AI 787 familiarization flights ; potential routes discussion etc
 

Read somewhere that it was going to be DEL-HYD, DEL-ATQ? Would love to know when it starts - have a couple of HYD trips planned and dont mind shuffling things around to get on the 787

Unfortunately, DEL-BOM, DEL-BLR and DEL-CCU are likely to be the familiarization routes.

But it might be worth it to fly DEL-BOM-HYD just for the 787. Not every day you get an opportunity to fly such a great aircraft...

DEL-BOM would do just as well. Hopefully it will be a morning flight!

Now, how long before the Palace in the Sky begins to resemble a flying zopadpatti ?

Never heard del Bom route for flights. Have heard del to blr, HYD , maa, ccu, atq, lko, dxb , etc

Any idea when it will be put on Del-Atq route?

When is the route list expected? Can't wait to fly on this beauty even if its with AI, sigh...

BOM has been replaced by MAA in the expected familiarization schedule.

DXB will also be starting earlier than expected - by the end of the month.

Which routes the first 787 will fly on will depend on who wins the pissing match currently underway: sorry, but there is no other way to describe what is going on in Rajiv Gandhi Bhavan today. I wish to write positively about this airline as much as possible, but its just heart-wrenching to see this kind of narrow politics play out.

Like everything else at this wretched airline, its AI vs IC here also. Routes are divided based on airlines and the 787 is unique in that both ICPA and IPG have pilots at stake. So which routes the familiarization flights take place will depend on which pilot group, IPG or ICPA is winning out. ANd judging by the frustration i see among the IPG fellows, i sense 1. the ICPA winning this round as well and 2. another strike by IPG. The IPG fellows are busy sending out updates to Praful Patel stooge, Jitendra Awhad of the NCP: classic sign of something nasty cooking.

One middle of the road solution is to base the aircraft away from both DEL and BOM, main HQ's of ICPA and IPG politics respectively and have crews fly on outstation basis from that place. With pilots away from their respective bases, the possibilities of politics are minimised: on paper at least. MAA could therefore be the first, which could free up a much needed A321 for domestic ops.

So perhaps MAA-SIN-MAA-BOM-MAA or MAA-BOM-MAA-HYD-DEL-HYD-MAA.

if the aircraft is based at DEL, it means the ICPA won this round, if it is BOM then the IPG won. If MAA then the ministry forced a neutral solution. Lets see how this sad theatre plays out now.

Wow... thanks for that update. Look forward to reading more ^

I've been watching the updates IPG and ICPA are releasing with growing frustration...

After weeks of wrangling, mgmt had finally come up with a familiarization plan which both rev management and ops were ok with... (DEL-MAA-SIN, DEL-BLR-MLE, DEL-CCU, DEL-DXB)

MoCA demanded (ridiculously) DEL-LKO which was thankfully promptly shot down - no way AI could fill the aircraft consistently on that route. However, AI agreed to fly it at least a couple times to LKO so that the MoCA babus can try out the latest and greatest :rolleyes:

And then today, the management asked the pilots whether they were ok with the schedule. I don't know what they were smoking when they decided to be "collaborative" instead of just force their way on the pilots. The sense of entitlement that these pilots have is absolutely unbelievable.

Long story short, back to square one. mgmt is working on new schedule. :mad:

I don't think IPG is going to strike now. They'd all lose their jobs.

On the other hand, another IPG strike would probably be Ajit Singh's wet dream.

The aircraft is DEL based. There is no scope for argument on this - I don't get what IPG isn't understanding. DEL is the maintenance base, the operations base, and the crew base for the 787... It's too late to be changing any of this now.

I've just received a list of demands which AICCA sent in sometime recently. All I can say is that this schedule is not gonna get finalized anytime soon...

The sense of entitlement which these people have is unbelievable. Everyone from the Babus to the pilots to the cabin crew to the ground staff think that they run the place. Mgmt should have picked a schedule and made it non-negotiable :td:

If AI management had the lattitude and the cajones to act in that manner, the slum of the skies would not be in the quagmire it presently is stuck firmly in.

B787 - not quite the panacea AI/IC/MoCA hoped it would be to all that ails this behemoth of socialism.

Excellent point.
I don't think anybody has claimed that the 787 will be a panacea - I think we're all just under the impression that it'll be a nice aircraft that we'll have the opportunity to fly on by virtue of being in India :)