Mumbai, July 04: 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.
"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 told a news agency here today.
At its first meeting held yesterday 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.
After a meeting Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel
and top Ministry and airline officials had with Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh on June 24, Air India was asked to come up with
a detailed restructuring plan within a month and submit it to
a Committee of Secretaries headed by Cabinet Secretary, K M
Chandrasekhar.
At the meeting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, was
briefed about Air India's woes, following which he extended
"fullest support" to the carrier but with riders.
The conditions were that the airline should immediately
restructure itself by cutting costs and flab and overhauling
its top management to become a "leaner and trimmer
organisation."
The national air-carrier recently deferred payment of
June salaries to its staff and also requested its senior
officials of General Manager and above rank, to voluntarily
forego their July salaries in view of the liquidity crunch in
the company.
Bureau Report