AI refuses to disclose losses from free tickets

New Delhi: The cash-strapped Air India may be looking for a bailout from tax payers' money but is not ready to make public the details about free travel benefits it extends to various individuals and the expenditure on these freebies.
In an RTI reply, the national carrier has refused to make public names of people who have enjoyed free travel benefits on it and the costs saying it will be detrimental to its commercial interests.
"Disclosure of names of persons to whom such tickets were issued would be detrimental to the commercial interests of the company considering the fierce level of competition that is existing in the Aviation industry," the loss making national carrier said in an RTI reply.
Air India which has sought a bail-out package worth Rs 10,000 crore from the Government, did not give even the total cumulative losses it had to suffer because of free travel benefits it doled out during last three years.
It also refused to give total number of passengers which availed free tickets during the period citing section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act which exempts disclosure of information which may affect commercial position of an entity.
05/12/10 Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Dec 2010