Tata Sons win bid for Air India
Tata Sons group has won the bid for national carrier Air India. A panel of ministers has accepted the conglomerate's proposal to take over the airline, the report said. An official announcement is expected in the coming days, Bloomberg has reported.
New Delhi: Four years after the approval for privatisation of the national carrier, Tata Sons group has won the bid for national carrier Air India. A panel of ministers has accepted the conglomerate's proposal to take over the airline.
An official announcement is expected in the coming days, Bloomberg has reported.
The airline was founded by JRD Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932; Tata himself flew its first single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth, carrying air mail from Karachi's Drigh Road Aerodrome to Bombay's Juhu aerodrome and later continuing to Madras (currently Chennai). After World War II, it became a public limited company and was renamed Air India.
On 21 February 1960, it took delivery of its first Boeing 707 named Gauri Shankar and became the first Asian airline to induct a jet aircraft in its fleet. In 2000–01, attempts were made to privatise Air India and from 2006 onwards, it suffered losses after its merger with Indian Airlines.
In 1953, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act and purchased a majority stake in the carrier from Tata Sons though its founder JRD Tata would continue as Chairman till 1977.
