.
That is why integrating data and decision-making processes is considered to be a priority for
any future airline operations decision-support systems.
The OCC does not have access to detailed status information for ground processes and
availability of airport resources. Even if the information was available, the high speed at which
decisions must be made at an airport level does not allow waiting for an optimal solution for the
entire network.
On the other hand, if the HCC makes decisions without accounting for a network effect, it might
cause even more problems at down-line stations.
From an HCC perspective, for example, a flight delayed at a hub should be rushed to departure
to minimize the delay. But even a short delay might cause passengers to miss their connections.
The cost to reaccommodate these passengers might be much higher than if they were viewed
from a network perspective and moved to a different route with the same destination.
Complexity of airline operations does not allow the OCC and HCC decision-making processes
to be combined in one automated system. Yet, critical interdependencies of the operations will
not permit these processes to be completely separated.
An essential prerequisite for establishing a truly integrated business process between the OCC
and the HCC is data integration.
Both entities must have instantaneous access to all relevant information. This data may come
from multiple internal systems, such as:

Departure control,
Revenue management,
Ground resource management,
Load planning,
Aircraft movement management.

In addition, data from external sources, such as the airport management system, catering
and fueling providers, is required. This information must be consolidated, verified for
consistency and transformed into a format to make it usable by all automated systems that
support airline operations.
In brief, we can say that both OCC & HCC integration deals with Schedule management, Flight
management, Aircraft management, Maintenance management, Crew management, Passenger
and payload management, Aircraft Turnaround Management, Resource Management etc.

Effective October 2011, IOCC had complete visibility and control for full fleet of Air India.

Crew management systemManaging ever changing human behavior of customers is part and parcel of effective business
management. Besides this, managing internal employee satisfaction and motivation is the key
to employee retention, sector optimization and prompt service delivery. The ever growing air
traffic volume and pursuit to ensure everlasting travel experience for customers has pushed
airlines towards an effective utilization of resources. Crew has always been an important part of
travel services as they are the face of the carrier towards making a good travel experience.
Effective crew utilization has always been a challenge for airlines whether it is equipment
training, qualification, and experience versus the various round the clock flights planning
exercises. Crew management system allows airlines to seamlessly manage crews flying pattern
that dynamically integrates with flight planning and operations, and complies with various
customs regulations and labor union restrictions.
Crew Management System Comprises:

Crew Planning
Crew Scheduling (Pairing & Rostering)
Contract Rules Management
special competency & qualifications
Crew Manning by load
Crew Manifest
Meals onboard
Training (including simulator training)
Vacation, sick and absence Management

On time performanceAirport operational efficiency is measured through different measures, with On-Time
Performance being the primary internationally accepted standard. On-Time Performance is
measured by comparing the actual off-block time (when aircraft pushes back) against the airline
schedule time for a departing flight. The measurement is done in accordance with the IATA
(International Airlines Transport Association) universal standard benchmark which considers a
15 minute deviation from the scheduled time as an on-time departure. The On-Time
Performance of the airlines is averaged for a specific airport to produce On-Time Performance
for the airport. This is bench marked against a target which is agreed upon by the airport
stakeholders.
The functional areas in Delhi & Mumbai are as follows;
1
2

Integrated Operations Control Centre (IOCC), Air India premises, Safdarjung Airport,
New Delhi
Hub Control Centre (HCC), T3 Terminal ,New Delhi & T2 Terminal, Mumbai

3
4
5
6
7

Crew Management System (CMS) , G5 premises, Near T1 Terminal, New Delhi & OAP,
Mumbai
Network Planning & Scheduling (P&S) ,Mumbai
On-Time Performance (OTP), IOCC, New Delhi
Efficiency Control (EC), Mumbai
Flight Dispatch / Flight Following, New Delhi and Mumbai

Flight dispatcher
A flight dispatcher (also known as an aircraft dispatcher,airline dispatcher or flight
operations officer) assists in planning flight paths, taking into account wind speed, storms,
aircraft performance and loading, and other conditions. Some dispatchers provide a flight
following service and advise pilots if conditions or paths change. They usually work in the
operations or control center of the airline. In the United States and Canada, the flight dispatcher
shares legal responsibility with the commander of the aircraft (joint responsibility dispatch
system).
1 Operational control

