Air India : AI : AIC

Air India will deploy Boeing 777s on all west bound international destinations as well as Tokyo.
Of the 111 aircraft it has on order, the carrier says that it has inducted 64 so far. These include eight Boeing 777-200LRs and nine Boeing 777-300ERs.
From 25 October, the 777s will be used exclusively on flights to Newark, Paris, Toronto, as well as Tokyo. They will replace Airbus A330s and 747-400s.
In addition, the carrier is increasing the frequency on the Mumbai-Riyadh and Delhi-Riyadh routes to a total of 11 flights combined, up from nine. It will operate 777-200LRs on all services instead of 747-400s.
The carrier already uses 777s on its flights to New York-JFK, Chicago, Frankfurt, and London.

India's government has agreed to provide Air India with up to 50 billion Indian rupees ($1.1 billion), conditional on the ailing carrier cutting costs and boosting revenues.
"The government has demonstrated its sincerity and agreed to an equity infusion of 50 billion rupees," India's civil aviation minster Praful Patel told reporters in Mumbai.
But he says he wants Air India over the next two years to cut costs by 30 billion rupees and raise revenue by 20 billion rupees.
"Stronger marketing efforts need to be done to attract more customers," he adds.
On 28 September Air India said it aims to achieve cost savings of 13 billion Indian rupees ($272 million) in the remaining six months of its fiscal year.
India's flag carrier said it is targeting cost savings in a number of areas. From its operational restructuring alone Air India hopes to achieve cost savings of four billion Indian rupees, it added.
Air India made a loss of around 50 billion Indian rupees for the fiscal year to 31 March.

Air India plans to defer delivery of three [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] aircraft for up to two years.
The three aircraft are among six that are due to be delivered in 2010 and 2011, says an Air India spokesman.
On 31 July Air India said it was talking to [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] about the cancellation these six aircraft in view of a weak global aviation market. The spokesman confirms, however, that this order has been retained.

Jeannot a écrit:J'avoue que le comportement de Air India semble un peu erratique. Tantot on entendend que AI veut louer ses 777s, tantot on entend que AI va les mettre en ligne, puis on entend que AI va annuler 6 777s puis il s'agit simplement de décalage.Où se trouve la vérité dans tout cela...

Juste une constatation...

Bastide a écrit:

Jeannot a écrit:J'avoue que le comportement de Air India semble un peu erratique. Tantot on entendend que AI veut louer ses 777s, tantot on entend que AI va les mettre en ligne, puis on entend que AI va annuler 6 777s puis il s'agit simplement de décalage.Où se trouve la vérité dans tout cela...

Juste une constatation...

Air India a trop de B 777-200LR,

Bastide a écrit:En plus des 747-400 dont il va disposer et qui occasionneront probablement un "moins" dans le "balance sheet" lorsqu'ils seront revendus, la revente ou la location de deux à quatre B777-200LR ne sera pas vraiment une bonne opération.

Bastide a écrit:La question est : Qui veut du B 777-200LR actuellement ?

MUMBAI, Nov 11, 2009 (AFP)National carrier Air India on Wednesday announced a net loss of 55.48 billion rupees (1.19 billion dollars) for the fiscal year ended March, hit by the global recession and low air traffic.

Indian government has "assured support" and promised a INR4 billion ($86.5 million) equity infusion to Air India by January, parent National Aviation Co. of India said yesterday. "Further installments would be tied up to the milestones of savings effected on account of cost-cutting exercise[s] adopted by the national carrier at various levels," NACIL said, adding that it plans to "aggressively rationalize its fleet size and network. . .in the coming months" [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. AI last week announced a INR55.48 billion loss in its fiscal year ended March 31 [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] and faces a Nov. 24 strike deadline set by pilots upset about [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] the withdrawal of allowance and incentive payments. NACIL said it is "trying to address" those issues "in view of the improved passenger carriage in recent months" and hopes to make its October incentive payments "shortly." An "improved booking position" for December also prompted the company to announce a plan to "clear the arrears to various vendors."
AI said it flew 770,000 domestic passengers in October, up nearly 17% year-over-year, and that its October load factor of 72.8% was 5.3 points higher than September's. It warned, however, that revenue is "still not of the order which can help generate surplus."

