Air India’s Ashwani Lohani likely to monitor Jet Airways operations: Sources

Air India’s current CMD, Ashwani Lohani is likely to get additional charge to oversee troubled Jet Airways’ daily operations, according to Zee Media sources.

Earlier in February, retired technocrat Ashwani Lohani took charge as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Air India. Lohani is serving his second tenure as Air India chief.

Lohani is a 1980-batch IRSME (Indian Railway Service Mechanical Engineering) officer hailing from Madhya Pradesh.

He had headed the national carrier from August 2017 to September 2017 before being moved to the Railway Board as the chairman, from where he retired in December 2018.

It was during his tenure that Air India made its first operating profit of Rs 105 crore in the 2017 financial year, since the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India in 2007.

Meanwhile, consortium of lenders led by the SBI has agreed to put in Rs 1,500 crore immediate funding by acquiring 51 per cent stake in the company through issue of Rs 11.4 crore fresh shares.

As a result, the stake of promoter Naresh Goyalwill come down to 25 per cent from 50 per cent, while Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, which had a 24 per cent stake in the carrier, came down to 12 per cent.

Bidding process to be initiated by lenders for sale to new investor(s), the process expected to be completed in June quarter as per the resolution plan.

“June is too late. My expectation is May 31…market is open for everyone whosoever wants to come in. There will be expression of interest which will be given by April 9 and binding bid by April 30,” SBI Chairman Rajnish Kumar told CNBC TV18.

“It could be financial investor, it could be airline…including Naresh Goyal himself or Etihad. No body is barred from bidding or taking over the airline as per the rule,” he said.

Jet Airways Founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal will step down from the board of the ailing airline following reduction in their stake to 25 per cent as per the resolution plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders.