Loss-making Air India has decided to sell its residential properties in Paris and Nairobi as part of its broader strategy to sell off non-core assets to raise funds. Sources said that the matter will come up for approval at the airline’s board meeting on Tuesday in Mumbai. While the properties in Paris, which are basically residential flats, could fetch the airline’s around euro 1.5 million (R9.4 crore), similar properties in Nairobi are yet to be independently valued. An Air India spokesperson confirmed the development, saying the airline had been in discussion with Indian embassy in Paris for the proposed sale. The sale process is expected to concluded by the month-end.
It will really be a nostalgic parting by Air India as the Paris property was brought by JRD Tata who was once the company?s chairman.
Among the other proposals to come up for the board’s approval on Tuesday are: the financial turnaround plan submitted by consultancy firm Deloitte, the resignation offer by vice chairman and managing director of M&M, Anand Mahindra, who’s an independent director on the company’s board and also of the COO Gustav Baldauf.
A civil aviation ministry official said that the board is also expected to approve a proposal to set up a committee for formulation of an uniform wage policy for the erstwhile Indian Airlines and Air India.
The airline, which has accumulated losses of R14,000 crore and has also got a bail-out package of R2,000 crore till now by the government, is facing a severe liquidity crunch and is trying to raise funds to help it tide over the short-term crisis. The airline last month failed to pay monthly salaries of its nearly 31,000 staff in the face of poor cash position.
The poor financial health of the airline can best be assessed by the fact that lenders to its low-cost carrier, Air India Express have denied any further short-term loan in the absence of corporate guarantee from the parent company. This is when the Air India Express operates mainly on the lucrative Gulf routes.