New Delhi: India has no plans to privatize its unprofitable flagship airline Air India Ltd., the country's junior civil aviation minister said Tuesday.
Answering queries by lawmakers in the upper house of Parliament, G. M. Siddeswara said that Air India has incurred a net loss of about 53.89 billion rupees ($898 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31 and that its losses have narrowed from the previous two years.
Air India has been reporting losses since 2007 when the Indian government combined two state-run carriers—Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines Ltd.
Mr. Siddeswara said Air India recorded a net loss of 54.90 billion rupees in the fiscal year that ended March 2013, and a net loss of 75.6 billion rupees the year before that.
He blamed the losses on several factors, including rising jet fuel prices, a weakening rupee and competition from local and international airlines.
15/07/14 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal
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Answering queries by lawmakers in the upper house of Parliament, G. M. Siddeswara said that Air India has incurred a net loss of about 53.89 billion rupees ($898 million) in the fiscal year ended March 31 and that its losses have narrowed from the previous two years.
Air India has been reporting losses since 2007 when the Indian government combined two state-run carriers—Air India and the erstwhile Indian Airlines Ltd.
Mr. Siddeswara said Air India recorded a net loss of 54.90 billion rupees in the fiscal year that ended March 2013, and a net loss of 75.6 billion rupees the year before that.
He blamed the losses on several factors, including rising jet fuel prices, a weakening rupee and competition from local and international airlines.
15/07/14 Santanu Choudhury/Wall Street Journal
