Praful Patel reviews steps to restructure Air India

New Delhi: Weeks after the government decided to infuse additional equity of Rs 1,200 crore in Air India, steps taken by its management to restructure the national carrier came in for a thorough scrutiny by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel here on Saturday.
Apart from its financial restructuring, the Minister is understood to have reviewed the progress in implementation of cost-cutting measures by the airline top-brass in varied fields -- ranging from the upkeep of its lounges and ground handling to crew shortage.
This was the fifth meeting Patel had with Air India officials in the past three months to undertake micro- management of the airline's restructuring process.
Sources said the financial restructuring plan prepared by consultancy firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Limited came up for a detailed scrutiny at the meeting, which was also attended by Civil Aviation Secretary SNA Zaidi, Air India CMD Arvind Jadhav and Chief Operating Officer Gustav Baldauf.
The review came ahead of the presentations the management would make before Air India Board on Wednesday next and later to the Finance Ministry and the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) to justify its claims for government funding.
The progress in making the airline's Strategic Business Units functional was also reviewed at the meeting, the sources said. The SBUs would be separate profit centres which would independently handle activities like ground handling, maintenance, repair and overhaul, and engineering.
15/01/11 PTI/Economic Times

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Categories: Air India Jan 2011