Former Air India executive director Jitender Bhargava comes out with a book detailing what went wrong with the national carrier. According to him, India does not have a civil aviation policy, and that's just the beginning.
The government will consider the issue of infusing equity into ailing Air India shortly, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Thursday.
The family of a filmmaker killed in the Ahmedabad plane crash used the compensation they received to clear debt and buy a house, fulfilling his promise to them.
Tatas-owned Air India plans to acquire no-frills carrier AirAsia India and has sought approval from the Competition Commission for the proposed deal. AirAsia India is majority-owned by Tata Sons Private Ltd with a shareholding of 83.67 per cent and the remaining stake is with AirAsia Investment Ltd (AAIL), which is part of Malaysia's AirAsia Group. Full service carrier Air India and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express were acquired by Talace Private Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Ltd, last year. Besides, Tatas operate full service airline Vistara in a joint venture with Singapore Airlines.
Ailing Air India may get about Rs 520 crore (Rs 5.2 billion) for carrying out VVIP operations if Parliament approves the supplementary demand for grants for the current year.
An audit should determine whether a voluntary retirement scheme should be offered or staff redeployed or manpower strength slashed.
LIC had evinced interest to purchase the land at Baba Kharak Singh Marg at around Rs 800 crore.
Sarla Maheshwari brought families together for that half hour -- delivering the news with remarkable poise, a firm command over language, without drama or noise. She was a classic.
Competition Commission has approved Tata Group's proposed acquisition of debt-laden Air India as well as its two subsidiaries. The Rs 18,000 crore-deal that includes the winning bidder Talace taking over Rs 15,300 crore-worth debt, is a major step in the government's efforts over the years to revive the ailing airline. Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, emerged as the winning bidder in October.
New Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi on Thursday sought the support of all employees of ailing Air India in restoring its lost glory and said the staff and the management should work in coordination to achieve this.
The airline has an annual wage bill of Rs 3,100 crore (Rs 31 billion) and the report has said as many as 2,600 employees will retire during the period of freeze.
The financial losses of NACIL have been compounded by weakening of its revenue stream, a high cost structure and costly legacy assets (obsolete assets) that have resulted in rising liabilities.
The Civil Aviation Ministry has moved a proposal to infuse Rs 2,000 crore of equity by December as the first phase of financial restructuring to bail out ailing Air India with some riders. Currently, A-I has an equity capital of only Rs 145 crore and debt of over Rs 16,000 crore. The plan is to stagger the infusion of Rs 5,000 crore of fresh equity in the next few years. The riders include a more aggressive plan for cost cutting.
The airline is also expecting to close the bridge loan of $195 million from the domestic arm of the British lender shortly.
Civil aviation ministry has also reached a consensus to give a five-year term to the next CMD of the ailing state-owned airline.
After the plane crash incident, Imtiyaz and his uncle rushed to Ahmedabad to help the authorities in the identification of victims by providing their DNA samples.
The government will transfer about Rs 16,000 crore of unpaid fuel bills and other pending dues that Air India owes to suppliers, to a special purpose vehicle before handing over the loss-making airline to the Tata Group, a senior official said. Air India Assets Holding Ltd (AIAHL), which will hold non-core assets of Air India such as land and building, will also be saddled with 75 per cent of the airline's debt that the Tata Group is not taking over. Besides the debt, the excess liability going to AIAHL comprises unpaid fuel bills to oil companies, airport operators and vendors, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management - the department running the privatisation programme of the government.
It is also felt that under the current market conditions, the building is unlikely to garner the kind of funds expected from a prime real estate at Nariman Point
The plan for 2010-14 envisages revenue enhancement and expenditure reduction over different phases, airline sources said.
Changing tracks helps. But, not taking the beaten path isn't always helpful. This is the story of two of India's biggest privatisations - Air India and Bharat Petroleum (BPCL). Nearly two decades after the last privatisation, a landmark divestment concluded this year when the loss-making national carrier Air India was sold to the Tatas.
'It is an indication that they had forgotten to retract the landing gear. That causes heavy drag, and you cannot accelerate or gain height too fast with a hanging gear.'
Air India on Friday said it has posted an operating surplus for the second month in a row with flights to 106 out of 179 destinations registering cash profit in December.
Air India is in a better state now than it was when Lohani's predecessor took over in 2011, four years after a merger with state-run carrier Indian Airlines.
Air India is suffering a loss of Rs 26 crore (Rs 260 million) per day on account of the stir.
Confirming the circulation of the note, official sources said the Union Cabinet may take up the issue within the first fortnight of 2012.
As the much delayed Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes an official touchdown, complete with a water cannon salute, in Delhi to join Air India's fleet, the ailing airline is working on a plan to regain its lost space in the international skies.
The Ahmedabad air tragedy, which claimed the lives of all but one of the 242 passengers and crew on board, and several others on the ground, has left deep scars on BJMC's residential quarters and the psyche of the survivors.
Air India is a brand, a brand symbolising the nation, especially amongst the Indian diaspora and travellers overseas.
Last year, the government approved a $5.8 billion bailout plan.
The government is understood to have decided to infuse additional equity in Air India and give a soft loan to counter the financial crunch, as a high-level committee on Saturday asked the Civil Aviation Ministry to move a note on the issue for consideration of the Union Cabinet. There was no official confirmation of the quantum of equity infusion and the soft loan the government could give to the national carrier.
There were many who had reposed faith in the Narendra Modi government for expeditious action but are today beginning to feel disillusioned, notes Jitender Bhargava.
Air India (AI) plans to raise Rs 5,500 crore (Rs 55 billion) by issuing bonds to a consortium led by the country's largest private sector lender, ICICI Bank, as part of its financial restructuring exercise.
A five-member committee, headed by IIM-Ahmedabad's Prof Ravindra H Dholakia, was set up by Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh after a review meeting of the ailing national carrier's functioning.
Facing a massive cumulative loss and debt burden totalling about Rs 67,000 crore (Rs 670 billion), Air India hopes the government would take an expeditious decision to infuse more funds to boost its rapidly dwindling financial position.
Within days of deciding to sell and leaseback the first seven Boeing 787 Dreamliners it will receive till this June, Air India has offered to lease five of its eight Boeing 777-200 planes for 8-10 years, officials said.
'We are holding up in this difficult time and hope to bring her home on Thursday morning.'
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal K M Cariappa Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh The three highest-ranking military heroes of the Indian Armed Forces. They were the rarest of the rare. The bravest of the brave.
The government will infuse equity into Air India by March, but only if the ailing state-run carrier manages to generate another Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion) by increasing revenue and cutting costs.
A mutually beneficial relationship between the airline and the govt is the reason for its continued funding.
Technique and natural pace may me Jadeja's undoing in England
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