This could be a blow for government as Air India's one of the potential bidder, Qatar Airways has been reportedly planning to not make a bid for the national carrier.
This could be a blow for government as Air India's one of the potential bidder, Qatar Airways has been reportedly planning to not make a bid for the national carrier. According to a report in the Times of India, Qatar Airways would soon apply for starting its own airline in India. The new airline would be a a domestic full service carrier.
The report further stated that the proposed airline would be fully-owned by Qatar entities and it would have an Indian chairman. Majority of the board members would also be from India, the publication said. It also said that Qatar Airways has said that it would not bid for Air India.
In his first interaction with the Indian media since last March when he announced the plan to set up an airline in India, QA Group chief executive Akbar Al Baker told TOI : “Our lawyers have started working on our application. We will soon get some clarification from government authorities in India to give us the exact direction on how we can start the process (and) formally apply for the (licence) sometime soon.”
Meanwhile earlier this week, the government came out with a set of clarifications on the proposed strategic disinvestment in Air India and said individuals other than the airline's employees would not be allowed to bid.
It had issued preliminary information memorandum on March 28 for the proposed sale of up to 76 percent stake in Air India along with management control to private entities.
The disinvestment would include profit-making Air India Express and joint venture AISATS, an equal joint venture between the national carrier and Singapore-based SATS Ltd.
The government has put out clarifications for 160 questions from interested bidders on the disinvestment of Air India and its two subsidiaries -- Air India Express and AISATS.
According to the 19-page document released today, the government has clarified that "individuals (other than employees) are not allowed to bid".
Clarifications have been provided on various other aspects, including those related to slots, bilateral rights and employee rights. "Details of existing slots and code share agreements will be provided at RFP (Request for Proposal) stage.
It is expected that there will not be any impact of disinvestment on existing slots and bilateral rights.
"Bidders are advised to undertake their own assessment for the impact of disinvestment process on the existing code share agreement," the government said.
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 "Air India Privatization: Qatar Airways may not bid, plans to launch own domestic airline")
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