Air India

Twitter fills with responses following Harsh Goenka’s appreciative tweet as Air India heads back home to Tatas.

Air India

Air India is finally heading back home to the Tatas after a long period of 68 years. Tata Sons acquired Air India back by winning a bid worth Rs.18,000 crore. It is time to dust the old pages of Tata Airlines, for a new dawn is in the making. And now Twitter is filled with responses congratulating and applauding this move along with fellow entrepreneur, Harsh Goenka who posted an appreciative post about the acquisition.

The Past, Present, and Future

The convergence of the past with the present is a rather rare scenario. However, it seems like this has come true with Air India. Air India will soon be going back to its roots, to its actual starting point where it was born out of JRD Tata’s passion and love for aviation. The airline which was founded by JRD Tata in the year 1932 was nationalized during the time of independence and till now was under the control of the state. And now, almost seventy years after independence, Tata Sons have regained control. It was a rather emotional movement for the tech conglomerate and the chairman tweeted an emotional note with an old photograph showing JRD Tata getting down from the aircraft. And one cannot deny that it is a welcome most apt for the situation. For, homecomings are to be celebrated with warmth.

Air India, while under the leadership of JRD Tata had attained the label of being one of the most prestigious airlines in India. Perhaps, this will be a chance for Mr.Tata’s successors to polish that image to finesse and perfection once again. For the uninformed, JRD Tata holds a prestigious record for pioneering aviation in India. He was also the very first person to receive the first license issued to an Indian.

The finance ministry plans to close the handover process by the month of December this year. A guarantee is also provided for the current employees regarding their job security in the wake of this acquisition. As per the terms, all the existing employees will have to be retained for one year. Even if a new bidder intends to sack the employees the second year, it should not be without VRS. Another condition that has to be adhered to is the one regarding logos. The eight logos cannot be transferred by the new owner until five years.

Ruling the Skies

Air India’s mascot, the “Maharaja” is one of the most recognizable and loved mascots in the country. The idea behind the mascot reflected JRD Tata’s desire to provide such service to the customers that equalled the treatment given to royalty. And it cannot be denied that the “Maharaja” does stand for everything Indian whether it be service or hospitality. And it seems like the Maharaja will continue to rule the skies.