Air India's application for membership in the Star Alliance group of international airlines has been rejected after the existing 27 members failed to reach a unanimous decision on the matter. Mustafa Quraishi / AP Photo
Air India's application for membership in the Star Alliance group of international airlines has been rejected after the existing 27 members failed to reach a unanimous decision on the matter. Mustafa Show more

Air India bid to join Star Alliance fails to gain lift-off



Air India's application for membership in the Star Alliance group of international airlines has been rejected after the existing 27 members failed to reach a unanimous decision on the matter.

It comes despite India's national carrier announcing on Sunday it would resume most of its international flights by the end of the month. The airline had been forced to scale back its international timetable in reaction to a two-month strike by some of its pilots.

"To be part of the alliance, every member has to agree and that has not happened, especially after the pilots' strike, when we lost a lot of credibility," said Ajit Singh, India's minister for civil aviation. "They have said no. We have asked Air India to look for other options and alliances."

Air India will now hold talks with the rival airline alliances Sky Team and One World.

Membership in the Star Alliance, which includes airlines such as Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Air China and United, would have given Air India a major boost, offering codesharing and through-ticketing to its customers to destinations in more than 190 countries. It would also have offered the chance for customers to build up frequent-flier points redeemable with any member airline.

Instead, Star Alliance chose the independent Indian airline Jet Airways as its next member.

Air India has been in financial trouble for years. An interim report by India's aviation ministry showed that, of Air India's 300 routes, only three were making money. More recently, the airline has struggled to make its merger with Indian Airlines work.

Repeated reports revealed the two airlines continued to work as separate entities despite the merger deal and, on May 7, about 400 Air India pilots, members of the now-unrecognised Indian Pilots Guild, went on strike to protest the decision to allow their Indian Airlines colleagues to train on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The 58-day work stoppage forced Air India to cancel several profit-making as well as loss-making routes, inflicting losses of more than US$108 million (Dh396.6m) on the cash-strapped airline, which was already sitting on a debt of $12.15 billion.

The airline is also about to come under additional competitive pressure following a decision by India's aviation ministry to end Air India's traditional right of refusal on new international routes.

As a result, private Indian carriers, such as Jet Airways, SpiceJet and IndiGo, will begin operating flights to the Arabian Gulf and South East Asia, two key markets for Air India. IndiGo has received approval to operate more than 60 new international flights every week, of which nearly 30 are to Dubai and seven for Jeddah, while SpiceJet can now operate nearly 50 new overseas flights a week, including seven each to Dubai and Riyadh.

The market leader, Jet Airways, has had nearly 60 additional flights a week approved, including 14 to Kuwait.

Meanwhile, the Indian government is looking to offset Air India's debts by selling off its assets. A committee has been set up to value the assets and is due to report in two months.

Initial estimates of assets include a collection of paintings valued at $63.4m and property valued at up to $1.8bn.

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple. 
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

2020 Oscars winners: in numbers
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Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

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South Africa
Faf du Plessis (captain), Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Quinton de Kock (wkt), Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi.

India (from)
Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.

MATCH INFO

Inter Milan 2 (Vecino 65', Barella 83')

Verona 1 (Verre 19' pen)

ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE

First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune

Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

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Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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THE BIO

Favourite car: Koenigsegg Agera RS or Renault Trezor concept car.

Favourite book: I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes or Red Notice by Bill Browder.

Biggest inspiration: My husband Nik. He really got me through a lot with his positivity.

Favourite holiday destination: Being at home in Australia, as I travel all over the world for work. It’s great to just hang out with my husband and family.

 

 

Volvo ES90 Specs

Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)

Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp

Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm

On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region

Price: Exact regional pricing TBA

RESULTS

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.

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