Edits, Columns & Analysis - September 2008

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Bad patch for budget airlines
Sobha John
Times of India
Sep 28, 2008
It was meant to be an engine of growth. But most low-cost carriers in India have now hit an air pocket. Though the aviation sector as a whole is in decline, it's these airlines that have been hit the hardest by multiple factors such as high fuel prices, difficult acquisitions, downsizing and bad man-management.
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Too many duplicative carriers hurting profits
P.R. Sanjai
Livemint
Sep 22, 2008
Mumbai: Chairman and chief executive officer of WL Ross and Co. LLC, a New York-based private equity fund, that has invested $80 million (around Rs370 crore at current rates) in Delhi-based low-fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd, Wilbur L. Ross Jr said there are too many duplicative carriers in India and load factors are too low to support profitability for all.
On 19 September, Mint had reported that WL Ross had, on its own, started talks with Indian carriers for a possible merger with the Delhi-based carrier. In an exclusive email interview, Ross Jr said SpiceJet does not need other investors to fund as it has sufficient funding even if the crude oil price goes up from the current level.
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IndiGo’s ‘one-one’ model is its win-win model
Praveena Sharma
Daily News & Analysis
Sept 18, 2008
In 2005, Rahul Bhatia, the managing director of InterGlobe Enterprises, created a furore at the Paris Air Show when he ordered 100 A320s. It was the biggest order from India and nobody even knew who Bhatia was. The next year, he quietly launched his budget airline IndiGo. Today, it is the largest domestic no-frills airline. Bruce Ashby, chief executive officer of IndiGo, spoke to Praveena Sharma of DNA Money on how the airline was able to fly past established low-cost carriers despite turbulent weathers.
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Aerospace industry looks to Asia Pacific
Shanthi Kannan
The Hindu
Sep 13, 2008
Chennai: Shedding its U.S.-centric approach, the aerospace industry is slowly turning its focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which is emerging as fulcrum for hardware, software and component development in this space. Indicating this shift in approach, Jonh W. Douglass, President and Chief Executive Officer, Douglass Aerospace Group, told this correspondent in an exclusive interview that the aviation workforce in the U.S. and Europe were getting old. Aviation was no longer attractive for young in these countries and in military services, sources of fully qualified personnel were being downsized and maintenance privatised.
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The airport and the city
Harish Bhat
Livemint
Sep 09, 2008
Increasingly, international airports are the index of cities. Particularly for global travellers, the airport creates a first impression of the city. It is also their last brush with the city before they return home. Typically, travellers are also at their weariest when they reach airports — either they have had a long and tiring flight behind them, or they are longing to get home. So, how an airport treats them is etched in their minds for a long time.
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The ATF boon for airlines
Economic Times
Sep 02, 2008
The sharp drop in the price of aviation turbine fuel will help the beleaguered airline companies cut losses. However, the industry prospects, and in particular that of low-cost airlines, are still under a cloud because of the high cost structure of the aviation business in India. Despite the 16 per cent cut in ATF prices announced by the oil companies — prices are market determined and benchmarked to international crude price — fuel costs are still up over 50 per cent from the levels a year ago. Even at those lower prices and when passenger numbers were still growing, the industry had a net loss of over Rs 4,000 crore.
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