Disinvestment-bound Air India registered around 11% growth in revenue, as the airline’s fiscal and performance parameters were good in the last financial year, according to its chief Pradeep Singh Kharola. The loss-making national carrier also recorded 80% passenger load factor in 2017-18 amid the government preparing for its strategic disinvestment. Kharola said on Thursday that the performance parameters of the airline had been good in the last financial year.

The Tata Group, widely seen as a potential suitor for Air India, is unlikely to consider a bid for the carrier as the government’s terms are just too onerous, two sources said. India, keen to sell the loss-making, debt-ridden airline, finalised plans in late March to divest a

76 per cent stake and offload about $5.1 billion of its debt.

Jet Airways reportedly has decided not to participate in bidding for stake in national carrier Air India. According to a report in Business Standard, the Jet Airways management had held discussions with its alliance partners Air France-KLM, Delta, and other investors to put up a proposal. But the airline has now decided to call off its efforts.

The government will not look at making any revisions to the transaction details for the divestment of Air India, sources told FE, as it is seeing enough interest from prospective overseas bidders. This assumes significance in light of homegrown budget airline IndiGo, the first airline to express its interest in buying into the ailing national carrier, pulling out from the race citing its inability to turn around the airline and consummate the deal in its current form.

IndiGo, India’s largest airline, has pulled out of the race for Air India, dealing a blow to the government’s disinvestment plans. IndiGo was the only airline that had officially expressed an interest to buy the state-owned carrier.

IndiGo said it was pulling out as it was not interested in taking over Air India’s domestic operations. Last year, IndiGo had made it clear it was primarily interested in Air India’s international business and its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, which operates in West Asia.

NEW DELHI: Air India's New Delhi-bound flight from Chicago has been grounded at the the Chicago airport due to a technical glitch.

The aircraft, a Boeing 777-300, operating AI 126 ( Chicago-New Delhi), which was scheduled to take off at 1.30pm (local time), is currently on ground due to a crack on the edge flap on one of the wings, an Air India source said.

Disinvestment-bound Air India has delayed the payment of salaries for the month of March and is yet to intimate the employees about reasons for the delay, sources said. The debt-laden carrier has over 21,000 employees, including more than 11,000 on permanent rolls. Generally, salaries are paid by the 30th or 31st of every month and in case of bank holidays around these dates, then payments are made in advance.

The Air India sale has been code-named Project Royal, although the plain truth is that the national airline isn’t the king of Indian aviation. The company has run losses for years and is laden with debt. Even so, like its affable mascot Maharajah, there are things Air India brings to the table that will attract some buying interest.

The government will divest 76 per cent stake in Air India, according to the information memorandum on the airline’s proposed stake sale released on Wednesday. The sale will include Air India's shareholding in low-cost Air India Express and its joint venture ground handling subsidiary AISATS.

Bidders must have a minimum net worth of Rs 50 billion and net profit for three preceding years. However, the rule has been relaxed for Indian carriers to enable them to participate in the bid process.

Israel s national airline El Al today filed an urgent petition to the High Court against Air India’s new route connecting New Delhi and Tel Aviv via Saudi airspace, days after the Indian carrier launched its maiden service to the Jewish state, Israeli media reports said. Speaking at a press conference in Tel Aviv, El Al’s CEO Gonen Usishkin and chairman Eli Defes said that by allowing Air India to fly over a country (Saudi Arabia) that does not grant El Al the same rights, the government is violating its commitments to Israel’s national carrier, the Times of Israel reported.

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