If Tata can’t run Air India, no one else can run it in India: Emirates president

Doha, Jun 21 (PTI) It is not easy for an airline to operate in India and if the Tata group is not able to run Air India, no one in the country can operate it, said Tim Clarke, chairman of airline Emirates.

Clarke said on Monday, “Air India should be as big as United Airlines. It must be so large because of its domestic market as well as overseas Indians (NRIs) and the level of economic activity taking place in India. It’s a gold mine.”

Air India currently has 128 aircraft in its fleet, while Chicago-based United Airlines has 860 aircraft.

“You (India) have a billion population of Indian diaspora, which is so large and growing all the time that Air India should be recognized,” Clarke said on the sidelines of the 78th Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) here. Must be one of the largest international airlines in the world.

The Tata group took control of loss-making and debt-ridden Air India on January 27 after successfully winning a bid for the airline on October 8 last year.

Clarke said, “I think the best thing that could have happened for Air India was for Tata to take it over. I am probably the only one in this room who flew Air India when Tata was running Air India and it was owned by him. It was a good airline.”

He said that for decades Air India has remained a small entity in the international arena.

India’s international passenger market is dominated by international airlines such as Emirates, which is one of the two major UAE airlines.