The government's showcase Indian Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd has run into trouble with two leading global banks - Standard Chartered Bank and Calyon Credit Agricole - suggesting that they may not fulfil collective contractual funding commitments of $250 million
India will be one of the key centres for design and development of the A350 aircraft, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus' answer to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Delhi-based Great Eastern Energy Corporation is planning a public issue, part of which will be "sponsored", meaning foreign shareholders will also tender their shares for sale, a first for the Indian markets.
Private airport developers under the public-private partnership model will not be able to get additional contracts in and around the airport that are part of the original project by merely matching the lowest bidder without participating in the bidding process.
ONGC Videsh Ltd, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, announced that it has acquired 15 per cent in UK-listed Imperial Energy and formally launched a negotiated takeover bid for the company at $2.6 billion (equivalent to around Rs 11,500 crore), which the company's board has approved.
Lower crude oil prices are expected to bring down jet fuel rates by 10 per cent in September, but passengers are unlikely to get the benefit as airlines are reluctant to reduce their fares.
On offer from the beginning of this week, these fares are expected to continue through the rest of the lean season, that is, till the end of September. Customers buying any low-cost carrier ticket on the Mumbai-Delhi route will only have to pay taxes and surcharges that range from Rs 3,400 to Rs 3,600.
In an effort to stem a possible counter-bid by China's Sinopec and others, ONGC Videsh Ltd, the overseas exploration subsidiary of state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, has through its advisor Deutsche Bank approached the large institutional investors of Imperial Energy to acquire their holdings.
The promoters of East India Hotels Ltd, owners of the Oberoi brand and the largest hotel chain after the Tata-owned Indian Hotels and ITC Welcome Group, are in advanced discussions with leading corporate houses and private equity firms to divest a strategic stake, possibly 26 per cent.
Aviation turbine fuel prices increased by 34 per cent whereas fares - on an average across the country - shot up by more than 65 per cent. Since fuel accounts for about 45 per cent of the total costs, the actual impact on airlines, in terms of increase in the cost of operation, would have been around 15 per cent. Airlines also cut capacity by 20 per cent during the period.
The Rs 1,808-crore modernisation and expansion plan for Chennai airport, which was recently cleared by the Public Investment Board and expected to begin this September, may not be sufficient to cope with projected growth in passenger traffic.
Stringent visa procedures, astronomical hotel rates and a scarcity of event tickets have proved a dampener for Indian visitors to the Beijing Olympics, which began today.
Even as Indian carriers are vying for a piece of the international space for better future gains, national carrier Air India has decided to cut down more than 15 of its international flights to destinations like Los Angeles, London, Osaka and Seoul from next month.Sources close to the development said three weekly flights to Los Angeles from various Indian destinations would be taken off the route network.
Indian carriers, which are still reeling under high jet fuel prices, are now seeing red over airports increasing the space rental fees by 50 to 450 per cent. Airport charges account for 12-15 per cent of an airline's costs.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is studying whether a particular airline has a dominant market share on various routes or city pairs which might lead to anti-competitive practices.
Number of passengers falls 4 per cent in June for the first time in three years.
The National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), the entity that came into being after the merger of national carriers Air India and Indian, has increased its working capital limit to around Rs 9,500 crore (Rs 95 billion) in order to meet the recent hikes in fuel prices.
Although a merger with low-cost carrier SpiceJet would have made the Kingfisher-Deccan combine the largest carrier in Indian skies, it would have put a huge burden on the Vijay Mallya-controlled carrier's financials, feel experts. SpiceJet's losses have almost doubled to Rs 133 crore (Rs 1.33 billion) this year -- of which Rs 123 crore (Rs 1.23 billion) were incurred in the March quarter -- as compared with last year.
Even as growth in traffic on chartered flights has fallen 6 to 8 per cent over the past year, rising fuel prices are forcing private charter operators to raise tariffs a substantial 20 per cent from September 1. India has more than 50 non-scheduled operators, which include helicopter operators like Global Vectra, aircraft operators like Ran Air and Taj Air and companies like Deccan Aviation Ltd that fly both helicopters and aircraft.
Domestic airlines will save around Rs 2,500 crore annually if they import aviation turbine fuel directly rather than buy it from state-owned oil marketing companies. This would help them shave off around 14 per cent of their burgeoning fuel bill and cut the industry's projected loss of Rs 8,000 crore for the current financial year by a little less than a third.
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