The CBI today registered three FIRs and a preliminary enquiry to probe alleged irregularities in Indian Airlines-Air India merger and purchase of 111 aircraft, leasing of planes and giving up of profit-making routes by Air India, causing a loss of thousands of crore of rupees.
An airlines industry body has sought reduction in customs and excise duties on aviation turbine fuel and allowing private firms to supply it to bring down prices.
Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar yesterday said the state has already slashed Value Added Tax on Air Turbine Fuel refuelled in the state from 22 percent to mere 12.5 per cent.
IA may be hurt badly in case of a US attack on Iraq, which would lead to a massive increase in insurance premium and an additional burden of an estimated 25% hike in ATF prices.
West Asian carriers are up against Air India and IndiGo in the battle for seats on lucrative international routes.
Public sector oil companies on Sunday slashed jet fuel or Aviation Turbine Fuel prices by 3.7 per cent, the tenth reduction since September. ATF prices in Delhi were slashed to Rs 29,158 per kilolitre, effective midnight tonight, an official of Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest fuel retailer, said. The fuel used by airlines till today was priced at Rs 30,288 per kilolitre. After today's Rs 1,130 a kilolitre reduction, jet fuel is priced at early 2005 levels.
An online company would show a particular price to the customer and then quickly increase the cost after analysing consumer behaviour or detecting any kind of desperation.
Aviation turbine fuel or jet fuel price was on Wednesday hiked by a steep 9.2 per cent, while that of non-subsidised cooking gas was raised by Rs 21 per cylinder.
SpiceJet COO says ATF price cut is need of the hour.
Jet fuel constitutes over 40 per cent of an airline's operating costs and the price increase will raise the financial burden on cash-strapped carriers.
Airline stocks were seen soaring high on Wednesday fuelled by reports that merger plan of Jet Airways and Air Sahara was about to fall apart, even as market analysts said failure of the deal would benefit Jet.
From a surge in airfares to rattled aircraft lessors to thousands of employees staring at uncertainty, it has been a month of continued turbulence since cash-strapped Go First suspended flights from May 3. As the government and other stakeholders hope that Go First restarts operations at the earliest, plans are being worked out for the budget airline's revival. A section of Go First staff are optimistic about restarting of operations, another section are pessimistic about the airline's future course considering what had happened to erstwhile Kingfisher Airlines and Jet Airways, according to employees who spoke to PTI.
Sri Lankan Airlines offers special fares to London, Paris, Zurich, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Tokyo, Maldives and Malaysia from Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram.
Limits imposed on domestic airfares will be removed from August 31, after a span of approximately 27 months, the Union aviation ministry said on Wednesday. "The decision to remove air fare caps has been taken after careful analysis of daily demand and prices of air turbine fuel (ATF). "Stabilisation has set in and we are certain that the sector is poised for growth in domestic traffic in the near future," Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Twitter.
The domestic airlines industry is estimated to have posted losses to the tune of over Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in the previous fiscal, nearly 18 per cent down from a year ago.
A tight interest rate regime and falling demand will induce the suppliers of goods to cut prices and focus on inventory rather than ego. Tight interest rates affect demand too, as in home and vehicle loans, but the hit cannot and should not be taken by consumers, says Govindraj Ethiraj.
The apex court asked the government to get back by March 9 about the policy.
Paramount Airways, the Madurai-based full service airline, is planning to acquire 40 more made-in-Brazil Embraer jets at a list price of $2 billion in a bid to have a pan-India presence.
Hit by soaring fuel prices, the aviation industry is mulling introduction of a "differential fuel surcharge" based on VAT rates in each state to partially offset losses suffered by the air carriers. "Airlines would not be able to survive if the cost of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) is so high and competition brings down the fares," V Thulasidas, chairman and managing director, Air India said.
Almost $10 billion was invested in airport modernisation between 2005 and 2012.
The Tata group-owned Air India will induct over 90 aircraft in two years as it looks to widen its footprint and grab a larger market share. The plan includes 56 planes from the mega aircraft order that the airline has now finalised with Airbus and Boeing. These will be in addition to previously announced leases of 36 planes that include Airbus A320Neo, A321Neo, and Boeing 777 aircraft.
The response to the sale has been overwhelming.
Indian Airlines on Wednesday announced a 10 per cent hike in air travel on all domestic sectors with effect from June 21 citing the continuous increase in prices of aviation turbine fuel.
The move is a reversal of its earlier decision, when the airline said it would not absorb the price difference and advised customers to pay the fare difference or receive a refund, according to media reports.
The airline industry remained largely undecided on the exact quantum of increase in fares following the hike in ATF prices. Industry sources, however, said the prices might increase by Rs 150 for short haul routes and Rs 300 for long haul routes.
'I don't think there will be a direct reaction to the fuel price hike on air ticket prices.'
If that happens, Jet Airways will be the first bankrupt airline which will be revived under the Insolvency process.
Airlines say ATF fuel prices in India are 40 per cent higher than in countries such as Singapore. Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra
India witnessed the highest increase in airfares among the 10 top aviation markets in the Asia-Pacific and West Asia collectively across both domestic and international flights Q4 2019 and Q4 2022 in nominal terms, according to research by Hong Kong-based Airports Council International (ACI). India, where fares went up by 41 per cent, was followed by the UAE (34 per cent), Singapore (30 (per cent) and Australia (23 per cent). The study, which was undertaken in collaboration with Flare Aviation Consulting, examined around 36,000 routes in the top 10 aviation markets in Asia-Pacific and West Asia.
When the Tatas re-boarded Air India on January 27 last year, the price of aviation turbine fuel was at over Rs 80,000 per kilolitre. Rupee was trading at around Rs 74 to a US dollar. The Omicron variant of Covid-19 was in prevalence - barely a week earlier, India had reported over 340,000 cases on a single day. Seven-day home quarantine of international travellers was the norm.
Public sector oil firms have cut aviation turbine fuel (jet fuel) prices by up to Rs 745 per kilolitre or 1.85 per cent in wake of falling international prices.\n
A comparison shows that for Delhi to Mumbai air travel, the lowest airfare price is in the range of Rs 2,755, while the surged price for second-AC comes at Rs 4,104, a 42 per cent increase from the current train fares
Despite the best ever quarterly net profit of Rs 3,091 crore during April-June of financial year 2023-24 (Q1FY24), challenges are mounting for InterGlobe Aviation-run IndiGo in the near term, said analysts. Given this, most brokerages have retained their ratings from 'buy to underperform', as well as their target price for the stock. For instance, Motilal Oswal Financial Services has retained its 'neutral' rating on the scrip as it believes the low-cost airline is facing teething issues at present.
Phee Teik Yeoh, the recently anointed chief executive officer of the airline, speaks to Business Standard on his aim of changing the rule of the game in the aviation sector by redefining service and operational experience for travellers accustomed to mere functionality.
The home ministry has given security clearance to Air India CEO-designate Campbell Wilson, paving the way for him to take charge of the airline, according to a senior official. The appointment of Wilson as the chief executive officer and managing director of Air India was announced by Tata Sons on May 12. Tata Sons took over the loss-making carrier on January 27.
Even flights on foreign routes pay more when they refill in India.
The national carrier Air India is mulling an all-women crew flight.
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