Air India Bid: Tata Sons To Fly Maharajah Again Ending 68-Yr Govt Control | Key Points

With this acquisition, Tatas will get ownership of iconic brands like Air India, Indian Airlines and the Maharajah. 

Representational image of an Air India plane | File Photo: AFP

Mumbai: Tata Group has emerged as the successful bidder of the divestment process of the national carrier Air India with a winning bid of Rs 18,000 Crore as the Enterprise Value for the national carrier. 

The Tata Group’s holding company, Tata Sons through its wholly-owned subsidiary Talace Pvt. Ltd. submitted the bid and after the acquisition, the Tatas will own a 100% stake in Air India (a full-service airline operating in domestic and international markets) as also 100% in its subsidiary Air India Express (a low-cost carrier airline which focusses on short-haul international operations especially in the Middle East market) and 50% in the joint venture Air India SATS (airport services on ground and cargo handling). 

"The Tata group winning the bid for Air India is great news! while admittedly it will take considerable effort to rebuild Air India, it will hopefully provide a very strong market opportunity to the Tata Group’s presence in the aviation industry," said Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Trusts, that controls the $100 billion Tata Group. 

On an emotional note, Air India, under the leadership of Mr. JRD Tata had, at one time, gained the reputation of being one of the most prestigious airlines in the world, said Mr. Tata.

"Tatas will have the opportunity of regaining the image and reputation it enjoyed in earlier years. Mr. JRD Tata would have been overjoyed if he was in our midst today. We also need to recognise and thank the government for its recent policy of opening select industries to the private sector," said Mr. Tata, welcoming back Air India!

The total permanent and contractual employee strength of Air India & AIXL is 13,500.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. said, “At the Tata group, we are delighted to be declared as the winner of the bid for AIR INDIA. 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. It will be our endeavour to build a world-class airline that 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.” 

The Tatas will get ownership of iconic brands like Air India, Indian Airlines and the Maharajah. 

Air India has a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and AIXL has a fleet of 24 narrow-body aircraft. A significant number of these aircraft are owned by Air India. 

Air India provides a unique and attractive international footprint. More than 2/3rd of Air India’s consolidated revenues come from the international market. It is the leading player from India in the international market having a strong footprint across geographies like North America, Europe and the Middle East with attractive slots and bilateral rights. The Air India frequent flyer program has more than 3 million members.