Air India receives delivery of B777 aircraft; Union government likely to split the airline into four entities to conclude divestment by end-2018

Air India, which is undergoing the process of divestment, has received the delivery of another B777-300 ER aircraft, which will be used for ferrying VVIPs. The aircraft is among the last three to be received from an order of 68 B777 aircraft placed in 2006. Another two B777s will be delivered by February 2018. Meanwhile, according to reports, the central government is now likely to split the airline into four different verticals to conclude the divestment process by December 2018. According to the new proposal, Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express will be sold as one company. The other three entities – Alliance Air, the ground handling business (Air India Air Transport Services Limited and its joint venture company – Air India SATS Airport Services Private Limited) and Air India Engineering Services Limited will be sold separately.