AI-Indian Lines merger plans ready to take off

New Delhi: Moving a step forward in the process of integration of Indian Airlines and Air India, after resolving the issues of human resource integration, consultancy firm Accenture has already started the work on route integration. This process is expected to be completed in a month's time. The new integrated schedule is expected to come into effect as part of the winter schedule later this year, industry sources said.
The common destinations between Air India and Indian Airlines comprise Dubai, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Muscat, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Names of the top officials of the merged entity along with the new name and brand for the merged airline would be finalised by June this year, Air India chairman and managing director V Thulasidas said on Wednesday.
The total integration process is likely to take two years, and the merger will result in the formation of a mega carrier, one of the largest in Asia, with a fleet of 120 aircraft and reach a global ranking of 31. At present, Air India has a global ranking of 48, while Indian Airlines is 67 on the ranking. The companies have united employee strength of 34,000 and a turnover of Rs 15,500 crore.
26/04/07 Financial Express

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Categories: Air India Apr 2007, Indian Apr 2007