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Ashwini Phadnis

New Delhi , Oct. 25

EVEN as the Government liberalises the rules for private airlines to venture abroad, Air India (AI) and Indian Airlines (IA) are looking at greater synergies between the two airlines in a whole host of areas, including scheduling and acceptance of tickets issued by one airline for the other.

The attempts at bringing about greater synergy could also see IA operating a daily flight on the Delhi-Kuala Lumpur-Singapore sector apart from a second daily service between Chennai and Singapore.

Besides, AI and IA are also said to have short-listed at least four routes, including two from South India on which the tickets issued by any of the two airlines would be accepted by the other.

Official sources told Business Line that a final decision on the operations and about bringing about greater synergies between the two airlines would depend on the view taken by the high-powered committee headed by the Additional Secretary and Financial Controller in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Mr V. Subramanian.

The committee has been set up by the Government to look at route rationalisation between the two State-owned airlines.

The two airlines have already entered into a memorandum of understanding to rationalise their flights to common destinations that they operate to in the Gulf, West Asia and South-East Asia.

The top brass of the two airlines have had several brain storming sessions to work on the recommendations that are to be submitted to the Subramanian Committee.

At the meetings, it was decided that the two airlines would face competition together. The two airlines are also said to have agreed that for any further increase in capacity, joint recommendations would be sent to the Ministry of Civil Aviation after mutual consultations have been held between AI and IA.

The two airlines have been facing several constraints in the recent past, including not being able to purchase new aircraft to operate more flights.

To overcome these difficulties, the airlines have been looking at the leasing route to offer more choice to the passengers.

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