New Delhi: Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri said on Tuesday that his ministry will try to issue an expression of interest for Air India in the coming few weeks.
Speaking at a press conference here, Puri said that while his ministry is the nodal ministry for aviation, he was not in charge of disinvestment.
"Air India is a first-class airline, but there are no two views that privatisation has to be done. We are not slaves of certain deadlines; we are trying to do it (disinvestment) as quickly as possible," he said.
Puri also said that some predatory pricing is happening in airfares and other airlines can shut down if it continues.
While the ministry had no plans of regulating fares, it has to happen within parameters of deregulation, Puri added.
"We need to bring equilibrium within the market. Can't say predatory pricing is the only reason of ill health of airlines, it is one of the reasons. After discussion with airlines, the trend of predatory pricing has reduced. Our advice to airlines is to charge realistic fares," he said.
Read moe:'Without buyer, Air India might be forced to shut down in six months'
