Air India will be split into four business units before sell-off
Air India will be carved up into four separate entities ahead of its sale, the government confirmed.
The debt-laden national carrier will be offered for sale as the mainline airline business, a regional airline unit, a ground handling division and engineering operations.
The core airline business is made up of Air India and Air India Express and the pre-sale disinvestment process will be completed before the end of the year, said union minister of state for civil aviation Jayant Sinha.
The government also cleared foreign investors to own up to 49% in the state-run carrier.
Investors’ interest is required by the end of this month and the government will then likely open its books to preferred bidders.
A big obstacle for any serious investor is taking on a bloated airline business with too many employees.
The government still hasn’t approached the tricky subject of staff retention after disinvestment, and is now considering large scale voluntary retirement packages and transfers to other state owned enterprises to help push through a sale.
However minister Sinha says once deals have been struck, the airlines business can look forwatd to a successful future as a private enterprise with the right management in place.
"The aviation sector is a very fast growing sector, with really exciting opportunities for all participants, so we felt all of this will unlock growth and the competitiveness of Air India. We expect it to be a very bright future for its employees."
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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