Air India takes to skies on July 15

Revealing this, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said a massive route rationalisation exercise was already on and personnel of both the national carriers were working out unified flight schedules for the new entity.

The Civil Aviation Ministry is of the view that leveraging the combined assets of both the national carriers will results in huge gains. “To give you one example, route rationalisation on the India-Kuwait route will bring in a benefit of Rs 80 crore annually to the merged entity,” Patel said. Accenture, the consultant advising the ministry on the merger, is working on route rationalisation and rescheduling.

Meanwhile, the Civil Aviation Ministry is planning to review the restriction requiring an airline to have five years of experience in domestic flying before it can be allowed to fly internationally. “Instead of a blanket review, there will be a review on case-to-case basis. For instance, we’ll see whether there is a requirement on some sectors and whether carriers have the capability to operate on them,” Patel said, adding that the guideline stipulating a minimum fleet of 20 aircraft before a carrier can fly abroad would continue.

On the issue of rising ATF prices, Patel said, “We’ll try to come out with innovative solutions to tackle the issue. We will pressurise Oil PSUs on the matter. Also, options of bringing in competition so as to get the best prices will have to be explored.” The minister added that private players like Reliance had already started supplying ATF to some airports and others like Essar and Shell may do so in future.

Patel said he had asked Air India to make a big European hub on the lines of Jet Airways so as to enable flights to stop there before moving on to the United States. On Indian (Airlines) approving a scheme to permit “not-so-young cabin crew” to voluntarily opt for retirement or ground duties, the minister said his ministry would examine ways to keep a younger crew without asking people...