Air India pilots are asking the New Delhi Government to allow them to take a majority stake in the national carrier as part of privatisation efforts.
An Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) spokesman says from Mumbai that pilots are formally seeking to take a majority stake and are proposing that a bid be modelled on a 1994 employee buy out of United Airlines.
The IPG spokesman says the union, which represents 410 of Air India's 420 pilots, is requesting that the Government regard cockpit crew as "worthy contenders" for a controlling shareholding.
India's Cabinet approved a plan in May to sell shares in the state-owned national carrier. It said at the time that 40% would be sold to a strategic partner or partners, 10% to domestic institutions and the public, and 10% to airline employees.
The Government recently said that expressions of interest from potential investors would be taken from next month and the sell-off should be completed by the end of the current fiscal year. JM Morgan Stanley has been selected as adviser.
While a buyout by pilots is seen as unlikely in part because of their relatively small number, employee support is considered vital for privatisation efforts to succeed.
Air India said earlier this month that its main employee unions had publicly expressed support for the Government's privatisation plan. It added that the most important show of support had come from the Air India Employees Guild, which claims to represent around 12,000 employees, or nearly 70% of the airline's workforce.
The carrier operates 26 wide-body aircraft but employs 17,600 people and it is widely recognised that its workforce must be reduced in order for it to be a profitable entity.
Source: Flight Daily News
