TATA back to flying. Will the South Indian industrial groups learn to compete & grow
TATA-the salt to software conglomerate has announced a tie up with Singapore Airlines & is on its way to take off back into aviation which was snatched from its hands when the Government nationalized Tata airlines in 1953
Our South Indian groups be it TVS or Amalgamations are so stale in their approach...They are laid back with no entrepreneurial spirit or risk taking ability...They operate still in the pre liberation & license mode...Are they expecting some angel to land from outer space to give them on a platter without any exertion??
We are yet to see a dynamic group in the South of the likes of TATA, Birla (Kumaramangalam), Reliance or Airtel
Will the Tata Group make it third time lucky in their attempt to start an airline in India with?
After founding India’s first airline in the 1930s, Tata, the country’s largest conglomerate, has tried in vain for several years to re-enter aviation after their airline was nationalized in 1953.
On Thursday the conglomerate began taxiing to the runway ahead of a possible take-off in to the sector.
Tata Sons Ltd.–which controls the Tata Group–said it has signed an initial pact with Singapore Airlines Ltd. to launch a full-service airline in India. Tata Sons would have the majority 51% stake in the new airline venture with Singapore Airlines holding the remainder. This would be third bid for both Tata and Singapore Airlines to start an airline in India, and it comes seven months after Tata Sons signed a pact with Malaysia’s to start a budget airline in India.
Tata has over 100 companies in businesses ranging from software to automobiles and information technology and its plans to forge partnerships with foreign carriers come after the Indian government relaxed a ban last September on stake purchases by overseas carriers in local ones. The government permitted overseas airlines to buy up to a maximum of 49% in an Indian aviation company.
Tata’s love affair with aviation in India has been long-running.
A former Tata chairman, J.R.D. Tata is considered the father of civil aviation in India. He founded India’s first airline, the eponymously named, Tata Airlines. He piloted its first commercial flight on Oct. 15, 1932, jetting from Karachi to Mumbai in a single-engine Puss Moth aircraft.
The government nationalized Tata Airlines in 1953 and renamed it Air India Ltd. Tata has not played an active role in aviation since then, though its recently-retired chairman had said that returning to the sector was one of his goals.
For Tata, the successful start of both the airlines would mark the culmination of years of effort to get back in the air.
In its previous two attempts with Singapore Airlines, neither party was able to muster government support for their plans either because of a change in policies or owing to bureaucratic delays.
When Mr. Ratan Tata took over as the group’s chairman in 1991, he revived plans to reenter the airline sector.
The group planned a venture with Singapore Airlines after India opened up the aviation sector to private companies in 1994. But aviation ministry bureaucrats held up his application for years despite his constant prodding, Mr. Tata said in a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal. In 1998, after seven years of government inaction, Mr. Tata withdrew the application.
Again, in 2001, Tata partnered with Singapore Airlines to try to buy back Air India Ltd. when the Indian government proposed to sell it. Singapore Airlines later retracted its offer, citing political opposition in India. The government did not sell its stake in the flagship carrier.
Despite running successful businesses ranging from, Anglo-Dutch steel maker Tata Steel Europe and Jaguar Land Rover, Mr. Tata never abandoned his passion for flying. He’s a qualified pilot and flies both helicopters and jets. In 2007, Mr. Tata flew a sortie on a F-16 fighter jet at the biennial air show in Bangalore, southern India.
Mr. Tata–who retired as the group’s chairman in December—has also often flown guests on the Falcon 2000 jets and P.180 Avanti II turboprops belonging to the group’s charter airline, Taj Air Ltd. In July, Mr. Tata flew senior executives from AirAsia, including chief executive Tony Fernandes, on one of the group’s jets from Mumbai to New Delhi for a meeting with civil aviation minister Ajit Singhand other federal ministers.
Mr. Tata is the chief adviser to the board of the newly created AirAsia (India) Pvt., which plans to start operations later this year. The new airline will be owned 49% by AirAsia and 30% by Tata Sons. Telestra Tradeplace Pvt., an Indian investment holding company controlled by businessman Arun Bhatia, will own the remaining 21% stake.
It is not known whether Mr. Tata would have any role in the yet-to-be-named joint venture airline with Singapore Airlines.
