Disinvestment-bound flag carrier Air India will phase out its remaining three Classic A320 planes, which are nearly three decade old, from the fleet by the end of this year. The airline had in April 2014 announced its plans to retire all 14 single-isle double-bogey wheel planes from its fleet in a phased manner after it decided to induct more fuel-efficient Airbus A320 neo planes into operations.

Air India has recorded a 20 per cent growth in revenue in March-April 2018. The carrier has also embarked on a route-analysis exercise, focusing on increasing flying hours of its aircraft, to add more trips, Chairman and Managing Director, Pradeep Singh Kharola, said.

The airline is focussing on improving the operational efficiency, both in the domestic and international sectors, even as it is buoyed over the load factor, on time performance and revenue growth, Kharola said.

Mumbai: The government on Thursday said that there is a great deal of interest for disinvestment of Air India Ltd, amid the deadline for submission of preliminary bids ending this month.

The last date for submission of Expression of Interest (EoI) for the proposed 76% stake sale in debt-laden Air India is 31 May. Earlier this month, the government came out with clarifications related to the disinvestment.

The CIC has directed the Air India to disclose complete records related to bills raised for the foreign visits of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, underlining that since the expenditure is from the public exchequer it cannot be withheld under the "cloak" of commercial confidence and fiduciary capacity.

An air hostess of Air India has alleged that she was molested by the pilot of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai flight.

The pilot allegedly molested the air hostess on May 4.

Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), a leading aviation consultancy, has asked the central government, to make Air India divestment offer attractive to investors or be ready to see the national carrier closing down. In a series of tweets on 4 May, CAPA has said that the debt-ridden national carrier may head for two year loss of $1.5 to billion.

The civil aviation ministry has extended the deadline for submitting expressions of interest (EoIs) for Air India by a fortnight to May 31 and has decided to allow shortlisted bidders to change partners in the consortium before submission of final offers.

The revision in bid conditions was announced on Tuesday following requests from prospective suitors.

Around 150 players have shown interest in the Air India privatisation process, made queries and sought clarifications on the terms of the flagship carrier’s sale. These include both foreign and Indian airlines, as well as a number of domestic and external non-aviation entities, Business Standard has learnt.

A new owner of Air India will be allowed to operate the airline under a holding company. The entity will also be permitted to co-opt its existing airline brands under the holding company to build synergy.

This, the government believes, will allay concerns of potential suitors about the bidding condition, which mandates operating Air India at arm’s length for three years.

Amid reports of Indian civil aviation companies being lukewarm to buying Air India, the government says it has received many queries from a number of aviation and non-aviation companies for the flagship national carrier.

The queries have been addressed to EY, the transaction advisor for the sale of Air India, Air India Express, and the flagship’s 50 per cent stake in Air India SATS. The last date to submit queries by interested parties was April 16.

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