Air India Ltd narrowed its operational losses between April and December by over 40%, ahead of the planned sale of the state-run carrier, which is expected to kick off next week, two senior airline officials said on Friday. The reduction in losses was the outcome of a lower interest burden after half of Air India’s debt was transferred to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV), as well as better operational performance, one of the officials said. Operational losses in the April-December 2019 period stood at Rs. 1,045 crore, down from Rs. 1,960 crore in the same period of the previous year, the first official said. “The airline earlier spent close to Rs. 4,000-4,500 crore a year for servicing its debt. This figure has now come down to Rs. 1,400-1,500 crore after a large chunk of the airline’s debt was moved into an SPV last year," said the second official mentioned above.