Listing possible? Corporatising Air India is not a sprint, it's a marathon

A bloated debt book, resistance from strong unions have made corporatisation of Air India difficult

The government’s plan of listing Air India is an alternative which has come about after repeated failures in securing a strategic buyer for the airline. On Wednesday, Mint reported that the government is looking at a three-step plan to corporatise the beleaguered state-owned airline.

The first step is to get the banks to recast the airline’s working capital loan into equity by a consortium of lenders. Followed by appointing professionals to run the airline. The last step being its listing in the bourses. In March 2016, Business Standard had reported that the government will ask the lenders to exercise the