According to reports, the Tata Group would focus on boosting Air India’s on-time performance in particular. Other modifications include improved lunch service on four Mumbai-bound flights and a recorded message from new owner Ratan Tata as the planes take off.
After 69 years apart, the ‘Maharaja’ has finally returned to the Tata Group’s hangar.Following the final completion of Air India’s disinvestment process on Thursday (January 27), Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran issued a cordial letter welcome all Air India employees back into the fold.
“Today marks the start of a new chapter. The nation’s eyes are on us, eager to see what we can do as a team. We must look to the future in order to establish the airline that our country requires… We must look to the future in order to establish the airline that our country requires… I am confident that Air India is about to enter its golden period. “Our quest to get there begins right now,” he wrote in the letter.
Despite the excitement and sentiment surrounding the return of Air India to the Bombay House, the chairman stated in the letter that it is now time to look forward. It appears that the business conglomerate has ambitious plans in place to restructure the debt-ridden civil airline carrier.
According to news sources, the Tata Group has devised a 100-day plan for Air India to enhance the airline’s operational and service standards, including on-time performance and long-standing thorny issues like passenger complaints and contact centres.
According to reports, the Tata Group would make significant adjustments, with a special focus on boosting Air India’s on-time performance. The highest priority will be placed on ensuring that all Air India flights arrive on time.
Other immediate changes passengers can expect to see in Air India under the Tata Group include improved food services on four flights departing from Mumbai and a spoken message from new owner Ratan Tata as the flights take off. According to reports, the cabin crew’s dress and seating arrangements would be altered.
Furthermore, because the Tatas are a major participant in the hotel industry, improving the quality of the airline’s meals would be a main concern, according to sources.
The airline isn’t the only one getting a makeover. The airline’s 10,000 employees will notice a significant difference as well.
Employees have also been promised that they will not be fired for at least a year following the acquisition. Employees cannot be retrenched for a period of one year after the closing date, according to Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisan Rao Karad, and will be entitled for voluntary retirement with maximum benefits if retrenched in the second year following closing.
Employees will be eligible for a variety of benefits, including gratuity, PF rights, medical benefits, and passage rights, as is customary in the airline industry, and they will be able to remain in their residential colonies for six months following the takeover.
The government will provide medical benefits to all retired employees and current employees who are 55 years old or have completed 20 years of service.
In addition, retired personnel would be able to use the CGHS for their OPD needs and the National Health Insurance Scheme for their hospitalisation needs. Air India has over 50,000 retired personnel, with about 30,000 of them opting for the post-retirement medical plan.
Air India currently employs around 10,000 people, with 5,000 of them set to retire in the next five years.
The Tata Group won a proposal (via a holding company called Talace) to buy a 100% stake in Air India, as well as a 50% investment in ground handling business AISATS, and the government expects to transfer ownership to the Tata group by the end of this month.