Aviation fuel prices for domestic airlines remain unchanged, providing stability for local carriers, while commercial LPG and 5-kg cylinders see a significant rate hike due to rising international energy costs.
Two new airlines -- Al Hind Air and FlyExpress -- are set to take to the skies, with the carriers receiving their no objection certificates from the civil aviation ministry.
Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices have more than doubled to a record high, impacting airlines and consumers, while commercial LPG rates also see a significant increase.
Competition Commission has approved Tata Group's proposed acquisition of debt-laden Air India as well as its two subsidiaries. The Rs 18,000 crore-deal that includes the winning bidder Talace taking over Rs 15,300 crore-worth debt, is a major step in the government's efforts over the years to revive the ailing airline. Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, emerged as the winning bidder in October.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated a potential pathway to remove tariffs imposed on India for purchasing Russian oil, citing a significant decrease in such purchases. He also criticized Europe's approach and accused India of profiting from discounted Russian oil.
The finance minister said that consolidation of state-owned banks could proceed at any time without waiting for the recommendations of the proposed high-level committee on banking.
Over 100 flights were delayed at the Delhi airport on Friday morning due to technical problems with the air traffic control system and authorities are working to fix the issues, sources said.
In the 18 months that Arvind Jadhav has been the chairman of state-owned Air India, he has faced more than one crisis.
Riding on high yields and an increased passenger load factor, state-owned Air India posted a healthy 46 per cent revenue growth last month over the same period last year, airline sources said on Wednesday.
Existing norms mandate 2/3rd of members of an airline's board must comprise Indian nationals
State-owned Air India plans to raise up to $1.1 billion including $300 million for its subsidiary Air India Charters Ltd to fund aircraft acquisition and meet its working capital requirements.
The government in January restarted the divestment process of Air India and invited bids for selling 100 per cent of its equity in the state-owned airline, including Air India's 100 per cent shareholding in AI Express Limited and 50 per cent in Air India SATS Airport Services Private Ltd.
The disinvestment-bound carrier, which is incurring Rs 15 crore loss per day, has huge dues towards oil companies and Airports Authority of India, among others.
In popular perception, the villain of the piece is former civil aviation minister Praful Patel.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, spent 2.5 billion euro on buying crude oil from Russia in September, 14 per cent less than the previous month, a European think tank said. India remained the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels in September behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
Information Commissioner Sushma Singh told the officials of National Aviation Company of India Limited, the company formed after the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, to give the details of 'pay, perks and privileges' enjoyed by its chairman, managing director and functional directors to Right to Information activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal.
The three state-owned oil companies have decided to defer snapping fuel supplies to Air India. The airline owes the three firms over Rs 5,000 crore in past fuel bills.
Tata Sons has started the process of due diligence of state-owned Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Sources said the group has appointed Bain and Company and Seabury Group for this purpose. Once complete, a financial bid will be submitted and a deal to take over the airline is likely to fructify by end of this year or even earlier, people involved in the process said. Simultaneously, the group has brought in veterans in the aviation business from Delta and United Airlines to prepare a plan for post-merger integration of Air India with its existing airline ventures. Tata Sons operates Vistara - a 51:49 percent joint venture with Singapore Airlines and Air Asia India, in which Tatas hold 83.67 per cent stakes.
The government is also planning to replace the current ageing Air India One or Boeing 747 with Boeing 777s. Arup Roychoudhury and Archis Mohan report.
No other corporate house in India is in a better position than Tata group for the takeover of debt-laden airline Air India, former deputy chairman of erstwhile Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said on Thursday. Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of the state-run airline but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah. "You can't have a better corporate, with a better position than the Tatas, we can hand it (state-run airline Air India) over," he said while replying to a question in a virtual event.
Approval needed for Rs 10,000 cr of tax-free bonds, plus Rs 3,000 cr of cash infusion, both apart from year's scheduled Rs 5,500 cr of equity infusion.
Facing the heat of the financial crisis that has hit the aviation sector, state-owned Air India on Thursday said it is considering a plan to give 3-5 years leave without pay to about 15,000 of its staff.
The flight, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew, landed safely, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement Tuesday evening.
Air India's entire European operations are carried out with Boeing Dreamliner planes.
Cairn Energy and Air India have jointly asked a New York federal court to stay further proceedings in the British firm's US lawsuit targeting the airline for enforcement of a $1.2-billion arbitral award. The move follows the government enacting a law to scrap retrospective taxation in the country, which in effect will result in withdrawal of the Rs 10,247 crore tax demand on Cairn, according to court documents reviewed by PTI. The British company had won an international arbitration award against levy of such taxes and sought to take over Air India assets when the government refused to honour the award and pay it $1.2 billion-plus interest and penalty.
Travel by Air India would cost Rs 300-550 more from June 3 following a hike in fuel surcharge in the wake of oil companies raising Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices by 18.5 per cent.
The only case where there could be a change in insurance payout is if Air India's management were found to be aware of the accident and the accident was deliberate.
Enormous debt isn't the only thing afflicting Air India. Its work culture is an equal culprit in its downfall.
The net loss of the carrier marginally decreased to Rs 5,388.82 crore (Rs 53.88 billion) in 2013-14 as against Rs 5,490.16 crore (Rs 54.9 billion) in the previous fiscal.
"Financial bids for Air India disinvestment received by Transaction Adviser. Process now moves to concluding stage," DIPAM Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted.
Though the airline has kept a reserve price of Rs 315 crore for these properties, it hopes to make around Rs 500 crore from the sale.
'$125 million for the hull and the remaining of over $350 million for liability.'
Civilian flight operations from the 32 airports across northern and western India, including Srinagar and Amritsar, were suspended from May 9 to May 15.
In a bid to resurrect Air India privatisation, the government is planning to give flexibility to potential investors to decide on the humongous debt with the national carrier, a top official has said. The flexibility to potential investors on the quantum of the Rs 60,074 crore debt that they want to absorb will replace the current condition of the buyer taking over more than a third of the debt and transferring the rest to a special purpose vehicle, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said.
The changes are in view of the requests received from interested bidders and the prevailing situation arising out of COVID-19.
The deal is expected to help HAL to get its complete requirement of 212 GE-404 engines in continuity, avoiding any types of delays in engine supplies.
Tata Sons has emerged as the top bidder for the takeover of debt-laden State-run airline Air India but the bid is yet to be approved by a group of ministers headed by Home Minister Amit Shah, sources said.
It is also felt that under the current market conditions, the building is unlikely to garner the kind of funds expected from a prime real estate at Nariman Point
As the Tata group inches closer to taking over Air India in January 2022, the $242-billion conglomerate will also inherit a stake in Kerala's Cochin airport. The Tatas would become the only airline to have an operational stake in a major Indian airport. The airport is a strategic hub connecting India to Middle East nations - home to the largest share of Indian migrant workers. In addition to Air India and Air India Express, private carrier Indigo also uses Cochin to ferry the lucrative 'Malayali Gulf traffic' to multiple locations like Jeddah, Riyadh, Sharjah, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Kuwait and Bahrain, among others. According to regulatory filings, Air India has a three per cent stake in Cochin International Airport.
Another reason working in Air India's favour now is the government's plan to clean up part of the airline's burgeoning debt from its books - a major deterrent for investors when it attempted divestment the previous time.
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