India is considering selling a majority stake in Air India to a strategic partner after a US$3.6b bailout failed to turn around the loss making national carrier. The proposal includes reviving Air India within five years of selling a 51% stake, sources said. Talks are at an initial stage and presentations have been made to the finance ministry and the prime ministerÕs office. Prime minister Narendra ModiÕs administration will have to tackle the airlineÕs $7b of debt to make Air India attractive to investors, a consultant said. In comparison, Lufthansa has less debt while its revenue is about 11 times that of the Indian carrier. Air India has been unprofitable for a decade with taxpayers bailing it out in the past six years.<br/>
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UnitedÕs addition of 47 domestic round-trips marks a stepped-up effort to regain ground lost to rivals, as a new management team tries to shed the airlineÕs reputation as an industry doormat. United aims to Òcompete and win across the board,Ó president Scott Kirby said Monday. The carrier is also seeking additional gates in Los Angeles and flying bigger jets on key routes such as Newark to Atlanta, he said. ÒWhile United has spent several years shrinking and being a docile competitor, starting this summer, weÕre going back on offense!Ó he said. In fortifying hubs and competing more aggressively, Kirby is taking a page from his playbook at American and two predecessor airlines, where he was president.<br/>
AviancaÕs chairman and controlling shareholder, German Efromovich, is forcing the Colombian airline into a potential deal with United that will hurt minority investors, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday. Kingsland Holdings, the second-biggest shareholder in Avianca, is suing Avianca, Efromovich and United, saying they secretly negotiated an US$800m loan and strategic partnership. Efromovich chose the United deal for his personal benefit over offers from two other major international airlines that assigned a higher value to Avianca, Kingsland said. Those offers were made after AviancaÕs board conducted a search for a partner to address its liquidity needs, according to the suit.<br/>
Swiss will expand its inflight entertainment options for all passengers and will offer extra business-class inflight service options in March. The new IFE offering allows passengers in all three seating classes to access and download more than 250 digital newspapers and magazines (eJournals), in more than 10 different languages. Swiss said its new eJournal range will gradually replace the selection of print newspapers and magazines that are currently carried on board, which will lighten the weight of the flight and could deliver a reduction in SwissÕ CO2 emissions. From the end of March, Swiss business-class customers will be able to book Òprivacy seatsÓ on long-haul flights.<br/>