August 1, 2006
Patel rules out immediate floating of IPO for Air India
The Civil Aviation ministry on Saturday ruled out any immediate possibility of floating the IPO for Air India, saying its first priority was to successfully merge the foreign carrier with the Indian Airlines.
“The IPO can come later. This is not the best time to enter the market,” Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, told newspersons after inauguration of the country’s first multi-modal transport system at Netaji Subhas International Airport here.
Patel said his ministry’s first priority was the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines.
“This is because we need bigger and stronger carriers. Over the last two years, there has been 50 per cent increase in traffic than that over the past 50 years.”
Stating that the merger would enable the two strong carriers to leverage their strengths, he said the synergie would provide a strong entity for Air India. “We need a strong entity before we can go to the market,” he added.