Cash-strapped Air India would draw up a comprehensive short, medium and long-term strategy to rejuvenate itself. This was decided at a marathon meeting lasting nearly 12-hours of the ‘turnaround committee’ comprising representatives of the management and unions. The committee was set up recently to suggest initiatives that would enable the airline to overcome its financial woes.

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“The turnaround committee discussed the prevailing situation in the company threadbare. The focus was on rejuvenating the company and several options and strategies were discussed,” an Air India official said today. At its first meeting held on Friday, which began after 11 in the morning and concluded at 11 in the night, it was decided to chart out a concrete strategy on a 6, 12 and 18-month basis to bring the airline back on track.

Discussions centred strongly around the special business units (SBUs) involving ground-handling, engineering services and cargo, wherein it was felt that the business potential from these segments were immense and should be exploited to the full, the official said.

“It was felt that there is a need to earmark potential earnings from the SBUs,” he said.

Various cost-cutting measures were discussed along with recognition of the necessity of coming up with “...improved defined work methods which could lead to substantial cost reductions,” the official said. The integration of the two carriers, Air India and Indian (erstwhile Indian Airlines), was also discussed in some detail and the need to smoothly complete the process was recognised, he said.

The meeting was held in a congenial atmosphere and would be continued in the future in the interest of the national air-carrier, he said.

With Air India’s losses likely to be around Rs 5,300 crore in FY 2009 and working capital borrowings at around Rs 16,500 crore, the state-run airline is looking for government succour to wriggle out of its financial mess.

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