Sindhu Bhattacharya

New Delhi: If the new chairman and managing director-designate of Nacil has his way, the beleagured national carrier would soon be able to redeem its lost glory.

Referring to the halcyon days of J R D Tata, when flying Air India was considered a privilege, Raghu Menon said on Thursday that his endeavour would be make it an airline of global standards.

Menon succeeds V Thulsaidas as CMD and is slated to assume charge on April 1. Acknowledging the myriad problems Nacil is faced with, Menon said the three-and-ahalf years this Government has provided him should be enough to turn around the loss- making airline.

On Menon’s to-do list is seeking the Centre’s help in the form of additional equity infusion, tackling the ticklish manpower integration issues which are the fallouts of the merger, completing at least 60-70% of the merger process within the next one year and instilling a sense of pride in employees across the board.

But nothing is easy. Asked if the national carrier would look to offer a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to shed flab, Menon said: “We will renegotiate with the worker unions the terms and conditions of employment so that employee productivity goes up and expenditure is reduced.

As of now, there is no VRS option but it is up to the board of directors to consider if necessary.” Menon said that the debt-equity ratio in Nacil needs to be improved.

Source : DNA