ID :
16196
Sun, 08/17/2008 - 19:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/16196
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Mounting losses force AI to rejig operations
losses, Air India has undertaken a major route rationalisation programme that will see the airline withdrawing flights to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur and restructuring operations to NewYork, Toronto, Bangkok and Dhaka.
Forced by high losses due to rising fuel prices and low yields, Air India is adopting business strategies to face not only global competition but also from private Indiancompetitor Jet Airways.
Due to the unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices, Air India is expected to suffer a net loss of about Rs 2,000 crore in 2007-08 as per revised estimates, official sources said, adding that there would be no respite in 2008-09 which wouldbe another difficult year for the national carrier.
Besides withdrawing flights to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, it has withdrawn operations from Bangkok on the Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo routes. However, its flights would operate to the Malaysian capital from Mumbai and Delhi via Bangkok, theysaid.
While the national carrier has restructured flights to Dammam to operate point-to-point services, Jet Airways and JetLite have not yet been granted traffic rights to fly on theIndia-Dammam route.
Air India's services to New York have been restructured with the daily flights terminating in Delhi, thereby saving cost of operations on the Delhi-Mumbai sector, where theinternational flight used to operate earlier.
Similarly, the routing of the Toronto flight has been restructured to terminate and originate at Amritsar. This would lead to saving of costs on the Delhi-Amritsar-Delhisector, the sources said.
The Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka flights are now being operated by Air India as a hub-and-spoke service with a smaller AirbusA-320 aircraft, the sources said.
However, they said the decision to restructure or even cancel services were only of a "temporary" nature and the airline would review them through continuous monitoring ofcompetition in fares and practices and take "matching action".
The destinations which may see curtailment in future include Osaka, Seoul and Los Angeles, besides rationalising its services to London. The new changes in schedule are likelyto come into effect by the winter schedule in September.
The national carrier, which is among several major airlines in India and abroad that have curtailed or cancelled their frequencies on international destinations, has alreadyreduced its domestic services by about 10 per cent.
Responding to questions, the official sources said Jet Airways and JetLite have not been granted traffic rights to operate from Bangkok to Shanghai, Hong Kong or Tokyo. It hasnot been granted rights on the India-Indonesia sector too.
The private carrier now operates flights to KualaLumpur from Chennai and daily services to Bangkok from Delhi.
It also operates daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Brussels, its international hub, and onwards to Toronto orNew York or other global destinations.
As part of the cost cutting measures, Air India is also rationalising the usage of its fleet on several foreign routes, like considering operating a Boeing-777 on the four times a week flights to Tokyo. It plans to fly an Airbus A-310on the daily flight on the Mumbai-Delhi-Hong Kong sector.
There are also plans to terminate the Delhi-London-New York in Britain itself and operate a Boeing 777 on theAhmedabad-Mumbai-London route.
Forced by high losses due to rising fuel prices and low yields, Air India is adopting business strategies to face not only global competition but also from private Indiancompetitor Jet Airways.
Due to the unprecedented rise in jet fuel prices, Air India is expected to suffer a net loss of about Rs 2,000 crore in 2007-08 as per revised estimates, official sources said, adding that there would be no respite in 2008-09 which wouldbe another difficult year for the national carrier.
Besides withdrawing flights to Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, it has withdrawn operations from Bangkok on the Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo routes. However, its flights would operate to the Malaysian capital from Mumbai and Delhi via Bangkok, theysaid.
While the national carrier has restructured flights to Dammam to operate point-to-point services, Jet Airways and JetLite have not yet been granted traffic rights to fly on theIndia-Dammam route.
Air India's services to New York have been restructured with the daily flights terminating in Delhi, thereby saving cost of operations on the Delhi-Mumbai sector, where theinternational flight used to operate earlier.
Similarly, the routing of the Toronto flight has been restructured to terminate and originate at Amritsar. This would lead to saving of costs on the Delhi-Amritsar-Delhisector, the sources said.
The Dhaka-Kolkata-Dhaka flights are now being operated by Air India as a hub-and-spoke service with a smaller AirbusA-320 aircraft, the sources said.
However, they said the decision to restructure or even cancel services were only of a "temporary" nature and the airline would review them through continuous monitoring ofcompetition in fares and practices and take "matching action".
The destinations which may see curtailment in future include Osaka, Seoul and Los Angeles, besides rationalising its services to London. The new changes in schedule are likelyto come into effect by the winter schedule in September.
The national carrier, which is among several major airlines in India and abroad that have curtailed or cancelled their frequencies on international destinations, has alreadyreduced its domestic services by about 10 per cent.
Responding to questions, the official sources said Jet Airways and JetLite have not been granted traffic rights to operate from Bangkok to Shanghai, Hong Kong or Tokyo. It hasnot been granted rights on the India-Indonesia sector too.
The private carrier now operates flights to KualaLumpur from Chennai and daily services to Bangkok from Delhi.
It also operates daily flights from Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai to Brussels, its international hub, and onwards to Toronto orNew York or other global destinations.
As part of the cost cutting measures, Air India is also rationalising the usage of its fleet on several foreign routes, like considering operating a Boeing-777 on the four times a week flights to Tokyo. It plans to fly an Airbus A-310on the daily flight on the Mumbai-Delhi-Hong Kong sector.
There are also plans to terminate the Delhi-London-New York in Britain itself and operate a Boeing 777 on theAhmedabad-Mumbai-London route.
