Air India’s privatisation plan is entering its final lap. As the deadline for bidding for Air India ends on Monday, reports have suggested that leading corporate houses Tata, Adani and Hinduja may be interested.

The final date for submission of bids for Air India strategic sale is December 14 and the government has not extended the deadline.

However, the government of India has extended the intimation date for qualified interested bidders (QIBs) for Air India to January 5, from the earlier decided date of December 29.

This is the date for announcing the shortlisted bidders. The physical bids need to be in by December 29.

The government has been trying for two years to divest its Air India. It wants to divest 100 per cent stake in Air India and budget carrier AI Express, and sell its 50 per cent share in Air India SATS Airport Services, a joint venture with Singapore-based ground handling firm SATS.

The government has further sweetened the deal and now it will be sold on its enterprise value.

Reports have now emerged of three big-ticket corporate houses interested in the national carrier. Reports suggest that the Tata Group, Adani and Hinduja several others are evaluating bids for Air India. However, none of these has officially said so.

A group of 209 employees of Air India are making preparations to bid for the national carrier in partnership with a private financier.

As reported earlier, Air India employees are preparing to bid for the national carrier in partnership with a private equity fund and each employee will be asked to contribute Rs 1 lakh towards the bid.

The bid process is being led by Meenakshi Mallik, Commercial Director, Air India.

However, the unions representing pilots and cabin crew have advised their members not to participate in the employee bid.

(With inputs from agencies)

Air India’s privatisation plan is entering its final lap. As the deadline for bidding for Air India ends on Monday, reports have suggested that leading corporate houses Tata, Adani and Hinduja may be interested.

Air India’s privatisation plan is entering its final lap. As the deadline for bidding for Air India ends on Monday, reports have suggested that leading corporate houses Tata, Adani and Hinduja may be interested. The final date for submission of bids for Air India strategic sale is December 14 and the government has not extended the deadline. However, the government of India has extended the intimation date for qualified interested bidders (QIBs) for Air India to January 5, from the earlier decided date of December 29. This is the date for announcing the shortlisted bidders. The physical bids need to be in by December 29. The government has been trying for two years to divest its Air India. It wants to divest 100 per cent stake in Air India and budget carrier AI Express, and sell its 50 per cent share in Air India SATS Airport Services, a joint venture with Singapore-based ground handling firm SATS. The government has further sweetened the deal and now it will be sold on its enterprise value. Reports have now emerged of three big-ticket corporate houses interested in the national carrier. Reports suggest that the Tata Group, Adani and Hinduja several others are evaluating bids for Air India. However, none of these has officially said so. A group of 209 employees of Air India are making preparations to bid for the national carrier in partnership with a private financier. As reported earlier, Air India employees are preparing to bid for the national carrier in partnership with a private equity fund and each employee will be asked to contribute Rs 1 lakh towards the bid. The bid process is being led by Meenakshi Mallik, Commercial Director, Air India. However, the unions representing pilots and cabin crew have advised their members not to participate in the employee bid. (With inputs from agencies)

Air India privatisation: Tata, Adani and Hinduja in the fray to acquire

Air India is drawing up a proposal to offer voluntary buyouts to just over a third of its 40,000 employees, two government officials said, in what would be one of the largest such offers in India&#39;s state sector, as the airline slashes costs ahead of a 2018 sale.

The state-owned airline has also put fleet expansion on hold, scrapping a proposal to lease eight Boeing 787 wide-body aircraft, said one of the officials, a senior Air India employee who requested anonymity as the plans are not public. Air India&#39;s board approved that proposal in April but nothing further had been done.

&quot;Nothing has been finalised but our aim is to make the strategic sale as simple as we can,&quot; the company official said, adding that any fresh investment would also be put on hold.

Air India spokesman Dhananjay Kumar said the company had not offered employees voluntary buyouts.

India&#39;s flag carrier is on the block after Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s cabinet last month approved plans to privatise the loss-making airline by selling part or all of the company and ending decades of state support.

