Apart from Tata Group, Air India likely to get more bidders as Jet Airways and SpiceJet reportedly will join the race to buy the national carrier.

Quoting government sources, a report in the Times of India stated, "The economics of the game will change completely for whichever airline gets Air India. With its 14% domestic and 17-18% international market share, getting AI will be a paradigm shift for the successful bidder. Other airlines like Jet and possibly even SpiceJet will have no option but to bid for Air India".

A woman passenger and an Air India duty manager slapped each other at the Indira Gandhi International Airport on Tuesday morning after she was denied boarding for reporting late, police said.

The incident took place after the Ahmedabad-bound woman passenger had an argument with the official.

The government today gave another three months extension to current Air India CMD Rajiv Bansal.

Bansal, who is also an additional Secretary in the petroleum ministry, has an additional charge as the head of the national carrier.

New Delhi: The government may not infuse about Rs21,000 crore in the promised equity into Air India Ltd once the state-owned airline is privatised, a top official said.

Air India was promised Rs50,000 crore in equity infusion until 2032 by the previous United Progressive Alliance government in 2012 to bail out the airline weighed down by accumulated losses and debt.

Debt-laden Air India has received a loan worth of Rs 1,500 crore from Bank of India to meet urgent working capital needs less than a month after floating a tender in this regard, an airline source said.

For the second time in recent months, the flagship carrier has received loans from a public sector lender.

Declaring that his working hours were over, an Air India pilot abandoned the plane on the runway at Jaipur airport on Wednesday night, leaving 48 passengers stranded

Flight 9I 644 was meant to fly from Lucknow to Delhi, going via Jaipur. It was supposed to arrive at Jaipur airport at 9 pm, but it was delayed and arrived only at about 1:30 am. Due to the smog at the capital and other technical issues at Delhi airport, it couldn't take off till 2 am.

National carrier Air India has floated a tender to raise $535 million to bridge finance a loan raised to acquire three Boeing 777-300ER (extended range) planes.

Two of the planes will be used by the government for ferrying important officials, a spokesperson said.

As many as 14 companies have expressed an interest to collaborate with the government in the role of transaction and legal advisors for the divestment of national carrier Air India.

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) had earlier invited expressions of interest for appointing transaction advisors and law firms in assisting the strategic sale of the carrier. The mammoth deal includes an operating fleet of 142 aircraft comprising 65 A-320 aircraft, 15 B777 aircraft, 24 787 aircraft, 23 737-800 aircraft, 11 ATRs, and four B747 aircraft.

The loss-making Air India is likely to relook into some existing key contracts with its suppliers, including aircraft lessors and engine makers, as it seeks to trim costs ahead of stake sale by the government.

Air India chief Rajiv Bansal, who has been working on ways to improve the airline's on time performance (OTP) and prune costs on various fronts, has set up a task force comprising four teams to put together a strategy before engaging with vendors, according to a source.

Disinvestment-bound Air India has sought proposals for short term loans worth Rs 1,500 crore to meet “urgent” working capital needs, according to a document. This is the second time in little over a month that the flagship carrier has floated tenders for short tenure loans even as the government is working on the modalities for the stake sale. The debt-laden carrier, which is surviving on taxpayers’ money, is battling multiple headwinds, including financial woes and stiff competition. In a document issued on October 18, Air India said it is looking for “government guarantee backed Indian Rupee short term loans totalling up to Rs 1,500 crore to meet its urgent working capital requirements”.

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