Air India Charter to float Rs2,000 crore bond issue
16 Mar 2011
Facing a severe cash crunch Air India is now looking to Air India Charters to bail it out, at least partially.
The board of directors of Air India yesterday cleared a proposal to float a Rs2,000 crore-bond issue through its profitable arm Air India Charters, which runs low-cost operations under the brand Air India Express.
If this proves to be a success, the issue could breathe new life into Air India, which has such a cash problem that it has faced difficulties paying salaries to its employees for several months now.
The board also accepted the resignations of three high-profile employees whose recruitment proved to be extremely controversial from the very beginning.
Chief operating officer (COO) Gustav Baldauf had resigned last month after the ministry of civil aviation sent a show-cause notice for going public with his grievances against the government.
Chief of training Stefan Sukumar put in his papers just before Baldauf when his foreign aircrew temporary authorisation (FATA) licence was not released by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
