BizNewZ!

AIRASIA INDIA APPOINTS TCS' S RAMADORAI AS CHAIRMAN

MUMBAI: AirAsia
on Monday said that the company has appointed Tata Group
veteran,S.Ramadorai as the chairman of
its India operations, nearly three months
after the union government allowed the Malaysia based
airline to set up operations in India. The announcement comes a day after Tony Fernandes,
Chairman of AirAsia announced that Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus - Tata Sons was appointed as the Chief Advisor to the new airline.
S.Ramadorai is currently vice chairman at Tata Consultancy Services, where he was CEO from 1996 until 2009. He is also a cabinet ranked official in
Manmohan Singh's government as he is an advisor to the Prime Minister in the National Council
on Skill Development. "I would like to confirm Ramadorai as
chairman of AirAsia India, a giant of Indian industry, and
man from the South," Fernandes said on micro blogging website Twitter.
"That completes our team.
Advisor, chairman, CEO and the board. Quite a heavyweight
team for super exciting AirAsia India," Fernandes added on Twitter.
AirAsia had received approvals from the Foreign Investment
Promotion Board in March this year to set up airline operations
in the country. AirAsia had formed the joint venture with Tata Group and Telestra
Tradeplace after the government relaxed foreign direct investment in the aviation sector.
Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had told reporters last
week that all the matters on AirAsia India were resolved. "All matters on AirAsia India have been resolved. The proposal has been sent to the home ministry for security clearance. Once the ministry's nod comes, the civil
aviation ministry will give its clearance", he told reporters.
Ramadorai is the fourth person from the Tata group to hold a position in the airline joint venture after Ratan Tata as chief advisor, and R Venkataraman
(former executive assistant to Ratan Tata) and Bharat Vasani (chief legal counsel of the Tata
Group), who are directors on the
board.
AirAsia India is a joint venture of Air Asia, Tata Sons and Arun
Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace with 49:30:21 holding.
On Sunday Tony Fernandes promised 'Nano' airfares once it
begins operating flights in the country which is expected by
the fourth quarter of 2013. "Persuading Tata to be advisor
has not been easy. Critical, we have someone of his massive experience to help me chart AirAsia India with Mittu (Chandilya) and myself,"
Fernandes had tweeted yesterday.
On Sunday, Fernandes had also said that the chairman is a towering figure in the country.
"Our chairman is someone who has redefined many parts of India. A towering man who brings unbelievable experience to the Air Asia India board", he
tweeted.
AirAsia is expected to bring in competitive pricing in the Indian
aviation market, once it begins service later this year. Last
month, Fernandes had named Mittu Chandilya as the CEO of AirAsia India.