Airlines to raise $4 bn to add muscle

Mumbai: India’s cash-starved airlines plan to raise at least $4 billion (Rs15,880 crore) in 2008-09 to fund new planes, expand networks and help tide over a projected combined loss of $700 million this fiscal. The fund-raising will be the largest ever by the country’s carriers as some of them start or get ready to fly overseas routes.
In the current fiscal year, the country’s airlines raised just about $1 billion.
State-owned National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, which operates Air India, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Deccan Aviation Ltd, Paramount Airways India Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd are the leading airline companies that plan to raise funds by offloading equity and raising debt.
Most of them are also knocking on the doors of US and European credit agencies for financing aircraft acquisition.
The airlines have no option but to raise fresh funds for their capital expenditure as some of them are acquiring widebody planes for international operations, said an analyst who tracks the aviation business for an international brokerage.
28/02/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Categories: Deccan Feb 2008, Jet Airways Feb 2008, Kingfisher Feb 2008, NACIL Feb 2008, Paramount Airways feb 2008