Ready for Take-Off ; Air India and Indian Will Soon Merge Into One Mega Airline Operating On Both Domestic and International Routes. But Its Flight Path Is Strewn with Air Pockets.
Business Today › June 11, 2007
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Summary
On Tuesday, May 22, Union Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel showcased the new colours of the soon-to-be-merged Air India and Indian at a crowded conference at the headquarters of the Civil Aviation Ministry. The new airline, which will have red and orange livery, will be called Air India and the operating company will be called National Aviation Company.
Patel has categorically ruled out any layoffs, which means the new mega carrier will have an employee strength of around 34,000-- that's about 280 employees for each of the 120 planes it is expected to have by the end of the year--enough to fill up its daily capacity with its employees alone. In leading global airlines like British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Emirates, the comparable figures are 120-150 employees per aircraft. Then, a horribly mixed fleet of Airbus and Boeing aircraft will negate any engineering synergies, and unions such as the Airlines Corporation Employees Union (ACEU), demanding an early resolution of the pay arrears issues, can bring the airline to its knees. The big question is: can the merged carrier fly at all?See the full content of this document
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Ready for Take-Off ; Air India and Indian Will Soon Merge Into One Mega Airline Operating On Both Domestic and International Routes. But Its Flight Path Is Strewn with Air Pockets.
The minister thinks it can. Patel, who can rightfully claim credit for more than doubling the number of domestic flyers from 12 million to 30 million during his three-year tenure, courtesy low- cost carriers, has said that he considers this merger to be his finest achievement as minister. "The unions and all the employees are on board, and it will take some time for all the synergies to work out. But I believe the merged carrier will become a world- class one in a few years," he says.
Two Power CentresThe new...See the full content of this document
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