‘Who’s not interested?’ Vistara weighs bid for Air India
NEW DELHI : Tata SIA Airlines Ltd, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, is evaluating the prospects of bidding for national carrier Air India Ltd.
“Which entity in India will not be interested to evaluate buying Air India? We need to do a long evaluation as Vistara is itself on a long journey,” the airline’s chairman, Bhaskar Bhat, said on the sidelines of an event to unveil the airline’s new Boeing 787-9 wide-body aircraft. Gurugram-based Tata SIA has not decided whether it will actually bid for state-run Air India, he said. “Whoever acquires Air India, whether it’s us or anyone else, will have to follow the government timeline.”
The government hopes to sell its entire stake in Air India. Last month, it invited offers from investors for the stake sale, after the failure of an expensive turnaround plan and an effort to sell a controlling stake in the national carrier.