Dispatchers usually share responsibility for the exercise of operational control, which gives them
authority to divert, delay or cancel a flight. Legal requirements known as 14 CFR PART 121
govern dispatch release in the USA. After the release of a flight (in a joint responsibility
environment) the dispatcher uses sophisticated software tools to monitor the flights progress
and advises the flight crew of any circumstances that might affect flight safety. Shared
responsibility adds a layer of checks and
balances to aircraft operation and greatly improves safety.
Joint Aviation Authorities (JAR) OPS 1 did not mandate the use of an operational control
system with flight dispatchers/joint responsibility/flight watch. The pan- European European
Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has not yet issued a requirement mandating the use of such
an operational control system either. It is expected that EASA OPS and EASA FCL will be
published in 2006 which will outline EASAs position on the issue as well as any requirements
imposed on European airline operators.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), headquartered in Montreal, is the civil
aviation branch of the UN (United Nations). ICAO states that the operator (the airline), is
responsible for the operational control of its flights and only recognizes dispatch systems
using flight dispatchers/flight operations officers as the means to control and supervise flights in
Annex 6, Part 1, Chapter 3. Chapter 4 of Annex 6 describes the duties of flight dispatchers/flight
operations officers while Chapter 10 of Annex 6 describes the training and qualification
requirements for flight dispatchers/flight operations officers. Chapter 10 also recognizes ICAO
Document 7192 D3, The Flight Dispatcher/Flight Operations Officer Training Manual as the
standard training resource for member States to develop their own flight
dispatcher/flight operations officer training regulations.
The terms flight dispatcher, aircraft dispatcher and flight operations officer are largely
interchangeable depending on the area of the world in which they are used.
The term Aircraft dispatcher is used the United States, while flight operations officer is more
common in Europe and Africa, and flight dispatcher is typically used in Asia and the Middle
East.

2 Licensing and certification

A dispatcher must be certificated or licensed by the aviation authority of the country in which
they operate or have a base of operations, such as the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) in
the United States. In order to obtain a certificate, a candidate must demonstrate extensive
knowledge of meteorology and of aviation in general, to a level comparable to the holder of an
Airline Transport Pilot (ATP).
The FAA ATP and the FAA Dispatcher (ADX) written exams are similar. For airlines operating
under 14 CFR PART 135, dispatching duties and responsibilities are actually designated to
flight followers. The main difference between a flight dispatcher and a flight follower is that
latter does not share legal responsibility for the operation of a flight. In addition, a flight follower
is not required to obtain a flight dispatchers certificate, although he or she is usually
encouraged to do so by the airline for which they work and will probably not be employed as a
flight follower if they do not have the dispatcher certificate.
Many countries issue licenses or certificates which are based on ICAO Annex 1 and 6 as well as
ICAO DOC 7192 D3. Unfortunately not all countries have adopted a mandatory
license/certification and joint responsibility/ flight watch operational control systems. The
FAA has mandated the use of flight dispatchers/joint responsibility/ flight watch since the Civil
Aeronautic Act was passed in 1938. Canada has adopted a similar approach in the wake of
the Air Ontario Flight 1363 plane crash in Dryden, Ontario, in 1989. Due to several more
accidents, the FAA is lobbying the ICAO for tighter regulations.
3 Legal responsibility
Flight dispatchers are legally 50% responsible for the safety of every flight they dispatch. The
pilot in command of the flight holds responsibility for the other 50%. A flight dispatcher has the
legal authority to refuse to dispatch a flight if safety is in any way in question, as does the pilot in
command. This is known as 'Co-Authority Dispatch'. Because commercial decision making in an
airline can conflict with the safety of a flight, a flight dispatchers responsibilities are kept
separate from the commercial aspects of an airlines operation, and as such the profession is
primarily focused on the safety of a flight;
all other duties are secondary.
Flight dispatchers in a typical airline are generally responsible for overseeing anywhere from 10
to 20 flights simultaneously, and are constantly planning new flights while monitoring current
ones. Flight dispatchers are expected to have a big picture view of weather conditions, aircraft
status, fuel planning, and other operational aspects of maintaining smooth airline operations.
Because of the constantly changing nature of airline operations, flight dispatchers experience a
high level of stress in the workplace, as they balance operational constraints and pressures with
the overriding safety mandate of the job.
As flight dispatchers are the 'unseen crew member' in an airline, pay is generally much lower
than that of pilots, despite being required to have the same knowledge of aircraft systems,
operations, weather and air law that a commercial pilot has. Coupled with the high stress of the
job, this results in a high burnout rate among dispatchers and a similar high turnover rate in
most dispatch offices at the regional airlines. Workload conditions at the major
airline level are improved dramatically from the regional level and turnover is consequently
lower.

4 Load planner
Often (especially in larger airlines) a dispatcher will be assisted by a load planner. Load
planners typically have the same certificate as a flight dispatcher. They must carefully
plan the loading of the aircraft and do the weight and balance calculations for the aircraft. In
some cargo aircraft, they have to visually inspect the loading, making sure it has been done in
accordance with their instructions. When a load planner is on board the airplane as a
member of the crew, he or she will be in charge of planning, loading and offloading the cargo for
the duration of the flight, and is known as loadmaster.
5 Flight follower
In some jurisdictions of the US, similar duties and responsibilities are designated to flight
followers. The main difference between the aircraft dispatcher and the flight follower is that the
latter does not share legal responsibility for the operation of a flight. During the flight, the
dispatcher is required to monitor and advise the crew of changes affecting safety of flight. In
flight following, ultimate responsibility and operational control of the flight rests with the Pilot in
command and Director of Operations (DO). Flight followers work for the Director of Operations
and are tasked with carrying out operational control functions. Flight followers are not required
to attain a flight dispatchers certificate, although they are usually encouraged to do so.

