Global investment banking and securities firm Goldman Sachs has expressed interest in acquiring equity in Delhi-based SpiceJet even as top sources said talks for a merger with Kingfisher Airlines are on track.
The MTN-Reliance Communications merger, if it gets through, will create a telecom behemoth of 115 million subscribers in 25 countries.
The share swap is expected to be in the ratio of 1: 3, where SpiceJet shareholders will get one share of the merged entity for every three SpiceJet shares owned by them.
Faced with heavy losses, budget carrier JetLite has shelved plans to fly abroad. It will also stop 20 of its 131 daily flights within the country and ground three of its 18-strong fleet of Boeing 737s.
A no-holds-barred boardroom battle has broken out between Mahendra Nahata and the Dhoots of Videocon, 36:64 partners in Datacom Solutions, a company which wants to launch mobile telephone services all over the country in a month-and-a-half.
Domestic and international airfares are set to rise by 5 per cent beginning October as the travel agents prepare ground to recover 5 per cent commission on the base fare: Amount parted to them by airlines for booking tickets on their distribution systems from consumers.
Aircraft manufacturer Boeing is reducing its forecast of the Indian market by half beyond 2012 as a result of the slowdown in the aviation sector.
Faced with the prospect of $1.5 billion losses owing to a slowdown in passenger traffic and high aviation turbine fuel (ATF) costs, airline companies are cancelling or cutting deliveries of new aircraft due this year or sub-leasing them to other carriers globally.
Cites high valuations as reason for exit.
While Swissport, an European infrastructure and service corporation providing value-added airport services at 187 airports across 43 countries, is going with India's Punj Lloyd group, Menzies is partnering Cambata Aviation for the bid. Cambata has been providing airport services at the Mumbai airport since 1967. Turkey's Celebi Ground Handling is reportedly teaming up with Spencer Travels as overseas bidders.
No more lavish meal choices, no pampered check-ins and fewer options in flight timings. Call it Plan B or an effort by the airlines in India to cope with the crisis caused by soaring aircraft turbine fuel prices.
Air fares are set to go up again, with the government announcing an over 18 per cent average increase in the prices of aviation turbine fuel, effective Saturday midnight.
Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines may move towards a second round of mergers and acquisitions as smaller low-cost airlines and other rivals, hurt by rising fuel prices, seek an exit from the business to cut losses, an industry expert said. State-run oil firms have hiked jet fuel (aviation turbine fuel) prices by 18.5 per cent in line with rising international crude oil prices.
Jet Airways has convened a board meeting on Friday, May 23, which is expected to consider the future of executive director Saroj K Datta, who, sources said, may exit the airline after May 31. Chairman Naresh Goyal, who was in Mumbai last week, reportedly discussed the issue with Datta, a veteran of over 46 years in the airline industry.
SpiceJet is planning to raise a total of $100 million for fleet expansion by the end of the current financial year, according to Siddhant Sharma, CEO of the Delhi-based budget carrier. Sharma's comments come just a day after the UK-based promoter-director of SpiceJet said he was willing to divest his 12.91 per cent stake in the airline if he got the right valuation.
The UK-based promoter-director Bhulo (Bhupendra) Kansagra of Delhi-based low-cost carrier SpiceJet is willing to divest the family stake in the airline if the valuations are right. The Kansagra family owns 12.91 per cent in the airline, which is publicly listed, and has a 10 per cent share in the Indian market, and a market capitalisation of $250 million.
Extending the Juhu runway is expected to free 10 to 15 per cent of Mumbai airport's current capacity, which is more than 700 air traffic movements per day. The airport handled 25.8 million passengers last fiscal and traffic is growing at 25 per cent a year.
Speaking to Business Standard, Jet Executive Director Saroj Datta said: "SpiceJet and JetLite are an absolute fit in so far as their business models are concerned."
Jet said apart from Hariharan, AS Bedi and S Bandula are leaving the company as a result of better career prospects and family commitments. While refusing to be drawn into specifics, Jet pointed out that attrition was a common phenomena in any business enterprise and the growing aviation industry in India cannot be excluded.
Most major carriers -- barring Deccan (which has a August-September financial year) and Kingfisher airlines -- do not agree on the figure. Hitesh Patel, executive vice-president, Kingfisher, said, "We have not yet decided on our increments but will follow the industry benchmarks."
