The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA) said that it would ensure that national carrier Air India (AI, Delhi International) continues to fly and also improve its operations during the government's ongoing disinvestment process.
In a social media post, the ministry reiterated "that the government, while going ahead with the disinvestment, would ensure that Air India continues to operate uninterruptedly and also improves its operations. There is no cause for worry to any of its stakeholders."
The statement comes on the back of remarks in December from Air India Chairman and Managing Director Ashwani Lohani who told MOCA that the flag carrier's position was "grossly untenable" for sustaining operations. However, on January 4, the Air India boss then stated that rumours about the airline's shutdown were "all baseless".
In terms of making itself more attractive to potential suitors, Air India is hoping to secure more year-round slots at London Heathrow, which will also help it to increase its sales.
The state-owned carrier has obtained three additional slot pairs at the London airport, in addition to its existing 28, which it uses to operate services from Ahmedabad, Bengaluru International, Delhi International and Mumbai International. With the temporarily allocated free slots, it plans to operate 11 flights between Mumbai International and Heathrow starting on February 14 and running into March.
"We are in discussion with Heathrow for this service on full-year basis and are hopeful our request will be accepted,” said an Air India spokesperson.
However, in response to Air India's request, Airport Coordination, which manages Heathrow's slot allocation, told India's Business Standard newspaper: “Air India has been allocated ad hoc slots, which will not gain any historic precedence for future season. The slots utilise those that other carriers have cancelled. The carriers remain entitled to these slots in the subsequent season. Air India can apply for ad hoc slots for each season but there is no guarantee that there will be sufficient available to satisfy the request.”
The importance of the India-UK market to the flag carrier is clear. With over 700,000 annual passengers and 21% market share, Air India is the largest carrier in the market, ahead of Emirates (EK, Dubai International), which offers services via its Dubai International hub, and British Airways (BA, London Heathrow). In addition to its London services, Air India also flies 6x weekly from Delhi and Amritsar to Birmingham, GB, as well as 3x weekly from Amritsar to London Stansted.