Air India Chairman and MD Arvind Jadhav expects the carrier will become a Star Alliance member sometime between June and October 2010, he told ATWOnline in Brussels, although an alliance executive told this website that questions remain concerning AI's readiness.
"Making fleet updates, a merger and preparing the carrier for the alliance all at the same time is a difficult task. We will see if AI is able to make it," the Star source said.
Indeed, the integration of the old Air India and Indian Airlines, which began in July 2007, still is going on. "But a lot of work has been done," said Jadhav, who took up his position at AI last spring. "We are in the process of phasing out 46 aircraft, including our A310s and 747 Classics. Through 2011 our fleet should be trimmed from 156 to 125 aircraft." The airline is undergoing an intensive restructuring and is hoping for a INR4 billion ($85.2 million) equity infusion from the government next month [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien].
Jadhav also said he is skeptical about the future of AI's order for 27 787-8s. Boeing has promised first flight by the end of the month. "We are waiting for data from the 787's maiden flight on its performance. This is crucial for us [in making a decision about whether to stick with the order]. By now we should already have the first 787 in our fleet." Asked about an interim solution or whether AI will consider the A350, he said, "We are looking at it," but added that no decision is imminent. He did not offer details on when AI expects their first 787.
One of Jadhav's main strategies to revive AI is creating more independent spinoff subsidiaries in areas such as MRO, cargo and ground handling. He claimed it would make the airline more efficient and said that an independent MRO facility will be able to handle up to 300 aircraft per year, including for third-party customers.
Another factor that would enable AI to be more alliance friendly is addition of the third terminal at Indira Gandhi International in Delhi. To this point, the infrastructure at Indian airports has made it difficult to establish the sort of hub operations that facilities like Dubai, Singapore and Munich offer [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien]. "In October or November 2010, the new DEL airport facility should be ready," he said. "The problem had always been that the two main airports [Mumbai and DEL] had never been integrated so AI could support hub traffic." He cited Jet Airways' decision to operate a hub in Brussels and AI's operation in Frankfurt as examples of how Indian carriers have adapted.
Jadhav said he hoped that joining Star, the new terminal at DEL and next October's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi will change the carrier's fortunes. "Then, you will see a new AI," he said.

Air India plans to operate the [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] to Asia and Europe, after it receives its first 787 in the second quarter of 2011.
It will replace its [Vous devez être inscrit et connecté pour voir ce lien] A310s with the new aircraft, says an Air India spokesman.
"We plan to operate the 787 to Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and destinations in Europe," he adds.
Air India, which has 27 787-8s on order, will be the first Indian carrier and third airline to operate the 787, says the spokesman.

Indian airlines carried 44.5 million passengers in 2009, up 7.9% from the prior year, the Ministry of Civil Aviation reported yesterday.
Fourth-quarter traffic soared 30.5% year-over-year to 12.5 million passengers and December traffic rose 34.8% to 4.5 million.
Jet Airways (17.9%) and JetLite (7.5%) led all companies in full-year market share with a combined 25.4%, followed by Kingfisher Airlines at 23.9% and Air India with 17.5%. IndiGo (13.9%) and Spicejet (12.4%) rounded out the top five. Indian carriers cut capacity during the first half of 2009 but registered year-over-year increases in both RPKs and ASKs in each of the year's last six months.
December RPKs rose nearly 40% over the year-ago month, with average load factor surpassing 80% owing to the peak season. IndiGo posted a 90% load factor for the month, with Jet posting the lowest figure at 78.2%.
India's airlines transported 43.8 million passengers on domestic routes in 2009. Kingfisher led the way with a 23.9% share equal to 10.5 million passengers, followed by Jet at 17.9% and AI at 17.5%.

The Indian government has approved an eight billion rupees ($173 million) equity infusion into loss-making national carrier Air India.

India's cabinet committee on economic affairs approved the equity infusion for the airline's parent company National
Aviation Company of India (NACIL), and the funds will be released in two equal monthly instalments, says the government.

"The equity induction will not only ease the cash flow situation of the company, but it will also preclude borrowing from the markets at a high cost," it adds.

NACIL's present equity capital of 1.45 billion rupees is insufficient for an aviation company of it size, says the government.

