Indian and Air India to Merge

Wasn't it just yesterday that I wrote that the need of the hour of the Indian Airlines Industry is consolidation. Quickly.

The Indian govt. has also okayed the merger of Indian (Airlines) and Air India to create a behemoth.

The stage is set for the merger of Indian Airlines and Air India. An empowered group of ministers on Wednesday cleared the proposal to create a single national carrier — a move first mooted more than 20 years ago for providing muscle to the public-sector carriers to take on private and international airlines. The merger, expected to be completed over the next three months, will create an entity with a fleet of around 120 aircraft. As new planes join the fleet, some existing ones are phased out and those on lease returned, the carrier will have over 125 new-generation aircraft by 2010.

What I really like about the proposal is that some existing aircrafts wil be phased out.. Badly needed! And please please, enforce an age limit on the flying staffs. I am not discriminating, but that is what the customers want.