IATA : Air India adminstration needs strong political backing

IATA Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani said he feels Air India needs to have an administrator with strong political support to allow tough decisions to be made (Times of India, 13-Jun-2011). He also expressed his disappointment over lingering issues regarding the integration of Air India and Indian Airlines. As a state-owned carrier Air India needs "political consensus" to allow decisions to be made. Mr Bisignani also suggested that Air India needs to be made "smaller and more efficient" although it is still important to India to have a strong national carrier.