New Delhi: The ailing Air India may be sold to a strategic partner as soon as the debt-laden airline achieves a reasonable growth rate.
The sale could happen if the struggling state-owned airline manages to stick to its turnaround schedule, sources said.
The sale suggestion was mooted by a group of senior officers constituted by the Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, entrusted with overseeing the affairs of the airline, at an October 29 meeting to brief the GoM, it is learnt.
The Group of Officers was constituted by the GoM to suggest the financial restructuring and turnaround plan for Air India.
The Group, which has officials from the ministries of Finance and Civil Aviation besides others, also suggested various milestones for release of equity.
These suggestions include no productivity linked incentives for staff until the airline is able to generate profits before tax. It also talked about a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS), for which a package needs to be worked out within three months.
The group also advised hiving off the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) operations and the Ground Handling Unit as separate business entities by January next year.
21/11/11 Shishir Sinha/Business Line
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