Most travel agents in India have refused to levy the transaction fees of Rs 350-10,000 on air passengers.
The terminal and airside development of as many as nine of the 16 non-metro airports, supposed to be completed by next month, has been delayed till next year. This included construction and expansion of terminal buildings, runways and taxiways, among other things.
The airline has also finalised its plans to lease out five of its Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft to a Turkish carrier, sources add. The airline has been able to negotiate a premium for the deal in a market where lease premiums have dropped.Domestic carriers are facing turbulent times because of the high crude prices and variable taxation on the air turbine fuel. The problem is now compounded because of a slump in the economy now.
Aviation industry experts expect the ATF prices to fall by 16 per cent in November, compared with the current month. This, they say, translates into bridging of nearly half the gap between the airlines' operational costs and total revenues.
Maverick entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, who built low-cost carrier AirAsia to be a formidable player in South-East Asia, is prepared for a price battle in the Indian skies.
The combine has a fleet of 189 aircraft which includes A-320s, A-330s, Boeing-737s, Boeing-747s and turbo props. Industry experts said this would mean the withdrawal of around 75 flights a day, or around 8 per cent of the combine's daily domestic flights.
Plan for interim international terminal cancelled; land trouble delays domestic terminal.
That is because Mumbai, which has no scope for further expansion, has not allowed any additional aircraft movements this winter schedule allowing only 32 flight movements per peak hour.
Though private airports did not spell out the exact sum owed by Kingfisher, in strict confidentiality one of the private airport operators confirmed that the airline was the biggest defaulter with them. Airport charges include landing, parking, terminal and route navigation levy. Though AAI has enforceable bank guarantees, private airport operators do not have this facility.
The country's leading private airlines have sought a Rs 4,700-crore (Rs 47 billion) bailout package from the government to counter slowing passenger traffic, rising costs and an industry-wide liquidity crunch.
The airline also has plans to renegotiate its flying rights with the Indian government as it mulls deployment of the Airbus A380 - a double-deck, wide-body, four-engine plane - in the Indian skies. Air France might look at a 2010 entry date for India for the superjumbo. It has placed an order for 12 of these aircraft with first deliveries planned next year.
The rupee has touched a five-year high, crossing the Rs 47 mark. The average value of the currency against the dollar during September was almost 14 per cent lower than in April. More than a third of an airline's costs are dollar denominated. Major heads of expenditure include aircraft ownership, maintenance and spares costs. Also included are international training and a certain chunk of sales and distribution costs.
The downturn in the aviation sector has led to significantly lower demand for pilots. This has adversely affected the businesses of more than 50 flying training schools, which had come up during the last two years on the back of an unprecedented growth story. Admissions to these institutes have now hit an all-time low.
Four days after it was opened, the third runway at the Delhi airport was closed today after some crucial equipment stopped functioning. Operations had already got restricted to daytime after the runway lights failed over the weekend, rendering it unusable at night.
After being hit by a fuel price hike and capacity cut, it may be happy times again for the airline industry this festive season. While Kingfisher is looking at adding at least 15 new flights in the winter season, competitors Jet Airways, SpiceJet, IndiGo and Paramount are adding over 30 new flights together (arrivals and departures); they will do this through a combination of better utilisation of existing aircraft and inducting new fleet.
This is the first time an airline has made such a request to the ministry after the Tata-Singapore Airlines deal fell through in 2001 (Singapore Airlines was to have a 49 per cent share in the joint venture). The Indian government does not allow direct or indirect investments in domestic airlines, a move that was meant to protect domestic carriers. Mallya's request marks a sharp change from domestic players' stand.
In a move to soften the blow of Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy in the Indian stock and asset markets, four banks are set to take over its structured products businesses in India.
Barely a fortnight after it launched international operations and integrated low-cost carrier Simplify Deccan with it, Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines plans to lay off at least 300 employees, official orders for which are to be conveyed on Monday.
Barclays and BNP Paribas are considering the acquisition of Lehman Brothers' investment banking and brokerage businesses in India.
According to travel management companies, travel budgets of financial sector majors have seen a fall of 40 per cent this year compared with the decline in other segments, like manufacturing, which has shrunk by 20 per cent and IT, which has seen a drop of 10-15 per cent. Global travel conglomerates like Radius, which have a formidable presence across the globe because of the travel agents' network, said times are tough as a majority of businesses are shrinking.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances