Mumbai: Loss-making Air India Ltd has decided to sell several real estate assets in India and abroad to raise Rs.1,200 crore in the next 24 months, two Air India executives said. To begin with, Air India in April sought the necessary permissions from the ministry of civil aviation to sell its real estate assets in Chennai, Coimbatore and Mumbai.

However, this move to reduce debt and cut interest costs may not be easy, caution experts.

The civil aviation ministry has sought an amendment to the Industrial Disputes Act 1947 to end the protection granted to pilots and aircraft engineers under the prevailing labour laws.

The proposal has been mooted at the behest of Air India, which continues to be in precarious financial health despite Rs 17,000 crore equity infusion under the turnaround plan.

State-owned carrier Air India's operating losses may climb slightly in 2014-15, and it is likely to see a steep decline in its earnings, sources said.

The airline has been struggling to turn profitable for years and has posted continuous operating losses. However, the losses have been reducing, from Rs 5,140 crore in 2011-12 to Rs 3,807 crore in 2012-13 and Rs 2,123 crore in 2013-14.

State-run Air India will add as many as 50 aircraft to its existing fleet in the next five-six years as it looks to expand its operations, both domestic and international, in its quest to turn profitable by flying to more destinations and carrying more passengers.

The airline, which currently has 102 aircraft in its fleet, excluding that of its subsidiary Alliance Air, plans to increase its fleet size to 152 by 2021.

Air India (AI) is considering acquiring five Boeing 787-9 aircraft for flights to the US and Canada.

At present, it uses both narrow-body Airbus A320 and wide-body Boeing planes (747-400s, 777s and 787-8) on international routes. The 787-9 variant has a higher range and 40 more seats over the 787-8.

National carrier Air India on Wednesday said it was seeking offers for financing of six Boeing 787 (Dreamliner) aircraft under a sale and lease back (SLB) arrangement for $720 million (Rs 5,000 crore).

Under the arrangement, Air India would sell the six planes to the lessor and immediately lease them back under an operating lease for 12 years with an option to extend, the carrier said in a tender statement. “Air India has fixed a reserve purchase price of $120 million (Rs 750 crore) for each aircraft,” the tender said.

Air India has taken delivery of its 20th Dreamliner from US manufacturer Boeing, a milestone which it said highlights their "successful partnership".

Boeing's delivery of the 20th 787 Dreamliner was made from its final assembly facility in North Charleston in the state of South Carolina.

Air India conducted a survey among employees earlier this month seeking feedback on their salary packages, the company’s promotion polices and the effectiveness of senior management, among others.

This was first such human resource (HR) exercise to gauge employee satisfaction after the merger between Air India and Indian Airlines in 2007. Integration of workforce has been a thorny issue and a cause of litigation and strikes. The survey also sought know what employees think about the merger.

Voicing its concern over the 26-year-old fleet of Airbus A320s in the national carrier Air India, one of its pilots’ union has sought grounding of these planes from aviation regulator DGCA.

The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA), which represents erstwhile Indian Airlines pilots in the now combined entity Air India, has said the airline continues to fly these A320s even after snags being reported regularly.

In a bid to drastically cut down the number of recognised unions in the airline to two from the current 15, Air India has appointed a four-member committee headed by former labour secretary Krishna Mohan Sahni to hold fresh elections by July this year.

Besides Sahni, other members of the committee include Raja Sridhar, executive board member, International Transport Workers’ Federation, retired chief labour commissioner S K Mukhopadhya and Ajit Nigam (advisor, HR, Ircon International).

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