Not so fantastic
Fair enough and I have removed my comments. But any close observer of Air India and Indian Airlines pilot managment relationships might agree that in many cases the pilots actions in many cases appear to defy logic. Do also keep in mind that India is not a yet a fully deregulated aviation market and with Air india carrying a lions share of international passengers any major disruption can cause severe inconvenience to the ordinary public.Also you may find it unbeleivable but apparently basic things in the western world like "trip cancellation insurance" are all virtually unheard of India and air passenger rights/denied boarding compensation etc pathetic! So if you have felt I have beaten my "own personal drum" it is from years of experience as a keen obesever of the Indian air travel industry, a market which is still very much a closed market and although big doesnt attract much attention anywhere!
That said, I take your point and have edited my comments and will wait till any more involved persons (I am not involved with Air India in any capacity by the way) put forward their views in this discussion
Cheers
Yet another report
from
http://www.keral.com/nrinews/index.htm#7
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Air-India (AI) operations from the Cochin International Airport were severely hit on Friday following an agitation by the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), demanding a certificate from the airlines that the accompanying crew had not flown into SARS-affected regions during the last 10 days.
Several flights took off hours behind schedule after the airlines worked out a contingency plan to face the situation. The services that were delayed by more than two hours were AI 935 Kochi-Dubai, AI 943 Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram-Muscat and AI 947 Kochi-Muscat-Abu Dhabi.
The airport witnessed tense moments earlier in the day when passengers of AI 943 staged an onboard gherao preventing the AI crew from disembarking after they were informed of the delay.
The pilot who was to take over from the crew who brought the aircraft to Kochi from Alain, UAE, walked away after the AI management refused to certify that the accompanying crew had not flown to SARS-hit countries in the preceding 10 days.
Following this, a pilot in the management cadre had to be summoned to fly the passengers to Thiruvananthapuram and to Muscat. “We're managing the show with executive pilots who are in the management cadre. Though IPG-affiliated pilots are reporting for duty, they simply walk out of the operations room the moment we reject their demand for a certificate,” an official said.
Alleging that there was a ‘hidden agenda’ behind the agitation, the official pointed out that official airlines of SARS-hit countries were still operating. “They have cut down frequencies due to the load factor. But the crew is fully co-operating,” the official pointed out.
The agitation, meanwhile, has hit the AI's 310 fleet. The AI has taken an aircraft on loan from the Indian Airlines to ferry US and Europe-bound passengers from Kochi to Mumbai on Saturday.
The airlines has also set up a monitoring cell with its executive head Capt P G Sudhakaran, airport manager Micheal Joseph, Kochi manager KM Kurien as members. The cell, with a view to minimising inconvenience to passengers, will co-ordinate flight plans including diversion to Kochi from other stations.
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Cheers