Major air carriers still to clear massive fuel bills

Mumbai: State-owned National Aviation Company of India Limited (Nacil), Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines owe over Rs 2,200 crore as payment for jet fuel, to the state-run oil marketing companies.
Jet Airways and Nacil owe around Rs 800-850 and Rs 1,000 crore to the state-run IndianOil Corporation (IOC), respectively. Nacil also owes Rs 245 crores to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), officials from the oil marketing companies said.
An IOC executive confirmed the development and added that the company is taking this issue up with the respective companies on a regular basis. “The dues to IOC are in the range of Rs 800- 1,000 crore, but the company undergoing restructuring and the dues are not anything to worry about," said an executive from Nacil requesting anonymity. An email sent to the company remained unanswered.
Analysts say the failure in payment of dues by the aviation companies is a reflection of the high debt that most of these companies have on their books. “Aviation companies are unable to pay their dues because they are into losses. Carriers such as SpiceJet are profitable and hence, pay their dues on time and also get discounts on the ATF price at times. However, going ahead this shouldn’t be a problem as these companies are slowly turning profitable and will be able to reduce their payables," said a Mumbai-based analyst.
13/07/10 Kalpana Pathak & Sneha Kupekar/Business Standard

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2010