Planemakers have started pitching their latest aircraft to a privatised Air India which has been acquired by salt-to-steel conglomerate Tata Sons. European aerospace major Airbus on Monday said that it is in talks with the airline to sell its long haul aircraft Airbus A350-900. The wide-body aircraft is capable of flying non-stop between India and United States- one of the most popular and revenue generating routes.
Air India, under its new Tata management, has taken a Rs 60,800 crore ($8 billion) cover by paying Rs 266 crore premium to a clutch of insurance companies, including Tata AIG General Insurance. The airline managed to get a better deal as it valued its fleet lower by almost $2 billion. The new management held extensive negotiations - both in India and London, to get a good deal considering the rising premiums due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
The government on Wednesday asked ministries and departments to clear dues of debt-laden Air India immediately and henceforth purchase tickets only in cash. The government earlier this month decided to sell Air India to Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, for Rs 18,000 crore. The Department of Expenditure, under the Finance Ministry, in a 2009 order, had said that in cases of air travel (both domestic and international), including LTC where the Government of India bears the cost of air passage, the officials may travel only by Air India.
A consortium of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) has agreed to provide loans to Tata Group for the smooth operations of loss-making Air India. Tata Group, which won the bid to acquire the national carrier along with Air India Express and 50 per cent stake in AISATS in October last year, is expected to formally takeover the airline on Thursday. Sources said the SBI-led consortium has agreed to grant both term loans and working capital loans depending on the airline's requirements. All large lenders, including Punjab National Bank, Bank of Baroda, and Union Bank of India, are part of the consortium, they added.
'Government shouldn't be in the business of running airlines, instead it should develop the ecosystem of civil aviation.'
It's too big to digest as one whole airline.'
The bulk of Indian carriers flying to Dubai are low-cost carriers, which include IndiGo, Air India Express, and SpiceJet.
Air India is leaving behind some 50 bags at the Delhi airport as it flies to the US, reducing what it carries after the closure of Afghanistan's airspace increased flight time by at least 30 minutes. Air India flies the Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft to New York, Newark, Chicago, Washington and San Francisco.
Air India has asked a New York court to dismiss a petition filed by Britain's Cairn Energy for seizure of its assets to enforce $1.2 billion arbitral awards against the Indian government, saying the litigation was premature as an appeal against the arbitration award was still pending. The petition by the airline, which is separate to Indian government's plea in a Washington court seeking dismissal of Cairn's lawsuit to seek confirmation of the arbitral award, said the New York district court lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate a "mere hypothetical question" or one that depends upon contingent future events that may or may not occur. Cairn first moved a court in the US District Court for the District of Columbia seeking confirmation of the arbitration award and then filed a petition in the New York court to seek declaration of Air India as "alter ego" of the Indian government and so it should be made liable to pay the $1.26 billion arbitral award.
A Delhi court on Saturday sent Shankar Mishra, accused of urinating on a woman co-passenger on an Air India flight, to judicial remand for 14 days while rejecting a plea by police for his custody.
The government has initiated the process for inviting financial bids for the sale of national carrier Air India and the deal is likely to conclude by September, sources said. Salt-to-software conglomerate Tata Group was among the "multiple" entities that had put in preliminary bids for buying loss-making Air India in December last year. The sources said that after analysing the preliminary bids, eligible bidders were given access to the Virtual Data Room (VDR) of Air India, following which investors' queries were answered.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at four locations in Punjab on Friday as part of its probe in a terror-conspiracy case involving designated terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun and the Sikhs For Justice (SFJ), a banned organisation associated with him.
The new owners of Air India will have to retain all the employees of the national carrier for at least one year post which they can offer a VRS. The gratuity, pension fund and post retirement medical benefits of existing and past employees too would be honoured by the new owner, civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal said. Tata Sons has emerged as the winning bidder for Air India with the government accepting its Rs 18,000 crore offer to acquire 100 per cent of the debt-laden state-run carrier.
IndiGo on Wednesday said it was exploring an earlier introduction of wide-body planes in its fleet to meet the growing demand for international travel. Industry sources said the airline was in talks with Norse Atlantic Airways to wet-lease six B787 planes in its fleet.
