In an epochal event, India’s flag carrier Air India on Thursday returned to the hands of Tata Group, which founded it close to 90 years ago. The diversified conglomerate had won the race for full ownership of the state-owned airline in October last year, by offering Rs 18,000 crore as enterprise value (EV) consideration. The debt-laden, loss-making airline has long guzzled taxpayers’ money, but still holds considerable brand strength and repute, with its iconic Maharaja tag. Air India will be the third airline brand in the Tatas’ stable; it already owns 84% in AirAsia India and 51% in Vistara. The deal will add as many 141 wide-body and narrow-body planes to Tata Group’s fleet, a significant number of which owned by AI.
