No plans to merge A-I, Indian: Patel

Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on Thursday said that there is no proposal to merge state-owned carriers Indian Airlines and Air-India as of now. The government is making attempts to ensure better synergy between the two airlines, Patel said.

Last month, Patel on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Singapore said the two airlines would be merged by the end of this year to help competitiveness and provide better services than privately-owned airlines.

"We are looking into synergising the operations of Indian and Indian Airlines to make them stronger carriers, but we have not decided on the structure of the merged carrier," Patel was quoted saying.

Currently, domestic carrier Indian Airlines operates to some international destinations while Air-India is an international airline.

While Air-India Chairman V Thulsidas is keen on merging the two, Indian Airlines Chairman V Trivedi has been silent on the issue.