New Delhi: Air India is back with the Tatas. The government formally handed over the airline to Tata group, nearly four months after the salt-to-software conglomerate outbid a consortium led by SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh.
The Tata Group, which had placed the highest bid of Rs 18,000 crore in the Air India disinvestment, took over the airline from the government on Thursday. Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital before attended the handing over ceremony at Airlines House.
‘Welcome to the future of Air India’: Day after Tata takeover, a special message for passengers
A day after the Tata Group took over Air India from the Government of India, a special message was relayed to passengers on all of its flights. The aviation company’s operations department had said on Thursday that this message would be read by Air India pilots on every flight departing today.
“Dear Guests, this is your Captain speaking… Welcome aboard this historic flight, which marks a special event. Today, Air India officially becomes a part of the Tata Group again, after seven decades,” Captain Varun Khandelwal said to passengers on Air India flight AI665 travelling from Delhi to Mumbai.
“We look forward to serving you on this and every Air India flight with renewed commitment and passion. Welcome to the future of Air India! We hope you enjoy the journey. Thank you,” he added.