New Delhi: The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Wednesday approved the proposal to merge Air India and Indian into a new company.
The merger process, which will create one of the biggest airlines not just in India but also in Asia, would be completed within two to three months after the Cabinet approval.
The matter would be shortly brought before the Cabinet and "we intend to complete the process by March 31", PTI quoted Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel as saying.
He also assured the employees, totaling about 33,000 in the two carriers, that their interests would be taken care of. Patel added that the transition would take place in a phased manner and would be spread over one to two years.
The merged entity would have a fleet of over 120 aircraft by 2010-11. The orders — amounting to $7 billion — for the merged entity's aircraft have already cleared by the Government.
"We wish to make it very clear that the merged entity will have a PSU character and there will be no dilution," PTI quoted Civil Aviation Secretary Ashok Chawla as saying.
The merger is bound to usher in competition into the airline industry, which is already seeing a lot of competition because of the low-cost carriers.
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