Summary
- Air India's legal team is working to resolve over 600 court cases, some of which are over 15 years old.
- The Tata Group is leading a clean-up drive, resolving several issues, including court cases from Air India's previous days.
- Around a quarter of the backlog has already been amicably resolved.
Air India’s previous complaints and cases from its days as a state-run carrier are many. The Tata Group was fully aware that the airline they were buying also came with its baggage of debt and numerous court cases. And while its financial restructuring has been an ongoing process, Air India’s CEO recently gave an update on the legal clean-up of its pending cases.
More than 600 pending cases
Air India’s legal team has a massive task of resolving more than 600 court cases that have piled up over the years – some of which are over 15 years old. The airline wasn’t exactly known for being proactive in pretty much any department as a government-owned entity, and the accumulation of these cases is a result of that.
But the Tata Group has been on a massive clean-up drive with the airline, and resolving legal issues from Air India’s previous days is finally getting the attention it needs. Air India’s CEO Campbell Wilson sent a message to his employees that said,
“Corporate legal has been diligently working through a backlog of more than 600 legal cases filed by customers against the erstwhile (pre-privatisation) Air India, some of which date back more than 15 years.
“In the past few months, they have amicably resolved around one quarter of the backlog, and are steadily working through the rest. Some customers have been so touched by this new effort that they have even written compliments appreciating our proactive outreach to resolve such long outstanding cases.”
Some merger approvals are still pending
Air India’s proposed merger with Vistara cleared a significant roadblock a few days ago when the Competition Commission of India (CCI) gave its green signal to the deal. Prior to that, the CCI wanted more time to review the business integration plan and make suggestions wherever applicable.
It was reported that the merger remains subject to certain conditions both carriers have voluntarily committed to. But it isn’t the only approval required for the deal. Singapore Airlines owns 49% of Vistara and will have a 25.1% stake in the merged entity. This means that authorities in that country will also have to give their nod before the deal is inked.
In his message, Wilson welcomed the CCI’s decision as an important step toward the eventual integration of the four Tata airlines into two (the other two carriers being AirAsia India and Air India Express). But he reminded that they “need approval from the competition regulators in some other jurisdictions, including Singapore, before we can fully press the accelerator.”
Indeed, Air India knows well that everything must have regulatory approval in the aviation sector to avoid future issues. The airline recently came under the scrutiny of India’s aviation regulator, the DGCA, for glaring lapses in its internal audit. It even saw its simulator training facilities being suspended temporarily. Thankfully, it is now taking corrective steps to resolve those issues as well.
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Air India
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- IATA/ICAO Code:
- AI/AIC
- Airline Type:
- Full Service Carrier
- Hub(s):
- Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport
- Year Founded:
- 1946
- Alliance:
- Star Alliance
- CEO:
- Campbell Wilson
- Country:
- India
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Legal Clean-Up: Air India Aims To Resolve Over 600 Pending Cases - Simple Flying
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