Singapore Airlines' deal with Tata Sons (Tata) will inject a further SGD 360 million ($267 million) into Air India. It will give SIA a 25.1 per cent stake in the enlarged Air India group following its takeover by Tata and merger with Vistara Airlines. The November 2022 deal between Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons to further inject $267 million into Air India is one of the key strategic initiatives for future growth mentioned in the quarterly financial report. This agreement is still subject to regulatory approval. SIA in the statement said, "The merged entity will be four to five times larger in scale compared to Vistara, with a strong presence in all key airline segments in India.
The industry is hoping the Tatas deepen their dive and offer two stable airlines -- a Vistara merged into Air India servicing the international routes, and an AirAsia India merged with Air India Express that competes with the low fare airlines in India and offers destinations within five hours, says Anjuli Bhargava.
Out of the 14 flights, 13 were diverted to Jaipur and 1 to Dehradun, the official said and added that the diversions happened between 8.30 am and 3 pm.
India's largest public sector bank State Bank of India (SBI) will support Tata group's bid for soon-to-be-privatised Air India by subscribing to Tata Sons debentures or funding the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by Tata Sons for the acquisition. Bankers said the credit rating of Tata group's holding company is "AAA" signifying high safety and a combination of Air India with its existing airline businesses would make it a formidable player - leading to a duopoly market with IndiGo. It would also open many business opportunities, including in the retail segment, an official said.
The flight AI 1946 landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport here at around 11.40 pm.
The three state-owned oil companies have decided to defer snapping fuel supplies to Air India. The airline owes the three firms over Rs 5,000 crore in past fuel bills.
The government on Monday issued a letter of intent (LoI) confirming the sale of its 100 per cent stake in loss-making Air India to Tata Group for Rs 18,000 crore, a senior official said. Last week, the government had accepted an offer by Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate, to pay Rs 2,700 crore in cash and takeover Rs 15,300 crore of the airline's debt. Subsequent to that, an LoI has now been issued to Tata confirming the government's willingness to sell its 100 per cent stake in the airline.
The agencies have also found some common lines and words used in these fake threats like "bombs", "blood will spread everywhere", "explosive devices", "this is not a joke" and "you will all die" and "bomb rakhwa dia hai" (Hindi for bomb has been placed) among others.
Tata Sons has started the process of due diligence of state-owned Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Sources said the group has appointed Bain and Company and Seabury Group for this purpose. Once complete, a financial bid will be submitted and a deal to take over the airline is likely to fructify by end of this year or even earlier, people involved in the process said. Simultaneously, the group has brought in veterans in the aviation business from Delta and United Airlines to prepare a plan for post-merger integration of Air India with its existing airline ventures. Tata Sons operates Vistara - a 51:49 percent joint venture with Singapore Airlines and Air Asia India, in which Tatas hold 83.67 per cent stakes.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra has once again found himself at the center of a controversy, this time for his comments about Maharashtra's Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Kamra has been a controversial figure for years, with his comedy often targeting politicians and other public figures. This latest incident has led to a backlash from Shinde's supporters, who have vandalized the venue of Kamra's show. Kamra has a history of making controversial remarks, including heckling a TV anchor on a flight and making comments about the judiciary.
Tata Group-owned Air India has informed the Centre that aircraft lessors wish to set up their special purpose vehicles (SPVs) outside India since they aren't enthused about the Indian 'legal structure' and are loath to take risks. Indian airlines have a combined fleet of about 700 planes; over 85 per cent are on lease. A majority of lessors are based in Ireland due to its attractive tax policy, light-touch regulations, and swift legal system.
In the past few days, more than 40 flights operated by the Indian carriers have received bomb threats which later turned out to be hoaxes.
Tokyo Olympics medal prospect Manu Bhaker has demanded action against two Air India employees for allegedly 'harassing' and 'insulting' her while the ace shooter tried to board a flight to Bhopal from Delhi.
With over 700,000 annual passengers and 21 per cent market share Air India is the largest carrier on India-United Kingdom routes.
In a bid to resurrect Air India privatisation, the government is planning to give flexibility to potential investors to decide on the humongous debt with the national carrier, a top official has said. The flexibility to potential investors on the quantum of the Rs 60,074 crore debt that they want to absorb will replace the current condition of the buyer taking over more than a third of the debt and transferring the rest to a special purpose vehicle, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
A group of 219 employees of Air India along with a private financial institution have submitted an expression of interest (EOI) for the national carrier.
Re-rating of Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Container Corporation, Shipping Corporation, SAIL, and Hindustan Copper, for which the government has already shown intent to divest its stake, possible now, say analysts.
Curtailment of flights between India and China will help Air India and other airlines to boost their seat occupancy and market share.
