Indian carriers to cut losses this year: IATA
By IANSThursday, September 23, 2010
NEW DELHI - Indian carriers will pare their losses this year to $400 million from $1.7 billion in 2009 as passenger and cargo traffic increase and fuel prices remain stable, the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said Thursday.
“The Indian aviation sector is expected to post a loss of $400 million in 2010 from $1.7 billion in 2009,” said Giovanni Bisignani, Director General, IATA, on the sidelines of an industry summit here.
According to IATA, the sector which is carrying a debt burden of $13 billion is able to cut losses due to several factors like growth in passenger numbers, economic restructuring and effective usage of capacity.
“The sector has used its capacity in a very effective way. Airlines have also done economic restructuring. Jet Airways leased planes to Turkish airlines and other carriers plans for raising funds through equity,” Bisignani said.
He welcomed plans by some private airlines to raise funds through equity.
Stressing that the $13-billion debt is a major concern, he said: “In a market as rich in potential as India, the precarious financial situation indicates that structural weaknesses must be dealt with.”
IATA has forecast a profit of $8.9 billion for the global airline sector for this year. The figure is expected to drop to $5.3 billion in 2011.
The aviation sector in the country constitutes a market of 42 million domestic passengers annually and another 34 million internationally.