Founded in the 1930s and known to generations of Indians for its Maharajah mascot, Air India has a complex fleet, too many staff relative to rivals and $8.5 billion in debt. Since 2012, New Delhi has injected $3.6 billion to keep it afloat.

An official in Modi&#39;s office said the prime minister, under pressure to cut spending and boost basic infrastructure such as ports and roads, was in &quot;no mood&quot; to provide fresh monetary assistance to any loss-making public sector company.

The two government sources, who are familiar with Air India&#39;s plans, said top officials in the civil aviation ministry and at Air India had been asked to present a report on how a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) could be offered to some 15,000 of Air India&#39;s 40,000 staff, including contractors.

Many of the contractors, including office staff and ground handlers, have worked for the airline for years, and would need to be given buyout offers to prevent protests from them, said the senior company official, who is involved in the airline&#39;s daily operations. Previous attempts to offload the airline have failed mainly because of the scale and complexity of Air India&#39;s problems, as well as its influential unions.

If Modi can pull the privatisation off it will buttress his credentials as a reformer brave enough to wade into some of the country&#39;s most intractable problems.

Separately, Air India Chairman Ashwani Lohani sent a letter to employees assuring them the government and the airline management &quot;would like to safeguard your genuine and valid interests&quot;, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. Kumar, the company spokesman, confirmed the letter.

United Front

In its heyday, Air India boasted a talent pool that newly founded airlines dipped into. The government will need to convince seven trade unions to accept the plan to make the airline attractive to potential buyers, including buyouts and other efforts to slash costs. Their initial response was not positive. &quot;The government will propose a VRS scheme and we will throw their proposal in the dustbin,&quot; said J.B. Kadian, leader of a union that represents 8,000 non-technical Air India staff. Kadian said a joint forum of unions representing Air India employees would launch an &quot;agitation&quot; in August if the government pursues its privatisation plans.

On Tuesday, dozens of members of the Air Corporations Employees&#39; Union gathered near Delhi airport holding placards and shouting slogans opposing the privatisation and demanding the airline&#39;s debt be written off, marking the first protest against the government&#39;s plan.

A committee of five senior federal ministers, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is expected to meet this month and begin ironing out the finer details of the privatisation plan.

In the meantime, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said he wanted Air India to begin cutting at all levels.

Earlier this month, the airline decided to stop serving non-vegetarian meals in economy class on domestic flights in a bid to save up to 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) over 10 months.

The action provoked uproar on social media and was belittled by aviation experts, who argue that Air India&#39;s management needs a massive structural overhaul, tackling thornier issues such as its fleet and staff, rather than meals.

The airline is also working to reduce the time its planes spend on the ground and launching direct flights to new international destinations.

In July, Air India started a direct flight to Washington and will start flying to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Los Angeles later this year. &quot;Keeping planes in the hangar makes no sense when Air India is trying to find new sources of income. We should optimize the use of all possible resources,&quot; Raju said. &quot;The idea is to present a robust company to potential buyers.&quot;

India's flag carrier is on the block after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet last month approved plans to privatise the loss-making airline by selling part or all of the company and ending decades of state support

