Fund crunch? Air India willing to pay new COO Rs 3 cr

New Delhi: Loss-making national carrier Air India may be struggling to pay its 31,000-strong staff salaries, but it has opened its purse strings to fork out about Rs 3 crore to its chief operating officer (COO), Gustav Baldauf.
The Austrian national will join Air India next month. He is currently executive vice-president (flight Operations) with Austrian Airlines . Baldauf could be appointed as COO only after statutory clearances from various government agencies as he is a foreign national.
“The management has indicated an annual approximate remuneration of Rs 3 crore to the COO,” an airline official said. “The chairman will negotiate the pay package,” he said, requesting anonymity.
Only 170 executives in India Inc drew more than Rs 3 crore in the financial year ended March 2009. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Sun TV’s Kalanidhi Maran and telecom czar Sunil Mittal are among the highest paid executives in India.
“We have to get back to the board after (finalising) compensation package,” Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav said.
08/04/10 Nirbhay Kumar/Economic Times

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Categories: NACIL Apr 2010