NEW DELHI: Jet Airways’ shutting down last April, leaving Air India as the only Indian carrier operating medium and long-haul non-stops between India and distant continents, is possibly the jewel in the on-sale Maharaja’s crown. While the terms of the second divestment attempt have been considerably sweetened by relaxing eligibility norms for bidders, allowing them to take on a much lower debt-cum-liability burden and the government exiting fully, AI’s biggest strength could be its network.
AI’s 27 young Boeing 787 Dreamliners (average age 5.2 years) and 16 B777s (average age 10 years) operate 36 weekly flights to six North American destinations like New York (JFK and Newark), San Francisco, Chicago, Washington and Toronto, 37 weekly to
