Air India’s controlling shareholder, Tata Group, as well as Singapore Airlines Ltd — which owns 25.1% of the carrier — are in talks to inject some much-needed cash, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private information. The size of the infusion is still being discussed but may be less than what the carrier needs, meaning Air India would have to look for other financing options, the people said.
(April 15): Air India Ltd racked up a wider-than-expected annual loss of more than 220 billion rupees, prompting the company to seek financial aid from its shareholders, according to people familiar with the situation.
The loss for the fiscal year ended March 31 — a period punctuated by the deadly crash of a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner, the closure of Pakistani airspace to Indian carriers and the Middle East conflict — is larger than the US$1.6 billion internal company loss estimate reported by Bloomberg News in January.
