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.
A free and open aviation market, where the government keeps the interest of consumers higher than saving any airline.
The disinvestment-bound carrier, which is incurring Rs 15 crore loss per day, has huge dues towards oil companies and Airports Authority of India, among others.
Cairn Energy and Air India have jointly asked a New York federal court to stay further proceedings in the British firm's US lawsuit targeting the airline for enforcement of a $1.2-billion arbitral award. The move follows the government enacting a law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country, which in effect will result in withdrawal of the Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on Cairn, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. The British company had won an international arbitration award against levy of such taxes and sought to take over Air India assets when the government refused to honour the award and pay it $1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty.
So should airlines play the keening, trance-like Siddi folk music from the Kutch peninsula? The Sufiana Kalam of Kashmir? Carnatic music? Rabindra Sangeet? Bihu melodies? Classical music from the Hindustani gharanas? Ghazals? Bhajans? Bollywood hits?... asks Kanika Datta.
Mallya claims private airlines were discriminated against by the Indian government, which bailed out state-owned Air India but did not assist his own Kingfisher Airlines and now Jet Airways.
A New York court has paused Cairn Energy's pursuit of US assets of Air India for the recovery of $1.2 billion arbitral award, so as to allow the British firm to reach a settlement with the Indian government on the long drawn dispute. The New York district court delayed the tax suit to November 18, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. This follows Cairn Energy and Air India jointly asking the court to stay further proceedings in view of the fresh government enacting a fresh law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country.
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.
According to sources in the aviation ministry, only State-owned Air India and private carrier AirAsia India have agreed to pay the surcharge.
Approval needed for Rs 10,000 cr of tax-free bonds, plus Rs 3,000 cr of cash infusion, both apart from year's scheduled Rs 5,500 cr of equity infusion.
Ministry will try to persuade Airports Authority of India, fuel suppliers for easier terms to the airline
As of now, there have been no problems with the aircraft.
Air India postpones plan to put new long-haul aircraft on Australia route.
The carrier has debt of Rs 43,000 crore.
State-owned Air India plans to raise up to $1.1 billion including $300 million for its subsidiary Air India Charters Ltd to fund aircraft acquisition and meet its working capital requirements.
No move yet on delivery of 787s slated for mid-January.
Riding on high yields and an increased passenger load factor, state-owned Air India posted a healthy 46 per cent revenue growth last month over the same period last year, airline sources said on Wednesday.
In December 2005, AI had ordered 111 aircraft worth Rs 46,000 crore.
In popular perception, the villain of the piece is former civil aviation minister Praful Patel.
The government has till now injected Rs 2,000-crore (Rs 20-billion) fresh equity into the airline.
In the 18 months that Arvind Jadhav has been the chairman of state-owned Air India, he has faced more than one crisis.
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.
Air India's entire European operations are carried out with Boeing Dreamliner planes.
Patel discusses the airline's problems and defends his record.
New Delhi, 7 August A strike call and its withdrawal proved an embarrassment for a former senior aviation bureaucrat.
Kingfisher, Jet and state-owned Air owe Rs 4,000 crore to oil companies and airports. Dues to the Airports Authority of India, private airports and oil companies IOC, BPCL and HPCL were to have been cleared by March 31, under the government's mandate. Industry figures show that the three airlines are collectively projected to make operating losses of Rs 5,000 crore.
Faced with a 10 to 15 per cent fall in passenger traffic, business class travel is coming down to earth. For the first time, Jet Airways and Paramount are introducing apex (advance purchase) fares and Kingfisher and state-owned Air India are offering free travel for spouses to boost bookings for this premium service.
In a meeting, attended by several airline unions in New Delhi, the travel agents have also demanded the Parliament to pass a law for commission, so that 'it could not be changed by the air carriers for their monetary benefits'. The associations submitted a mass petition in this regard to the Petition Committees of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Launch on 10 sectors in the winter schedule.
Cash-strapped Indian carriers are finally finding money to finance expansion plans or merely fund operations. State-owned Air India is set to receive a $1 billion (Rs 49,000 crore) loan and Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways is close to striking a deal for a Rs 500-crore loan from Indian Overseas Bank.
Facing the heat of the financial crisis that has hit the aviation sector, state-owned Air India on Thursday said it is considering a plan to give 3-5 years leave without pay to about 15,000 of its staff.
After Frankfurt, the airline may opt for Munich as its other base in Europe. "Air India would ideally want to have both Frankfurt and Munich as European hubs as the airline does not want to vacate Frankfurt and also wants to establish Munich as a hub for operations after network expansion plans come through," said an Air-India official close to the development, not wanting to be quoted.
Experts expect a net loss of Rs 26.7 billion for IndiGo and Rs 10.1 billion for SpiceJet in Q1FY21 driven by low traffic volume, low fleet utilisation and poor coverage of fixed costs.
European aeroplane maker Airbus Industrie hopes to sell 55 of its A380 planes, including 10 freighter aircraft, in India in 20 years.
Acquiring Air Sahara will give Jet Airways the scale required to dominate the lucrative routes to West Asia and the United Kingdom.
'All these incidents go to show that the day of the anodyne, apolitical corporation is running out fast,' says Kanika Datta.
The government is also planning to replace the current ageing Air India One or Boeing 747 with Boeing 777s. Arup Roychoudhury and Archis Mohan report.
But the regulator has dropped the proposal of asking flyers to maintain 30 seconds of silence.
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