The Hindu Business Line : Rono Dutta to head Air Sahara

THE private sector airline Air Sahara has a new person at the helm of affairs. Sources in the airline confirmed that the former President of the American airline, United Airlines, Mr Rono Dutta, is to head Air Sahara.

The current Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Mr U.K. Bose, is being shifted to assist in other operations of the Sahara India Parivar, sources said.

Although, Mr Dutta will take over at the helms of affairs of the domestic airline only now, he has been a consultant with the airline for the past four months.

During the short innings that Mr Dutta has already had with the domestic airline, he was said to be working on a project of whether Air Sahara should look at entering the low-cost model or not.

Mr Dutta, who was named to the post of President of United Airlines in June 1999, was put in charge of a Strategic Initiative Group of the airline to develop a revenue and cost structure that ensured long-term profitable growth in January 2002.

The former UA President, who held the position till September 2002, is no stranger to the Indian aviation industry.

In 2002, the state-owned airline Air India (AI) was considering a proposal to appoint him as an advisor to the airline. However, that proposal did not materialise.

The former airline CEO takes over the helm of board Air Sahara at a crucial time when not only is the airline slowly acquiring a larger share in the domestic market but is also looking to expand its wings further in the international skies.

The airline is already in talks with the two aircraft manufacturers to acquire wide-bodied aircraft which would primarily be used to launch operations to more international destinations.