Civil Aviation Min reviews Air India performance

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Monday reviewed the overall performance of Air India and discussed ways to increase the market share as well as to reduce its losses.

In the review meeting, the minister also took note of the airline's performance in comparison with other local carriers and the industry as a whole.

While assuring all possible support to the national carrier, which is implementing its turnaround plan, Raju urged Air India officials to use the best IT practices to bring in efficiency.

Air India CMD Ashwini Lohani and other senior airline officials participated in the meeting.

An official release said the minister reviewed Air India's strategy to increase its share in the domestic and international markets apart from ways to improve its financial performance by reducing losses.

In a presentation, Lohani explained the initiatives taken recently and the various challenges that the airline was facing in the domestic and international market.

"Aspects about the performance of Air India in comparison with other domestic airlines and the industry as a whole were analysed. Strategies for improvement of various parameters were also looked at," the release said.

According to the release, Raju promised that the Ministry on its part would look into the Air India's demands and provide all possible support.

Raju reviewed the status of monetisation of assets by Air India and also sought information on operationalisation of MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) for advanced aircrafts at Nagpur and Hyderabad facilities, it added.

"Reviewed Air India operational and financial performance; conveyed several useful suggestions received from public," the Minister said in a tweet.

The airline is estimated to have posted an operating profit of Rs 8 crore in 2015-16.

Air India ran up losses to the tune of Rs 5,859.91 crore in 2014-15. The improvement is anticipated mainly on account of a steep fall in the jet fuel price, which accounts for 40 per cent of an airline's operating expenses.

In 2012, the government had extended a Rs 30,231-crore lifeline to the national carrier under a turnaround plan stretching over a period of nine years to keep it afloat.