Aircraft ground handling

In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the
ground and (usually) parked at a terminal gate of an airport.
Overview

Many airlines subcontract ground handling to airports, handling agents or even to another
airline. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), conservative estimates
indicate airlines outsource more than 50 per cent of the ground handling that takes place at the
worlds airports. Ground handling addresses the many service requirements of an airliner
between the time it arrives at a terminal gate and the time it departs on its next flight. Speed,
efficiency, and accuracy are important in ground handling services in order to minimize the
turnaround time (the time during which the aircraft must remain parked at the gate).
Airlines with less-frequent service or fewer resources at a particular location sometimes
subcontract ground handling or on-call aircraft maintenance to another airline, as it is a shortterm cheaper alternative to setting up its own ground handling or maintenance capabilities.
Airlines may participate in an industry-standard Mutual Assistance Ground Service
Agreement (MAGSA). The MAGSA is published by the Air Transport Association (the current
version is from 1981) and is used by airlines to assess prices for maintenance and support to
aircraft at so-called MAGSA Rates, which are updated annually based on changes in the U.S.
Producer Price Index. Airlines may choose to contract for ground handling services under the
terms of a Standard Ground Handling Agreement (SGHA) published in the International Air
Transport Association (IATA) Airport Handling Manual. Airlines may also contract for ground
handling services under non-standard terms.

Most ground services are not directly related to the actual flying of the aircraft, and instead
involve other tasks. The major categories of ground handling services are described below.

Cabin service

The primary aim of this service offering is to ensure passenger comfort. While cabin cleaning
comprises the bulk of the effort, it also includes tasks such as replenishing onboard
consumables (soap, tissues, toilet paper, reading materials) and washable items like pillows and
blankets.

1.2 Catering
Catering includes the unloading of unused food and drink from the aircraft, and the loading of
fresh food and drink for passengers and crew. Airline meals are typically delivered in Airline
service trolleys. Empty or trash-filled trolley from the previous flight are replaced with fresh ones.
Meals are prepared mostly on the ground in order to minimize the amount of preparation (apart
from chilling or reheating) required in the air.
While some airlines provide their own catering, others have either owned catering companies in
the past and divested themselves of the companies, or have outsourced their catering to thirdparty companies. Airline catering sources include the following companies:
_ Airline Services & Logistics PLC(EPZE)
_ American Airlines
_ Atlas Catering (Royal Air Marocs catering service)
_ Cara Operations
_ Cathay Pacific's Cathay Pacific Catering Services
_ Chelsea Food Services
_ Gate Gourmet
_ KLM's KLM Catering in Stages
_ LSG Sky Chefs
_ Q Catering (Qantas Airways)
_ Servair
_ Thai Airways's Thai Catering Services
_ United Airlines

Ramp service

This includes services on the ramp or apron, such as:

Guiding the aircraft into and out of the parking position (by way of aircraft marshalling),
Towing with pushback tractors
Lavatory drainage
Water cartage (typically non-potable for lavatory sink use)
Air conditioning (more common for smaller aircraft)
Airstart units (for starting engines)
Luggage handling, usually by means of beltloaders and baggage carts
Gate checked luggage, often handled on the tarmac as passengers disembark
Air cargo handling, usually by means of cargo dollies and cargo loaders
Catering trucks

Refueling, which may be done with a refueling tanker truck or refueling pumper
Ground power (so that engines need not be running to provide aircraft power on the
ground)
Passenger stairs (used instead of an aerobridge or airstairs, some budget airlines use
both to improve turnaround speed)
Wheelchair lifts, if required
Hydraulic mules (units that provide hydraulic power to an aircraft externally)
Deicing

1.4 Passenger service

This includes services inside the airport terminal such as:
Providing check-in counter services for the passengers departing on the customer
airlines.
Providing gate arrival and departure services. The agents are required to meet a flight
on arrival as well as provide departure services including boarding passengers and
closing the flight.
Staffing the transfer counters, customer service counters and airline lounges.

1.5 Field operation service

This service dispatches the aircraft, maintains communication with the rest of the airline
operation at the airport and with Air Traffic Control.

List of notable handling agents

_ Air India Air Transport Services Private Limited
_ Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited
_ Aviance UK
_ Aviapartner
_ Baltic Ground Services
_ Aircraft Service International Group
_ elebi
_ DAL Global Services
_ Dnata
_ Egypt Air Ground Services
_ Envoy Air
_ Executive Airlines
_ Jardine Aviation Services
_ Kion de Mexico
_ Korea Airport Service
_ Menzies Aviation
_ Myanma Airways
_ Oman Air
_ Regional Elite Airline Services
_ SAS Ground Handling
_ SATS Ltd
_ Servisair
_ Shaheen Airport Services

_ Swissport
_ Turkish Ground Services
_ Universal Aviation
_ Worldwide Flight Services