Lack of spares have grounded at least a dozen A-321 aircraft of Air India, “workhorse of the domestic network operating on high-density routes”, the national carrier’s pilots association has claimed.
Calling it a “criminal waste”, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) shot off a letter to Air India Chairman and Managing Director Pradeep Singh Kharola, saying 12 of the 20 A-321 planes are grounded. “40% of the A321 fleet is grounded at various stations for lack of spares,” it said.
“Overall, almost 23% of the Air India fleet is grounded for lack of spares.┬аAircraft worth USD 3.6 billion are lying idle in the hangar,” it said in the letter while adding, “considering the high seating capacity, there is a significant loss of revenue happening on a daily basis.”
It said, “such a high percentage of this aircraft type being grounded is criminal at the very least.” Of the 22 A-319 aircraft, only 18 are available for operation, it said adding seven Boeing aircraft also not operating. “Of the 15 Boeing 777-300 aircraft, five aircraft are in the hangar. Of the 26 Boeing-787 aircraft, two are grounded,” it said.
“Additionally, a significant number of flights are getting cancelled/rescheduled on a daily basis. There are also aircraft fleet swaps which result in last minute change of inventory resulting in non-optimal revenue management and utilisation,” the ICPA said. DH
