Winning Air India bidder may need to furnish Rs 15,000-crore guarantee

A former finance head of the airline said some of the lease rentals may not have been paid lately due to the severe cash crunch

As the process to sell Air India hots up and its data room is opened up to prospective bidders, two issues have come to light that could lead to further trouble in the way of the sale of the national carrier.
 
According to sources, the winning bidder would be req­uired to replace a bank guarantee for $2 billion (approximately Rs 15,000 crore) for lease payments guaranteed by the government for 12 years on 21 B-787s. Not only are the lease rental rates almost “twice” that of what they should be, the payments are guaranteed and secured through a Govern­m­ent