Tata Sons

Mistry, who was the sixth Chairman of Tata Sons, succeeding Ratan Tata, was unceremoniously removed from the position in October 2016, over disagreements over running the conglomerate. He was the younger son of Pallonji Mistry, head of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, a diversified conglomerate which had begun as a construction company started by Pallonji Mistry's grandfather in the 19th century.

According to officials, Mistry, who heads the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, was traveling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai when his car hit a road divider near Charoti. There were four people in the car out of which two, including Mistry, succumbed to injuries in the road crash which left the vehicle badly damaged. The other two injured, whose identity was not clear, have been admitted to a local hospital in Kasa.

Earlier this month, ex-Turkish Airlines head Mehmet Ilker Ayci, who was named as the new Air India CEO-MD, declined the position. No reason was given for Ayci's decision. Last month, the Tata Group-led Air India announced the appointment of Ayci as the new Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the airline. At that time, Ayci while accepting the position said he is "delighted and honoured to accept the privilege of leading an iconic airline and to join the Tata Group".

The pilots were asked to change the welcome announcement,"Dear Guests, this is your Captain (Name) speaking...Welcome aboard this historic flight which marks a special event. Today, Air India officially becomes a part of the Tata Group again, after 7 decades," the welcome speech reads as sent out to all the pilots. Further, the pilots are asked to say. We look forward to serving you on this and every Air India flight with renewed commitment and passion. Thank you."

In a communication to the employees, Chandrasekaran said: "Now is the time to look ahead." The communication to Air India employees came on a day when Tata Group subsidiary, Talace Private Limited, formally took over the managerial control of the airline. "I, like many others, have enjoyed reflecting on stories from the airline's brilliant past. My first flight was with Air India in December 1986, and I will never forget how special it felt to be onboard, or the exhilaration as we soared into the sky," the letter read.

 The Centre on Thursday handed over the management control of national carrier Air India to a subsidiary of Tata Sons. With this Air India's strategic disinvestment was complete after the Centre received a consideration of Rs 2,700 crore from the 'Strategic Partner' -- Talace -- which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons. Besides the upfront payment, Talace will retain a debt of Rs 15,300 crore.

Tata won the bid with a whopping Rs 18,000 crore and took the Air India back after 69 years. This meeting is the final call, in aviation lingo, that now Air India is no longer a government of India enterprise, and has become a private entity. The meeting came after Air India handed over the balance sheet till January 20, 2022 to Talace, an aviation subsidiary of Tata Sons, who will manage the Air India, Air express and Air India's ground handling service.

Talace quoted an enterprise value of Rs 18,000 crore for 100 per cent equity shareholding of the Centre in Air India, along with that of Air India Express and the AISATS. Out of the Rs 18,000 crore, Talace will retain Rs 15,300 crore in debt, while the rest will be paid to the Centre as the cash component.

In a throwback of the journey the airline has taken so far, Ratan Tata, the Chairman Emeritus of Tata Sons, on Friday tweeted an old photograph of the company's former Chairman J.R.D. Tata getting down from an Air India aircraft, minutes after Tata Sons won the bid to regain control of the airline.

The airline the group once started and nurtured into becoming the face of India globally has come back to its original owners now after 68 years. The seeds for Air India were sown way back in 1932 when J.R.D. Tata flew a small aircraft between Karachi and Mumbai with mail.