Air India is perhaps going through its worst financial patch since inception. In desperation, the merged (Indian Airlines and Air-India) airline even asked for Rs 1,000 crore budgetary support that was politely turned down. Its direct flights to New York from Mumbai and Delhi are reporting losses of around Rs 5 crore a week with one of the flights recently reporting just 40 passengers. New CMD Raghu Menon has been indisposed for about a month, and the Finance Department is in the doldrums with no certainty that it can pay employees after a month. Despite all this, a new Toyota car was bought for the CMD who already has a fleet of five Balenos — three in Delhi and two in Mumbai. Workers are asking questions, the ministry is uneasy and scandals may be around the corner. At present, there’s at least the smokescreen of rising ATF prices, say sources.
