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http://www.bbc.com/news/business-43581529
Air India sale: Who'll buy the debt-laden carrier?
Image caption India's cabinet approved plans to privatise Air India in June last year
India's government has decided to sell a controlling stake in the loss-making national carrier, Air India.
It is putting 76% of the business up for sale in what would be India's most high profile asset sale in decades.
Air India has relied on taxpayer-funded bailouts to stay operational - and the new buyer would take on about $5bn (£3.6bn) of debt.
If privatisation goes ahead, it will be a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims to be a reformist leader.
But it is not a done deal. Such plans have been abandoned before, and unions have threatened wide-ranging protests if ministers push ahead this time.
Once the country's only airline, Air India has lost market share to new entrants and suffered from a reputation for poor service and cancelled flights.
It has not turned a profit since 2007 - but with India seeing passenger growth of around 20% per year and analysts saying the Indian market is vastly underserved - it could still be a tempting prospect for would-be buyers.
What's up for sale?
According to documents released by the government, Air India will be put up for sale as four different entities.
Who'll buy it?
International routes are the most lucrative part of the Air India business, with slots at major international airports including London Heathrow and New York JFK.
IndiGo, India's biggest airline, has said that it would like to carve out Air India's international passenger airline operations - to add to the seven international destinations it already flies to.
But that is not an option currently on the table - and Indigo said it would also "evaluate" the option of taking on all of the airline business and see if it was "economically feasible for us to go down that path".
"At the end of the day, this exercise is not about becoming bigger for the sake of being bigger - it is all about profitable growth," co-founder Rahul Bhatia said.
But he was clear IndiGo was not looking at buying all of Air India's businesses and subsidiaries.
"In our view, that would be a herculean task which would at best be a very challenging proposition and at worst an impossible task, unless an organisation is willing to fund large losses for a very long time," Mr Bhatia said.
Another potential buyer is Vistara - the joint venture airline run between India's Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines general manager David Lim told the BBC that it was "open" to an Air India bid.
"We haven't closed the doors and when that happens we will look at it", he said
Air India sale: Who'll buy the debt-laden carrier?
- 29 March 2018
Image caption India's cabinet approved plans to privatise Air India in June last year
India's government has decided to sell a controlling stake in the loss-making national carrier, Air India.
It is putting 76% of the business up for sale in what would be India's most high profile asset sale in decades.
Air India has relied on taxpayer-funded bailouts to stay operational - and the new buyer would take on about $5bn (£3.6bn) of debt.
If privatisation goes ahead, it will be a boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claims to be a reformist leader.
But it is not a done deal. Such plans have been abandoned before, and unions have threatened wide-ranging protests if ministers push ahead this time.
Once the country's only airline, Air India has lost market share to new entrants and suffered from a reputation for poor service and cancelled flights.
It has not turned a profit since 2007 - but with India seeing passenger growth of around 20% per year and analysts saying the Indian market is vastly underserved - it could still be a tempting prospect for would-be buyers.
What's up for sale?
According to documents released by the government, Air India will be put up for sale as four different entities.
- 76% of the main airline business - made up of Air India, its low-cost arm Air India Express and subsidiary AISATS
- Alliance Air - the carrier's regional arm
- Air India Air Transport Services
- Air India Engineering Services Ltd
Who'll buy it?
International routes are the most lucrative part of the Air India business, with slots at major international airports including London Heathrow and New York JFK.
IndiGo, India's biggest airline, has said that it would like to carve out Air India's international passenger airline operations - to add to the seven international destinations it already flies to.
But that is not an option currently on the table - and Indigo said it would also "evaluate" the option of taking on all of the airline business and see if it was "economically feasible for us to go down that path".
"At the end of the day, this exercise is not about becoming bigger for the sake of being bigger - it is all about profitable growth," co-founder Rahul Bhatia said.
But he was clear IndiGo was not looking at buying all of Air India's businesses and subsidiaries.
"In our view, that would be a herculean task which would at best be a very challenging proposition and at worst an impossible task, unless an organisation is willing to fund large losses for a very long time," Mr Bhatia said.
Another potential buyer is Vistara - the joint venture airline run between India's Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.
Earlier this month, Singapore Airlines general manager David Lim told the BBC that it was "open" to an Air India bid.
"We haven't closed the doors and when that happens we will look at it", he said
