Mumbai: You have to give it to the Tatas. When everyone has written off the airline sector, the group lined up not one but two alliances in the country. Some might call it infatuation towards a sector that was taken away from them after they nurtured it (Air India was Tata Airlines before it was nationalized) while others might call it a shrewd business decision to invest in a sector which has mostly weak players left.
Whatever may be the reasoning for investment, what has taken everyone by surprise is the group tying up with two companies with completely different business models. While Air Asia, in which the Tata group will not be playing a key operational role, is a low cost airline, Singapore Airlines is a full-service airline.
An aggressive Tony Fernandes would not have let anyone else manage his show in the low cost airline as it requires micromanagement and a tight control of cost. This explains why the Tatas have only 30% in the company.
However, the Tatas would be in the cockpit in its venture with the Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines had made it public that they will be focusing more in the Asia Pacific market rather than their earlier focus in America and Europe.
Read News In full 20/09/13 Shishir Asthana/Business Standard
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