The national carrier, Air India is all set to go through privatisation in the coming months and will be sold to the highest bidder. The government has no plans of retaining any stake in the airline. However, before that happens, there are some changes which the government will do to the airline. For example, as part of its privatisation process, Air India will transfer ownership of its four VIP Boeing 747-400s to Alliance Air. The news comes from CNBC TV18 which has reported that the four jumbo jets will be transferred to Alliance Air, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India and was founded back in 1996 to service regional domestic routes.
Measures to Clean Up Air India Assets
Now it is worth noting that although the planes will have different ownership but until privatisation, they will be operated by Air India only. These planes are around 23.2 and 26.2 years old and are flown by Air India on routes between the Indian subcontinent and Saudi Arabia. These planes are although not up to the modern standards, but even then they are able to provide, 12 first-class, 26 business class and a further 385 seats in economy. Sometimes, these flights are also used for government purposes. If some other sources are to be believed, then this is a temporary step that Air India has taken until it receives new aircrafts which are likely to be Boeing 777-300ERs and they will join the Air India fleet before 2020 end.
Air India EoI Under Work
This is one of the methods that the government of India is opting for before it goes on to sell Air India. In its previous attempt, the government wanted to retain a small stake in the airline and hence failed to find a private buyer. But, this time around the government is putting 100% of the airline for sale. The cabinet of ministers is already working on the Expression of Interest for the sale of the national carrier.
