National carrier Air India will not be flown under the aegis/banner of Tata’s on the 27th January, according to an email received by employees on Wednesday late night. As per this email to employees, the transition plan apart from a proposed upgradation of the in-flight meal plan has been put on hold.
Tata Group officials are to meet Air India officials, Finance Ministry officials and Civil Aviation Ministry officials at 2:30 pm today. Air India's board to give their resignation at the meeting and new board will be appointed by the Tata Group, according to the government officials
The new date of the transitory flights will be informed by the “Executive Competent Authority” to the employees as per the email. Sources within the airline also told India Today that the handover could take place on January 28.
Prior to this, the employees received another email that the Air India divestment has been decided on January 27. The mail read, “that the closing balance sheet as of January 20 had to be provided by January 24 so that it can be reviewed by Tatas and changes can be effected from Wednesday.
As per this email, staff was asked to prepare for the transition on Thursday which included a meal upgradation on some domestic and international flights as suggested by the Tata Group-led catering company Taj SATS. These flights are on the Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Mumbai-London, Mumbai-Newark and Mumbai-Abu Dhabi sectors.
The airline informed its cabin crew to prepare for these ‘full/enhanced’ meal plans on flights over the next three days beginning from January 27. Apart from this, they were also instructed to be “smartly dressed” and that they will be assessed by ‘grooming associates’. They were also asked to refer to passengers as “guests” and play out a special audio message by Ratan Tata among other changes.
On October 8, 2021, the government announced that Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons won the bid to acquire Air India. The Group offered Rs 18,000 crore for 100 per cent shareholding. The government appointed IAS officer Vikram Dev Dutt as the chairman and managing director of the airline.
Source : Various