New Delhi, Oct 8 (FN Agency) This is a historic moment and it will be a rare privilege for our Group to own and operate the country’s flag bearer airline, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said on winning the bid to acquire the national carrier. “It will be our endeavour to build a world-class airline which makes every Indian proud. On this occasion, I would like to pay tribute to J.R.D. Tata, pioneer of Indian aviation, whose memory we cherish,” Chandrasekaran said in a statement. The Tatas getting back the control of Air India completes the full circle for the airline which was founded in 1932 by JRD Tata, the legendary industrialist and an aviation enthusiast. The airline was known as Tata Airline before it was nationalised almost 68 years back. Widely seen as a front-runner ever since the disinvestment of Air India started last year, Tata Group on Friday was announced as the successful bidder of the national carrier.
The Tata Group’s holding company, Tata Sons through its wholly owned subsidiary Talace Pvt Ltd submitted a winning bid of Rs 18,000 crore as the enterprise value of Air India. The government had fixed the reserve price of Air India at Rs 12,906 crore. Following the acquisition process, Tatas will own 100 per cent stake in Air India, as also Air India Express (a low cost carrier airline which focusses on short haul international operations especially in the Middle East market) and 50 per cent in the joint venture Air India SATS (airport services on ground and cargo handling). The Tatas will get ownership of iconic Brands like Air India, Indian Airlines and the Maharajah. As per a Tata group statement, the total permanent and contractual employee strength of Air India and Air India Express (AIXL) is 13,500.
Air India has a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow body aircrafts and AIXL has a fleet of 24 narrow body aircrafts. A significant number of these aircrafts are owned by Air India. “Air India provides a unique and attractive international footprint. More than 2/3rd of Air India’s consolidated revenues comes from international market. It is the No.1 player from India in the international market having a strong footprint across geographies like North America, Europe and Middle East with attractive slots and bilateral rights,” the official statement said.