Air India is drawing up a proposal to offer voluntary buyouts to just over a third of its 40,000 employees, two government officials said, in what would be one of the largest such offers in India's state sector, as the airline slashes costs ahead of a 2018 sale. The state-owned airline has also put fleet expansion on hold, scrapping a proposal to lease eight Boeing 787 wide-body aircraft, said one of the officials, a senior Air India employee who requested anonymity as the plans are not public. Air India's board approved that proposal in April but nothing further had been done. "Nothing has been finalised but our aim is to make the strategic sale as simple as we can," the company official said, adding that any fresh investment would also be put on hold. Air India spokesman Dhananjay Kumar said the company had not offered employees voluntary buyouts. India's flag carrier is on the block after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet last month approved plans to privatise the loss-making airline by selling part or all of the company and ending decades of state support. Founded in the 1930s and known to generations of Indians for its Maharajah mascot, Air India has a complex fleet, too many staff relative to rivals and $8.5 billion in debt. Since 2012, New Delhi has injected $3.6 billion to keep it afloat. An official in Modi's office said the prime minister, under pressure to cut spending and boost basic infrastructure such as ports and roads, was in "no mood" to provide fresh monetary assistance to any loss-making public sector company. The two government sources, who are familiar with Air India's plans, said top officials in the civil aviation ministry and at Air India had been asked to present a report on how a Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) could be offered to some 15,000 of Air India's 40,000 staff, including contractors. Many of the contractors, including office staff and ground handlers, have worked for the airline for years, and would need to be given buyout offers to prevent protests from them, said the senior company official, who is involved in the airline's daily operations. Previous attempts to offload the airline have failed mainly because of the scale and complexity of Air India's problems, as well as its influential unions. If Modi can pull the privatisation off it will buttress his credentials as a reformer brave enough to wade into some of the country's most intractable problems. Separately, Air India Chairman Ashwani Lohani sent a letter to employees assuring them the government and the airline management "would like to safeguard your genuine and valid interests", according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. Kumar, the company spokesman, confirmed the letter. United Front In its heyday, Air India boasted a talent pool that newly founded airlines dipped into. The government will need to convince seven trade unions to accept the plan to make the airline attractive to potential buyers, including buyouts and other efforts to slash costs. Their initial response was not positive. "The government will propose a VRS scheme and we will throw their proposal in the dustbin," said J.B. Kadian, leader of a union that represents 8,000 non-technical Air India staff. Kadian said a joint forum of unions representing Air India employees would launch an "agitation" in August if the government pursues its privatisation plans. On Tuesday, dozens of members of the Air Corporations Employees' Union gathered near Delhi airport holding placards and shouting slogans opposing the privatisation and demanding the airline's debt be written off, marking the first protest against the government's plan. A committee of five senior federal ministers, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, is expected to meet this month and begin ironing out the finer details of the privatisation plan. In the meantime, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said he wanted Air India to begin cutting at all levels. Earlier this month, the airline decided to stop serving non-vegetarian meals in economy class on domestic flights in a bid to save up to 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) over 10 months. The action provoked uproar on social media and was belittled by aviation experts, who argue that Air India's management needs a massive structural overhaul, tackling thornier issues such as its fleet and staff, rather than meals. The airline is also working to reduce the time its planes spend on the ground and launching direct flights to new international destinations. In July, Air India started a direct flight to Washington and will start flying to Stockholm, Copenhagen and Los Angeles later this year. "Keeping planes in the hangar makes no sense when Air India is trying to find new sources of income. We should optimize the use of all possible resources," Raju said. "The idea is to present a robust company to potential buyers."

Ahead of privatisation, Air India eyes bumper staff buyout: Reuters reports

Air India&#39;s largest employees&#39; union will hold its general body meeting here this week to &quot;organise its members for a movement&quot; against the government&#39;s decision to privatise the debt-ridden national carrier.

The Air Corporations Employees&#39; Union (ACEU) is also planning to meet a group of ministers to be set up by the government to look into the disinvestment of its stake in the airline.

The ACEU is a grouping of Air India&#39;s non-technical staff and comprises nearly 8,000 of the total 21,137 employees.

&quot;The meeting will be held to enlighten the rank and file about the privatisation of Air India and how it will affect them. This will also be a forum to organise them as we plan a movement against the privatisation of the national carrier,&quot; said a member of the ACEU.

&quot;The move is clearly aimed at benefiting private airlines. If the government is so concerned about the taxpayers&#39; money, then why does it not recover Rs 7.5 lakh crore borrowed by corporates from public sector banks?&quot; the member asked.

Seven unions of Air India have already joined hands to oppose the privatisation of the financially bleeding airline. Their representatives met last month and wrote to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapthi Raju, warning him of an &quot;industrial unrest&quot;.

The letter was written jointly by the AI Air Corporate Employees Union, AI Employees Union, AI Aircraft Engineers&#39; Association, United Air India Officers&#39; Association, AI Engineer&#39;s Association, AI Cabin Crew Association and AI Service Engineers&#39; Association.

