Air India is eyeing a bailout package of Rs 10,000-15,000 crore from the Indian Government. Top aviation ministry officials and Air India chief Arvind Jadhav met Civil Aviation Minster Praful Patel on Tuesday to discuss possible remedies to bailout the Maharaja.

Air India is in urgent need of equity and soft loan from the government to keep afloat. The Finance Ministry had earlier asked the airline to seek a realistic amount. Any amount more than Rs 4000-5000 crore is being regarded as unrealistic.

Air India has also asked for reconsideration at the bilateral deals India has signed with other countries over the years that have permitted the airlines to flood the Indian cities with planes with low cost fares. Other airlines like Kingfisher and Jet have also asked for reconsideration quite often.

The national airline, which is stripped of cash, has asked the government to make it mandatory for government employees on official tours to use only Air India. This would help the airline get some revenue. At the moment, the government officials can fly by any airline. Air India features quite low on the preference list.

Jadhav has issued a list of losses. The airline lost Rs 5000 crore in the last fiscal and is currently losing Rs 15 crore daily. Some issues in HR like overstaffing in some areas and understaffing in others were also discussed during the meeting

A source has said that the airline is in such bad state that bailing out is not a job of civil ministry alone. A formal Cabinet Note has to be worked out. Patel would speak to the Prime Minister, who is concerned about the state of affairs plaguing the airline over the years due to some mismanagement.