While the Air india management has been claiming that they are turning around the country’s national carrier, the truth is that the airline earns Rs 36 crore a day from its operations, while it spends Rs 57 crore. These figures were disclosed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday by the new civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi. “We are paying compulsory payment abroad of Rs 16 crore and committed payment here in India is Rs 20 crore. But the total expenditure comes to about Rs 57 crore,”.
AI does not even have enough money to pay its fuel bills and owes over Rs 2,280 crore to the public sector oil companies for jet fuel till the end of February this year. “The government has infused Rs 1,200 crore. Out of this, Rs 475 crore has gone to the oil companies. As it is, Rs 1,900 crore is still pending of government money which is a surprise.
Besides, an amount of Rs 12.5 crore is being paid daily by AI to oil companies on cash at delivery basis the oil companies were not yielding to the government’s requests of any concession. “They (oil public sector undertakings) have extended the credit facility to all the private airlines but not to Air India,” said Ravi.
“We are requesting that AI must get the treatment which is being extended to the private companies,” the minister added. Air India, which is teetering under a massive debt burden of Rs 40,000 crore, suffered a loss of Rs 3,450 crore in the first half of the current fiscal year, the minister said earlier this month.
Air India aircraft orders on the books of the manufacturers will not be delivered unless something changes fast. Air India cannot afford a sale and lease back let alone anything else. We have to wonder what the next step will be but it should be nothing less than new management taking a sword to the entire operation to save the whole.
ORDERS BONANZA WEEK AS AIRBUS AND BOEING AND ILFC RAKE IN ANOTHER ORDER FROM CATHAY AND BOEING GET AEROFLOT FOR THE 777 IN A STRING OF STRONG ORDERS!!
Boeing and Aeroflot have announced an order for six 777-300ERs and two Boeing 777-200ERs. The order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing’s Orders and Deliveries website.
Aeroflot have sighted the need to strengthen their network in preparation for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
At the same time Boeing and Cathay Pacific Airways announced an order for 10 ge90 powered Boeing 777-300ERs valued at $2.8 billion at list price. Cathay Pacific first announced its selection of the 777-300ER for its fleet requirements in 2005. With this order, Cathay Pacific will increase its Boeing 777-300ER planned fleet from 36 to 46 (including 4 leased from ILFC). This is the fifth increase in Cathay’s acquisition plans for the 777-300ER. Cathay Pacific also operates 12 777-300s and five 777-200s in a strong Boeing fleet.
ILFC involvement did not stop there as they announced that a lease has been signed with Cathay Pacific Airways for two Trent powered A350s. The aircraft in this deal represent the first A350s that will join Cathay Pacific’s fleet and are scheduled for delivery in 2015.
Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Tony Tyler said: “Acquiring these two early delivery aircraft allow us to improve our fleet portfolio so that we may address capacity and growth opportunities. We have a long relationship with ILFC that made this lease arrangement an easy decision for us.”
Not to be outdone though Airbus also got an order as Cathay Pacific Airways confirmed 15 more A330-300s. Scheduled for delivery from 2013, the aircraft will join the airline’s existing A330 fleet flying on services across the Asia-Pacific region. As with the airline’s existing A330 fleet, the newly ordered aircraft will be powered by Trent 700 engines from Rolls-Royce.
The 777 has always been the best in class but the order for the A330-300 further confirms that this class has come into its own as the stopgap of choice for airlines pending the arrival of much delayed 787 and A350 XWB.