AI-Indian merged to be directed by experts: Patel

New Delhi, Mar 24: Professionals and businessmen will be appointed for the new board of directors when government-owned Air India (AI) and Indian merge in a week from now, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said.

That means the number of government servants will be bare minimum. This is very relevant in a specialised business like aviation, he said.

The government has not decided on who will head the mega carrier but the person will be in place by April 5. The CEO or managing director could be a government civil servant.

''There will be no political interference in the functioning of merged entity. Ministers and MPs will not be granted unwarranted favours,'' said Mr Patel in an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN television channel.

The new merged entity will take independent commercial decisions.

This is a guarantee, said the minister.

Upgrades and special favours are available with every airline of the world. But misuse and abuse of powers will not happen, he added.
''The prime objective is to create an integrated world-class airline of scale and size which will set fresh marks for efficiency and reliability.'' Mr Patel said the new airline will be a public sector unit but able to pay commercial salaries. It will not be limited by government salary stipulations.

Even after the initial public offering (IPO) of stock sale, the airline will continue to remain government-owned, said Mr Patel.

But he ruled out hiring advisors from airlines that have undergone similar mergers like Air France-KLM and Lufthansa-Swiss Air. ''The airline will have similar advice through Accenture, the new entity's global consultant.'' Mr Patel said Indian employee's demand for 10 years of wage arrears will be settled in an amicable way. He said the name of new airline will be based on market analysis and people's recall value.

On other occasions, the minister has said many times that the new airline having about 112 aircraft with both international and domestic footprint will set fresh benchmarks for efficiency and reliability, thus benefiting civil aviation sector in the country -- especially the traveling public.

UNI