Revival plan will give Air India benefit of Rs 20 bn annually: Official

To revive Air India's fortunes, a plan is being implemented that will result in annual financial benefits worth Rs 20 billion by way of cost cutting and revenue enhancement measures, a senior official said Wednesday.

Civil Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said the plan was drawn up around 15 to 20 days ago and focuses on about "10 to 12 items" but did not divulge specific details.

The government is working on efforts to turn around the national carrier, which has a debt burden of over Rs 500 billion.

Talking about the plan, Choubey said, "financial benefits" to Air India would be around Rs 20 billion per annum by way of cost cutting and revenue enhancement measures.
 

The implementation of the plan, which has been prepared on the basis of recent levels of crude oil prices and rupee value, would be monitored by the ministry, he added.

When asked whether the plan is being implemented, Choubey replied in the affirmative.
 

Emphasising that the efforts are to ensure that Air India is "competitive and viable", Choubey said the airline has to work on efficiency improvements.

"We have told them, on one hand, work on efficiency improvements and on the other hand, we will ensure support for you if you are able to show efficiency improvements," he noted.

On Tuesday, a ministerial panel approved cleared a proposal for strategic sale of Air India's ground handling subsidiary AIATSL.