Air India privatisation attempt collapses — zero bidders
The government's sale of a 76% stake in Air India closed on May 31, 2018 with zero expressions of interest, despite 160 preliminary queries. IndiGo, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines and Tata all walked away from the terms.
The deadline to buy 76% of Air India, plus management control, passed today with a number the government did not want: zero. Despite 160 preliminary queries, not a single serious bid arrived by May 31.
The names that walked tell the story. IndiGo, Jet Airways, Singapore Airlines and Tata all looked at the terms and passed. The terms were the problem: ₹27,000 crore of inherited debt and 27,000 employees, bundled with a stake that still left the government in the room.
For the Maharaja’s loyalty members, this is quietly a devaluation. A real buyer might have funded modernisation — a better fleet, a better network, a programme worth earning into. Instead, the miles now sit with a subsidised, undercapitalised carrier for more years, with no fix in sight.
Our take: loyalty currency is only as good as the balance sheet behind it. When four credible buyers refuse the airline at any price, treat its miles the same way — earn if it’s free, but don’t stockpile.