Indian-Air India integration will be carried out in phases, says Praful Patel

New Delhi: A day after the Union Cabinet cleared the proposal for merging the two state-owned carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines Limited, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Friday said the technical and procedural formalities for the merger would begin immediately.
"One company with one name, one brand, one logo, one code and single financials is expected to be in place within the coming 16 weeks. This new airline, with about 112 aircraft with both international and domestic footprint, will set fresh benchmarks for efficiency and reliability, thus benefiting the civil aviation sector in the country, specially the travelling public," Mr. Patel told both Houses of Parliament.
He said the Government was committed to ensuring that all legitimate employee interests, including their current compensation and status, were protected.
The new firm to be created by merging the two carriers will be registered under the Companies Act within the next fortnight, official sources said. As the first step, a new company will be incorporated under Sections 391-394 of the Companies Act of 1956. The Government proposes to register the new airline firm as a hundred per cent government-owned public company, keeping in mind the Cabinet decision to maintain the public sector character of the merged entity.
03/03/07 The Hindu

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Categories: Air India Mar 2007, indian mar 2007