'I think some of us, like Mukesh Ambani, myself and those of us who head industrial units, ought to really focus on what we can really do to make the world a safer place, maybe 50 or 100 years from now.' 'For instance, how can we deal with climate change and global warming, right now?' 'The effects of it may not be felt now; in fact, we may pay a price for it today, but it will help the generations to follow.'
We live in hope that India and its airlines might finally grow up, notes Anuli Bhargava.
The Union government is planning to appoint advisors for kick-starting the process for initial public offer of Air-India and Indian Airlines expected to hit the market later this fiscal.
That such a deal can be greeted with celebration in the camps of both buyer and seller speaks volumes about the airline and its recent history, explains T N Ninan.
The government on Thursday said the issue of an initial public offering of Air-India and Indian Airlines was at a preliminary stage of discussion.
'All they need is proper leadership.'
The very fact that Ratan Tata is retiring at 75 speaks volumes of his commitment to managing the Tata companies through values, says Rahul Bajaj.
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.
Air India's pilots have been hurting customers with their repeated strikes.
It also recommended fixing of responsibility on 'agencies and individuals' who took such a 'whimsical' decision and sought 'suitable action' to prevent such 'intangible loss' being caused to a state-run company.
Information Commissioner Sushma Singh told the officials of National Aviation Company of India Limited, the company formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, to give the details of 'pay, perks and privileges' enjoyed by its chairman, managing director and functional directors to Right to Information activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
The government on Thursday claimed that the losses of Air India were coming down and admitted that there were "some issues" which were affecting the process of its merger.
The CBI today registered three FIRs and a preliminary enquiry to probe alleged irregularities in Indian Airlines-Air India merger and purchase of 111 aircraft, leasing of planes and giving up of profit-making routes by Air India, causing a loss of thousands of crore of rupees.
The committee looked into the merger of the two airlines and its impact on the domestic aviation industry.
Air India's general manager (finance), who should be in the thick of company's financial matters, does not have information about pay and perks of the company's top bosses.
While the civil aviation ministry's activist supervision of the airline's functioning is said to be responsible for much of the mess, the airline management has its own sins to answer for.
National Aviation Company Ltd (Nacil), the entity formed by the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, has failed to keep up to its promise -- it is yet to provide equal access to a large part of the 30,000 employees under its fold.
Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and state-owned NACIL owe public sector oil companies over Rs 2,241 crore (Rs 22.41 billion) as payment for jet fuel, Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dinsha Patel said on Tuesday.
National Aviation Company of India Limited, the public sector entity that owns Air India, will be offering a voluntary leave-without-pay scheme to 15,000 employees--around 46 per cent of its staff strength--to help the financially-strapped airline save over Rs 75 crore annually.
Raghu Menon, CMD of National Aviation Company of India (Nacil), had said last year that more than 70 per cent of the merger process would be completed by the end of FY09.
The government on Tuesday decided to call fresh bids for selling its stake in Shipping Corporation of India, while taking Air-India and Indian Airlines off the divestment list.
Air India CMD Vasudevan Thulasidas said the combined entity will have a change management consultant which will enable employees to be IT-savvy.
Liquor baron Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines has become the first private airline in the country to get Category III certification from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The airline's 100 per cent shareholding in profit-making budget carrier Air India Express as well as 50 per cent shareholding in equal joint venture Air India SATS Airport Services would also be sold.
Alliance Air, the feeder subsidiary of Indian Airlines, may fly Russian defence aerospace major Sukhoi's new civilian jet to connect regional locations in the country.
National Aviation Company, the name of the proposed merged entity of Air India and Indian Airlines, plans to launch a value carrier to take on the challenge from JetLite and Air Deccan.
The letter was sent as an early warning of what was then widely being perceived as a plunder of national resources.
Each aircraft will cost about $50 million and the purchase is being funded by the US-based Exim Bank. The airline operates 143 flights a week from Indian cities to 12 destinations in the Far East and West Asian countries. In its fourth year of operation, the international budget carrier now has 11 fully owned aircraft, while seven are on lease, which will expire in 2010.
National carrier Air India will have two maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities for its aircraft, one in Nagpur and the other in Delhi.
The government is in the process of structuring a uniform performance-linked incentive scheme for Air India and Indian Airlines employees after the merger of the two airlines.
The Air India and Indian Airlines combine, wearing the new Air India brand and livery, is set to give a snazzy new look for its cabin crew.
European aeroplane maker Airbus Industrie hopes to sell 55 of its A380 planes, including 10 freighter aircraft, in India in 20 years.
Even as the government is aiming at creating an airline behemoth to take on Asian tigers such as Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways, the merged Air-India and Indian Airlines entity will not dominate even the Indian skies.
Despite all its problems, V Thulasidas, head of the merged Air India-Indian Airlines, feels the elite cadre provides the most challenging environment.
Apart from the Adani group, the Tata group, the Hinduja group, Indigo and a New York-based fund, Interups, are expected to submit EoIs.
The government is taking the first steps towards opening of the Gulf region to private airlines -- by setting a high-level committee under the aegis of the aviation ministry -- to examine the contentious issue.
The government is looking to sell 10-20 per cent of its holding in national carriers Air-India and Indian Airlines in their initial public offer, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said on Monday.
There would be 'no adverse impact' on Air-India and Indian Airlines if private carriers are allowed to operate to foreign destinations, said the civil aviation minister.
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