In order to qualify for a government bail-out, Air India may switch its business model and become a budget carrier on domestic services. A spokeswoman for Indian Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that Air India can compete more effectively when it becomes a low-cost airline on domestic operations with the privately owned carriers, which increasingly provides more low-cost options on most of the domestic routes.
She said that this transformation would assist the state-owned carrier to cut costs, increase loads and become more lucrative in the domestic sector.