Air India posted a net loss of 56 billion rupees for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2009 after being hit by the economic downturn and higher fuel prices.

It has embarked on a turnaround plan to stem losses, and aims to save 19 billion rupees in its current financial year.

The airline plans to reduce its fleet size to 105 aircraft from 146 by March 2011, as well as cut its staff strength.

Air India has shown an improvement in its financial performance for the first half of its current financial year compared to the year before, says the government.

"The number of revenue passengers carried increased from 5.32 million to 5.61 million," it adds.

Air India's operating loss of 20.3 billion rupees is also 23% less than the corresponding period a year ago, it says.

New Delhi:

Cash-strapped national carrier Air India has deferred the delivery of three long-haul Boeing 777 aircraft from next year to beyond 2012 as it tries to reduce expenses and streamline its fleet of at least 150 aircraft, two airline officials said on condition of anonymity.

It is also in talks with the Boeing Co. to convert the order for the three aircraft, valued at around $450 million (around Rs2,000 crore), into one for narrow body Boeing 737s, which it uses to fly to West Asia and South-East Asia, one official said.

Air India, run by National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, will, however, induct three Boeing 777s this year.

It is seeking a so-called “bridge loan” of $450 million from Standard Chartered Plc as a stop-gap arrangement to purchase these aircraft, until it receives an already approved loan from the Export-Import Bank of India, the officials said.

The deferred aircraft were part of a $11 billion order for 111 aircraft placed in 2006.

Air India already has a wide-body fleet of 35 aircraft, including 17 Boeing 777s owned by the carrier and four leased. It is also expecting the delivery of over two dozen newly launched Boeing 787 aircraft from next year.

Indian airlines, facing a paucity of funds, are leasing out or deferring the delivery of long-haul aircraft as they turn their focus on the shorter West Asian and South-East Asian routes that offer better returns compared with US and European destinations.

Air India is in talks with Thai Airways International Public Co. Ltd and some other carriers to lease out half a dozen Boeing 777s, the two officials quoted above said. The decision is likely by June.

London-based aviation analyst Saj Ahmad said deferring the delivery of Boeing 777s depends on Air India’s network
plans.

“Deferring 777s, or any other jet, depends on traffic forecast, forward bookings, etc.—no real way of saying it’s “good” when Boeing is increasing 777 rates next year to customers,” he said in an email.

“Indian carriers have failed (in) their procurement of the 777 and every other jet they ordered during the boom years. Mismanaged airlines, too ambitious growth, reliance on high yield traffic and ignoring the macroeconomic pressures has seen them offload, lease out jets and decrease their operational footprint,” Ahmad said.

New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI)

Air India will have to raise about Rs 4,435 crore through its internal resources and borrowings in 2010-11 to finance its fleet acquisition, even as the government promised to infuse additional equity worth Rs 1,200 crore during the period.

The ailing national carrier is expected to induct four Boeing 777-300 (Extended Range) and one Airbus A-321 during this financial year. With the arrival of the A-321, Air India would complete its order of 42 aircraft from the European manufacturer Airbus, official sources said.

Out of a total annual plan of Rs 5,634.80 crore, the airline would get equity worth Rs 1,200 crore with the remaining amount to be mobilised through internal and extra- budgetary resources (IEBR). Government had infused equity worth Rs 800 crore in the last fiscal.

Air India is projected to spend Rs 4,197.

Air India expects to take first 787 next March
Air India expects to begin taking delivery of new Boeing 787s at the end of next year's first quarter.
"Boeing is now offering us March 2011," Air India chairman and managing director Arvind Jadhav told ATI during a Star Alliance event in Sao Paulo.
While Air India is looking to sublease nearly half of its new Boeing 777-200LR/-300ER fleet, Jadhav says the carrier requires 787s as soon as possible because the aircraft are critical to its plans for improving its intra-Asia operation.
"The 787 is going to change the game," Jadhav says. "It is really required for our market. That's why we ordered 27."
Jadhav adds the 787 will give Air India a competitive advantage on Asian regional routes such as Delhi-Hong Kong, resulting in increased feed for its long-haul routes. "That's why we are a little unhappy in the delays of the 787," Jadhav says.
Air India's 787 deliveries have been delayed multiple times since the carrier ordered 27 Dreamliners in January 2006.