Tata, Singapore Airlines ‘open to evaluate’ bidding for Air India-Vistara CEO

Tata Group and Singapore Airlines run an airline called Vistara in India through a joint venture.

"The two promoters are open to evaluate bids for Air India. They keep an open mind," Thng told a news conference in New Delhi.

Air India, founded in the 1930s by the Tata Group before it was nationalised in 1953, is saddled with a debt burden of $8.5 billion and a bloated cost structure.

The Tata Group was interested in bidding for state-owned Air India, its chairman N. Chandrasekaran had said late last year.

Separately, Vistara will lease five more A320 NEO aircraft by June 2018, CEO Thng said.