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Mr V. Thulasidas

Sankar Radhakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram, Jan. 31 National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), which flies as Air India, is set to make Munich its European hub.

Mr V. Thulasidas, Chairman and Managing Director, NACIL told Business Line that Munich, as the airline’s European hub, “is more or less final”. However, Air India officials and officials of Munich airport need to work out the details. The Munich hub will be fully operational in about three years, he added.

Air India is also considering establishing mini-hubs in Hong Kong and Singapore, Mr Thulasidas said. Hong Kong is already a hub of sorts and the plan is to expand this. Similarly, Singapore could be used as a mini-hub for flights to Australia and Indonesia, he added.

The airline plans to have a large number of flights from India to Munich.

From Munich, passengers can fly with Air India to destinations in North America or can use the airline’s Star Alliance partners to connect to destinations in North and South America. For travel within Europe, passengers can use Air India’s Star Alliance partners out of Munich, he said.

Meanwhile, Air India plans to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Alteon Training, a subsidiary of Boeing, to start pilot training facilities in India. While Hyderabad will be the main base for this venture, training will also be offered in Mumbai.

The facility will provide simulator-based training to pilots and could be open to pilots from other airlines, he said.

Air India also plans to develop the Hyderabad-based training centre of the erstwhile Indian Airlines into an integrated internal training facility, Mr Thulasidas said.

When fully functional, this centre will offer various programmes for the airline’s pilots, cabin crew, engineering personnel and management-related training as well, he explained.

During the recent visit of the French President, Air India has signed an MoU with EADS, the parent of Airbus, to start maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations for Airbus aircraft. The location for this venture has not been finalised, but is likely to be New Delhi, he said.

Similarly, Air India will soon sign a contract with Boeing to set up an MRO facility in India for Boeing aircraft, Mr Thulasidas said. Discussions on this venture are on and the contract is likely to be signed by March, he pointed out. Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram are the locations for this venture.

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