Air India set to post Rs5,000 cr loss this year

Mumbai: State-owned National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, which operates Air India, is headed for a Rs5,000 crore loss for the fiscal year ending March, said a top official at the ministry of civil aviation.
The airline, saddled with cumulative losses of Rs7,226 crore in 2008 and 2009 fiscal years and awaiting a government bailout, has posted losses of Rs2,000 crore in the first six months of the current one, this official told Mint. The losses are mainly on account of excess capacity in the industry and high jet fuel costs, said the official who did not want to be identified.
Confirming the estimate, Jitender Bhargava, executive director (corporate communications) at Air India, said, “There is no surprise about the Rs2,000 crore loss as we are estimating a total loss of Rs5,000 crore in the current fiscal.”
If these estimates are borne out, accumulated losses will rise to at least Rs12,226 crore.
Domestic carriers reported a combined loss of $2 billion (Rs9,500 crore) for fiscal 2009, and are expected to report similar losses this year as well.
06/10/09 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Categories: NACIL Oct 2009