According to a press release by the Competition Commission Of India (CCI) dated 14th June 2022, it approved the entire shareholding in AirAsia India by Air India.
“The proposed combination envisages the acquisition of the entire equity share capital of AirAsia (India) Private Limited (Air Asia India) by Air India Ltd. (AIL), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of TSPL”. CCI tweeted.
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The approval came right when Tata group planned to merge Air India with Air Asia, after Tata group took over Air India in January 2022.
Presently, Tata Sons holds 83.67% of the equity share capital of AirAsia India while the remaining 16.33% is held by Air Asia Investment Ltd (Malaysia). Back in 2013, when the Indian government allowed Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the airlines, AirAsia Berhad sought for government's approval for commencing its operations in India and announced to start AirAsia India with Tata Sons as a Joint Venture in Bangalore (Karnataka).
It was planned to operate with the world's lowest cost per unit of Rs. 1.25 per available seat km and a breakeven factor of 52%. It also planned to achieve a turnaround time of 25 minutes.
Air Asia India provides the following services namely, domestic scheduled air passenger transport service, cargo transport services, and charter flight services in India. However, it does not provide scheduled air passenger transport services on international routes.
Whereas, Air India along with its subsidiary Air India Express provides all of the services that are provided by AirAsia India along with International passenger services.
As of June 2020, AirAsia India has a market share of 7.1% and is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in the country.
Currently, Tata Sons have 4 airlines under its control: Air India, Air India Express, AirAsia India, and a 51% stake in the joint venture with Singapore Airlines, Vistara.
-by Gautam
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