Tata Group will fly ‘Maharaja’ again, Ratana Tata said – welcome to Air India again

Mumbai: The Tata group has emerged as the successful bidder for Air India’s disinvestment process, winning Rs 18,000 crore as an enterprise value for the national airline. Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, submitted bids through its wholly owned subsidiary, Tales Pvt Ltd, and after the acquisition, Tata’s Air India (a full-service airline operating in domestic and international markets) had 100 % stake as well as 100% stake in its subsidiary Air India Express (a low-cost carrier airline with a focus exclusively on the Middle East market). The joint venture Air India will have a 50% stake in SATS (Airport Services and Cargo Handling on the Ground). Air India and AIXL have a total of 13,500 permanent and contract employees.

Tata Trust Chairman Ratan Tata said in a statement, “Tata Group’s winning bid for Air India is great news.” But it is certain that this will provide a strong market opportunity for the Tata Group’s presence in the aviation industry.

Ratna Tata said, “Air India under the leadership of JRD Tata had, at one point of time, earned the honor of being one of the most prestigious airlines in the world.” He said that Tata would get an opportunity to regain the image and prestige that it had in the past. Tata said, “JRD Tata would have been very happy if he was among us today.” He thanked the government for opening up select industries to the private sector.

N Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd. said, “At the Tata Group, we are delighted to be announced as the winner of the bid for Air India. This is a historic moment and it will be a rare privilege for our group to own and operate the country’s flag carrier airline. It will be our endeavor to build a world class airline that makes every Indian proud.” Air India has a fleet of 117 wide-body and narrow-body aircraft and AIXL has a fleet of 24 narrow-body aircraft.A large number of these aircraft are owned by Air India.