Cruz for Air India?

By a strange twist of fate Air India has fallen into the hands of the Tata Group, which owned the airline before it was nationalised back in 1953.

A front runner to lead the company is Alex Cruz, the former BA boss, according to the The Times of India.

Tata sealed the Air India deal after a $2.4bn equity and debt arrangement was thrashed out. Tata will take on around $2bn of the airline’s debt and gain budget carrier Air India Express as part of the deal.

The Tata Group is a huge conglomerate, with travel interests including Taj Hotels and Vistara, a joint airline venture with Singapore Airlines. Its other interests include Land Rover, Jaguar and Tetley of tea bag fame.

In more recent years Air India has suffered heavily due to the emergence of the Gulf carriers on international routes and budget airline competition on local services.  

The pandemic has heaped more pressure on a carrier not known for efficiently.  Cruz has a reputation for cost cutting.  

At present Air India employs around 10,000 staff and a fleet of around 120 aircraft with Airbus A320 series for short-haul and both the Boeing 777 and 787 for longer flights.

www.airindia.in

www.tata.com

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