These unions will also hold talks with the two pilots&#39; unions -- Indian Commercial Pilots&#39; Association and Indian Pilots&#39; Guild -- and Indian Aircraft Technicians&#39; Association to bring them on board.

They have called NITI Aayog&#39;s report on Air India &quot;arbitrary and unilateral&quot; and said it was prepared without consulting the employees, who are the largest stakeholders.

The Air Corporations Employees' Union (ACEU) comprises nearly 8,000 of the national carrier's 21,000-odd staff strength

Air India's largest employees' union will hold its general body meeting here this week to "organise its members for a movement" against the government's decision to privatise the debt-ridden national carrier. The Air Corporations Employees' Union (ACEU) is also planning to meet a group of ministers to be set up by the government to look into the disinvestment of its stake in the airline. The ACEU is a grouping of Air India's non-technical staff and comprises nearly 8,000 of the total 21,137 employees. "The meeting will be held to enlighten the rank and file about the privatisation of Air India and how it will affect them. This will also be a forum to organise them as we plan a movement against the privatisation of the national carrier," said a member of the ACEU. "The move is clearly aimed at benefiting private airlines. If the government is so concerned about the taxpayers' money, then why does it not recover Rs 7.5 lakh crore borrowed by corporates from public sector banks?" the member asked. Seven unions of Air India have already joined hands to oppose the privatisation of the financially bleeding airline. Their representatives met last month and wrote to Union Minister for Civil Aviation Ashok Gajapthi Raju, warning him of an "industrial unrest". The letter was written jointly by the AI Air Corporate Employees Union, AI Employees Union, AI Aircraft Engineers' Association, United Air India Officers' Association, AI Engineer's Association, AI Cabin Crew Association and AI Service Engineers' Association. These unions will also hold talks with the two pilots' unions -- Indian Commercial Pilots' Association and Indian Pilots' Guild -- and Indian Aircraft Technicians' Association to bring them on board. They have called NITI Aayog's report on Air India "arbitrary and unilateral" and said it was prepared without consulting the employees, who are the largest stakeholders.

Air India's largest union plans stir against privatisation

The Indian government on Wednesday approved the disinvestment of Air India.

&ldquo;The Cabinet today gave an in-principle approval to the divestment of Air India,&rdquo; finance minister Arun Jaitley announced after the Cabinet meeting today.&nbsp;

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<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cabinet?src=hash">#Cabinet</a> approves recommendations of <a href="https://twitter.com/NITIAayog">@NITIAayog</a> on disinvestment of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AirIndia?src=hash">#AirIndia</a> and five of its subsidiaries <a href="https://t.co/FX2tOGVtdi">pic.twitter.com/FX2tOGVtdi</a>
&mdash; Frank Noronha (@DG_PIB) <a href="https://twitter.com/DG_PIB/status/880067958940213248">June 28, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Jaitley said a group will be set up to finalise the details of disinvestment.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s administration has been exploring ways to privatise the loss-making national carrier, which was bailed out in 2012 with $5.8 billion of federal funding.

Surviving on taxpayers&#39; money, Air India has been in the red for long and various proposals, including government think tank NITI&nbsp;Aayog&#39;s suggestion for complete privatisation, have been made. 
&nbsp;

'The Cabinet today gave an in-principle approval to the divestment of Air India,' finance minister Arun Jaitley told reporters

The Indian government on Wednesday approved the disinvestment of Air India. “The Cabinet today gave an in-principle approval to the divestment of Air India,” finance minister Arun Jaitley announced after the Cabinet meeting today. #Cabinet approves recommendations of @NITIAayog on disinvestment of #AirIndia and five of its subsidiaries pic.twitter.com/FX2tOGVtdi — Frank Noronha (@DG_PIB) June 28, 2017 × Jaitley said a group will be set up to finalise the details of disinvestment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration has been exploring ways to privatise the loss-making national carrier, which was bailed out in 2012 with $5.8 billion of federal funding. Surviving on taxpayers' money, Air India has been in the red for long and various proposals, including government think tank NITI Aayog's suggestion for complete privatisation, have been made.

India: Government approves disinvestment of Air India