Everyone had given up on Air India and its privatisation. The sudden spurt of interest seems to have arisen from a casual statement of the minister. The issue is not whether the company should be privatised or not, but the ability to privatise it. Who would like to take over a company that is on its deathbed?
In the earlier privatisation effort in 2000, there was just one bidder. The bidder wanted protection of bilateral rights of Air India for a fixed number of years.
Since then, Indian private carriers have begun operating on lucrative overseas routes. Many bilateral agreements have been entered into, giving phenomenal rights to other foreign carriers. Dubai, Singapore and Abu Dhabi have become hubs of India-originating traffic, while Air India has not succeeded in creating a hub in India.
01/11/13 V Subramanian/Business Line
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In the earlier privatisation effort in 2000, there was just one bidder. The bidder wanted protection of bilateral rights of Air India for a fixed number of years.
Since then, Indian private carriers have begun operating on lucrative overseas routes. Many bilateral agreements have been entered into, giving phenomenal rights to other foreign carriers. Dubai, Singapore and Abu Dhabi have become hubs of India-originating traffic, while Air India has not succeeded in creating a hub in India.
01/11/13 V Subramanian/Business Line
