Aviation

Air India clarifies the Boeing 747 aircraft retirement from its fleet

Air India clarifies the Boeing 747 aircraft retirement from its fleet. National carrier Air India today denied the media reports that it is going to retire the Boeing 747 aircraft from its fleet.

Air India tweeted from its official Twitter handle,” It has been reported in a section of media that Air India is set to retire its Boeing 747 aircraft from its fleet and will be operating its last flight tomorrow. The news is false and B747 will continue to remain an integral part of our fleet.”

#FlyAI : It has been reported in a section of media that Air India is set to retire its Boeing 747 aircraft from its fleet & will be operating its last flight tomorrow.
The news is false and B747 will continue to remain an integral part of our fleet.
— Air India (@airindiain) March 9, 2021
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Generally, these four-engine planes are operated on international routes as well as for ferrying VVIPs. The Boeing 747—a wide-bodied, four-engine plane that first flew in 1969 and could ferry about 400-600 passengers over long distances. The 747 was born out of a business imperative to fly more passengers over longer distances without stopping.

Meanwhile, Air India Employees Consortium, which participated in the Air India divestment bid, was disqualified from the divestment process by the Transaction Advisor to the Government of India (Ernst & Young LLP) on Monday.

AI Employees Consortium submitted an ‘expression of interest’, last year, to participate in strategic divestment of the national carrier Air India. Transaction Advisor to the Government of India said that the three reasons for the disqualification of the ‘Expression of Interest’ of the employees are non-submission of required three years audited financial statements for foreign consortium member, non-submission of information or details by interested bidders for investments in offshore companies, which forms a substantial part of the net worth of the foreign consortium member and the foreign consortium member not being an appropriately regulated foreign investment fund as defined in the Preliminary Information Memorandum.

Aviation

Boeing to Slash 17,000 Jobs Worldwide Amid Ongoing Factory Strike

Boeing to Slash 17,000 Jobs Amid Ongoing Factory Strike

Boeing, one of the world’s largest aerospace manufacturers, is facing a severe crisis. The company announced on Friday that it will lay off 17,000 employees—roughly 10% of its workforce.

This decision comes amid a prolonged strike, production delays, and ongoing safety concerns with its aircraft. Kelly Ortberg, Boeing’s CEO since August, delivered the news, stating, “Our business is in a difficult position, and it is hard to overstate the challenges we face together.

Beyond navigating our current environment, restoring our company requires tough decisions, and we will have to make structural changes to ensure we can stay competitive and deliver for our customers over the long term.”

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Boeing has been struggling financially, with the last reported profit in 2018. The company’s largest union, with 33,000 members, has been on strike for nearly a month after rejecting a labor deal. The ongoing walkout is reportedly costing Boeing around a billion dollars each month as negotiations remain at a standstill.

Compounding these issues, Boeing’s much-anticipated boeing 777x wide-body plane is now six years behind schedule, with deliveries postponed until 2026. This follows the discovery of structural damage during flight tests. Boeing also announced it will stop manufacturing its commercial 767 freighters after fulfilling its remaining orders by 2027.

Financially, the company expects to report a significant third-quarter loss—nearly $10 per share—and a total cash outflow of $1.3 billion. boeing new aircraft commercial airplane unit faces a $3 billion pretax charge, while its defense business will absorb an additional $2 billion hit.

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The strike has severely impacted production at key boeing facilities, particularly in Seattle, where half of the company’s nearly 150,000 employees work. Since 2019, Boeing has lost approximately $25 billion.

Ortberg was brought in over the summer to help the company regain public trust following safety concerns, especially surrounding the 737 Max line, which was involved in two deadly crashes. Earlier this year, a separate incident involving a panel popping off a 737 Max mid-flight reignited concerns. A Federal Aviation Administration investigation following the event found that Boeing had failed 33 out of 89 product audits.