The ailing Maharajah
 

India's flag carrier, owned and operated by the Government, is deep financial trouble.
What ails India's troubled maharajah?
There was a pretense to privatise the airline around 2000-2001, but it did not materialise. Privatising it is the best solution, or let Tata run it like they used to.

Given that in all probability AI needs not just financial discipline but a fundamental shift in "mentality" I don't know if just handing it to Tata's (or any private enterprise...) is going to work. That said, Tata's have made it their business to take up "bankrupt" brands and try rebuilding around them (Jaguar et. al.).

On a side note, I find it interesting that in India the govt. run enterprise is messed up and talk is of pushing it to the pvt. sector/pvt. control to bring things back to shape. In the USA GM and Chrysler are privately held companies that are being pushed to have some govt. "guidance" to set them right!

Air India was Tata Airlines. Tata owned and owned and operated it until it was nationalised in the mid fifties, but the Govt retained Tata as the chairman. Tata was retired in the late sixties or the seventies. As long as Tata ran the airline, it was a premier airline.

Tata's legacy did not begin with Jaguar. ;)

Good points. But at this point, might it be a case of too little, too late? Of course, if the government just hands the Tatas AI, then it might be a different story... but what are the chances of that happening?

AI's decline
 

Unfortunately, this also means we have to forget about any hopes of AI joining *A :(

Probably AI will change into a budget carrier mainly - i.e. AI Express model - with the 'full service' version gradually fading away. Sad.

There is an economic correction happening throughout the world - bloated corporations such as Air India need to become more efficient - India just can't keep sustaining ailing industries. It appears that countries are forced to act only when a crisis comes along - think of this as a blessing in disguise - it might hurt in the present situation but the corporation will come out stronger in the end and better compete in the global arena.

I would say that Jet is moving *faster* towards this end, by reinventing itself as a domestic LCC!! :cool:

The service part of the "full service" has long disappeared! The question is can the current version of "who cares" attitude be changed at least sufficiently to do justice to a LCC? (Having flown Southwest a few times I believe LCC's can have a better approach to passengers than many major carriers when flying Y....)

some of the stats in the article is trully sad and shocking. I think the only way is to let it go bankrupt and another private airline take its place.

BOM is chock-a-block with AI pax, probably sold at a discount...

It took longer to go through security than to drive to the airport, due to this mass migration of AI pax...

And LH is op-upping everyone and their grandmother tonight into C as well, just my luck! :(

Upsets me too, mate. God... in peak seasons, stop overbooking the Y cabin! When will they ever learn?

Do you really think there is that much political will in India this year to let it go under in the way you suggest? I don't see things this year going as far as you suggest. While a major restructuring will be pushed for, a bankruptcy liquidation isn't going to manifest itself politically enough for you to get your way.

AI is a mess and it's been that way for decades. Until a couple of weeks ago, IT was the Indian carrier that was most likely to be the major Indian-based airline financial flop this year, but for one reason or another neither AI/IC nor IT seems destined for the incinerator in the next five to six months.

9W's full service domestic program seems to be the only one to get hit by the axe...