Tata Sons, Singapore Airlines Sign Pact to Establish India Airline - WSJ.com
TATA-the salt to software conglomerate has announced a tie up with Singapore Airlines & is on its way to take off back into aviation which was snatched from its hands when the Government nationalized Tata airlines in 1953
Our South Indian groups be it TVS or Amalgamations are so stale in their approach...They are laid back with no entrepreneurial spirit or risk taking ability...They operate still in the pre liberation & license mode...Are they expecting some angel to land from outer space to give them on a platter without any exertion??
We are yet to see a dynamic group in the South of the likes of TATA, Birla (Kumaramangalam), Reliance or Airtel
- September 20, 2013, 2:56 PM
Top of Form
- By Santanu Choudhury
Will the Tata Group make it third time lucky in their attempt to start an airline in India with?
After founding India’s first airline in the 1930s, Tata, the country’s largest conglomerate, has tried in vain for several years to re-enter aviation after their airline was nationalized in 1953.
On Thursday the conglomerate began taxiing to the runway ahead of a possible take-off in to the sector.
Tata Sons Ltd.–which controls the Tata Group–said it has signed an initial pact with Singapore Airlines Ltd. to launch a full-service airline in India. Tata Sons would have the majority 51% stake in the new airline venture with Singapore Airlines holding the remainder. This would be third bid for both Tata and Singapore Airlines to start an airline in India, and it comes seven months after Tata Sons signed a pact with Malaysia’s to start a budget airline in India.
Tata has over 100 companies in businesses ranging from software to automobiles and information technology and its plans to forge partnerships with foreign carriers come after the Indian government relaxed a ban last September on stake purchases by overseas carriers in local ones. The government permitted overseas airlines to buy up to a maximum of 49% in an Indian aviation company.
Tata’s love affair with aviation in India has been long-running.
A former Tata chairman, J.R.D. Tata is considered the father of civil aviation in India. He founded India’s first airline, the eponymously named, Tata Airlines. He piloted its first commercial flight on Oct. 15, 1932, jetting from Karachi to Mumbai in a single-engine Puss Moth aircraft.
The government nationalized Tata Airlines in 1953 and renamed it Air India Ltd. Tata has not played an active role in aviation since then, though its recently-retired chairman had said that returning to the sector was one of his goals.
For Tata, the successful start of both the airlines would mark the culmination of years of effort to get back in the air.
In its previous two attempts with Singapore Airlines, neither party was able to muster government support for their plans either because of a change in policies or owing to bureaucratic delays.
When Mr. Ratan Tata took over as the group’s chairman in 1991, he revived plans to reenter the airline sector.
The group planned a venture with Singapore Airlines after India opened up the aviation sector to private companies in 1994. But aviation ministry bureaucrats held up his application for years despite his constant prodding, Mr. Tata said in a 2011 interview with The Wall Street Journal. In 1998, after seven years of government inaction, Mr. Tata withdrew the application.
Again, in 2001, Tata partnered with Singapore Airlines to try to buy back Air India Ltd. when the Indian government proposed to sell it. Singapore Airlines later retracted its offer, citing political opposition in India. The government did not sell its stake in the flagship carrier.
Despite running successful businesses ranging from, Anglo-Dutch steel maker Tata Steel Europe and Jaguar Land Rover, Mr. Tata never abandoned his passion for flying. He’s a qualified pilot and flies both helicopters and jets. In 2007, Mr. Tata flew a sortie on a F-16 fighter jet at the biennial air show in Bangalore, southern India.
Mr. Tata–who retired as the group’s chairman in December—has also often flown guests on the Falcon 2000 jets and P.180 Avanti II turboprops belonging to the group’s charter airline, Taj Air Ltd. In July, Mr. Tata flew senior executives from AirAsia, including chief executive Tony Fernandes, on one of the group’s jets from Mumbai to New Delhi for a meeting with civil aviation minister Ajit Singhand other federal ministers.
Mr. Tata is the chief adviser to the board of the newly created AirAsia (India) Pvt., which plans to start operations later this year. The new airline will be owned 49% by AirAsia and 30% by Tata Sons. Telestra Tradeplace Pvt., an Indian investment holding company controlled by businessman Arun Bhatia, will own the remaining 21% stake.
It is not known whether Mr. Tata would have any role in the yet-to-be-named joint venture airline with Singapore Airlines.
Tata Sons, Singapore Airlines Sign Pact to Establish India Airline - WSJ.com
