Asia's largest airline to fly soon

New Delhi: The runway is set for the largest airline to take off in Asia. A Group of Ministers (GoM) has approved the merger of state-owned carriers, Air India and Indian (Indian Airlines Ltd). The Cabinet will now have to give its nod.

The GoM headed by Pranab Mukherjee has endorsed the roadmap prepared by Accenture, for the Indian and Air India merger after its third meeting.

The GoM has finally decided to send the proposal to cabinet shortly.

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said the merged entity both Indian and Air India will be merged to a new company there will be a clear mechanism to protect the interest of all employees including casual workers but the decision on the name of the company and branding will follow.

“(Regarding) wage parity, there is no question of anybody being worse off or being downgraded from where they are today. In fact, it can only get better, including casual workers, who are working with both Air India and Indian Airlines. Their conditions of employment shall continue to remain as they are today,” said Patel.

After the cabinet nod, it will take about 16 weeks to complete formalities and the integration will be done in phases. The entire process of integration will take at least two years.

The Government says the proposed that merger will add Rs 1,200 crore to the new entity through synergies between two airlines. The merged entity will be the largest airline in Asia.

Wage parity for employees and career opportunities are the two critical areas the Government will need to work on.

Patel says an employee grievance redressal mechanism will be setup at the company and ministry level.

Consultant Accenture will continue to work with the new entity for one year after the formal merger to ensure integration of manpower, marketing and sales wings of two airlines.

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