Air India seeks Rs 2300 cr bailout

New Delhi: The National Aviation Company (Nacil) is seeking a Rs 2,300 crore bailout package from the government to get back on its feet again.
Nacil, which was formed after the merger of Air India and Indian last year, wants Rs 1,300 crore to meet working capital requirements and another Rs 1,000 crore as soft loan.
The national carrier has cited innumerable operational and industry-induced problems to bolster its case in a meeting chaired by civil aviation minister Praful Patel a few days back. Not surprisingly, the carrier’s net loss for 2007-08 is being pegged at Rs 2,144 crore and indications are that this figure could more than double in the current fiscal if things do not improve quickly at Nacil.
Though the aviation industry is in the grip of a recession and every airline is facing troubles, the extent of Nacil’s financial mess is becoming clear only now.
During the meeting, Nacil’s chairman & managing director Raghu Menon made some startling revelations about the extent to which things have deteriorated at the national carrier. Sample this: Nacil is booking a loss of Rs 13-14 lakh every day and almost half of its flights do not meet costs.
10/07/08 Sindhu Bhattacharya/DNA MONEY/Sify

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Categories: NACIL Jul 2008