AI forms panel with reps from unions, mgt

A day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered to put government's entire weight behind the cash-strapped Air India (AI), the flagship carrier, today said it has set up a committee with representatives from both the management and unions to turnaround the airline's operations.

"We have set up a committee comprising representatives of the management and unions to turnaround the airline," AI spokesperson, Jitendra Bhargava, told reporters here.

The committee would identify the key areas of cost- savings for the airline and will give a presentation of this to the management on July 3, he said.

This committee will be in addition to the nine joint committees, which have been set up by AI to look into the various issues relating to the national air carrier.

The PM's assurance to help the beleaguered airline came with a rider that it would immediately restructure by cutting costs and flab and overhaul its top management to become "leaner and trimmer".