New Delhi: In what may come as good news to crisis-hit Kingfisher Airlines, prominent banks that have lent to the airline have reportedly decided to provide a relief package to it, sources said.
NDTV has learnt that the State Bank of India will provide Rs. 1200 crore relief package to Kingfisher out of which nearly Rs. 700 crore will be provided in working capital loans.
The package will include bank guarantee and loan repayment extension, sources said.
Also, Punjab National Bank is also likely to provide a guarantee of Rs. 160-200 crore.
However, SBI denied comment on the latest development. "We cannot comment due to client confidentiality," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told NDTV.
Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh welcomed the move. "If banks lend money to Kingfisher, it is all good," he said.
SBI currently has an exposure of Rs. 1400 crore to Kingfisher and has classified it as a non-performing asset in the third quarter of this year. Till yesterday, a consortium of 18 banks that have lent to Kingfisher had refused to convert any more loans into equity.
Kingfisher declared losses of 444 crores in Q3 - up from 254 crores a year ago. Kingfisher's current debt is close to 1.3 billion dollars or Rs. 7,057.08 crore. Adding to the woes of the beleaguered airline, the Income Tax department froze its accounts of Friday - a reason airline baron and Kingfisher Chairman Vijay Mallya attributed the chaos to.
The CEO of the airline was summoned by the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, on Tuesday after the private carrier cancelled a large number of flights over the weekend that has spilled onto the new week. It also witnessed resignations of at least 34 pilots on Tuesday, with several other staff members being put on notice. The airline, though, assured the DGCA that it had enough cabin crew and pilots to manage its flights. The regulator, meanwhile, has decided to go for "safety surveillance" of all of Kingfisher's operating aircraft but assured that there is no cause for concern and passengers need not be worried.
Out of Kingfisher's 64 aircraft, 28 are operational. At least 20 flights were cancelled today; yesterday, at least 34 Kingfisher flights - six from Delhi, five from Mumbai, 18 from Bangalore and five from Hyderabad - were cancelled. On Monday, the airline cancelled 30 flights; half of its flights from major metros were cancelled or delayed on Sunday. Internationally, flight operations to Bangkok, Dhaka and Kathmandu have been shut. Colombo, sources say, will be shut down shortly. Of all Kingfisher Airlines international services, only the London flight is presently operating.
Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/sbi-to-bail-out-kingfisher-reports-178537&cp
Showing posts with label Fly Kingfisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fly Kingfisher. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Low-cost airlines like Spicejet, IndiGo and GoAir take price war to overseas routes
MUMBAI: Indian full service airlines, buffeted by high fuel costs and intense competition, face new headwinds on their lucrative international routes as budget carriers launch services with rock-bottom fares.
With low-cost carriers launching routes using narrow-body aircraft to overseas destinations within five hours flying time of India, full-service players are being forced to respond with similar no-frills offerings on popular and profitable routes.
Budget airline IndiGo, which in June firmed up a $16.2 billion order for 180 single-aisle Airbus aircraft, has received government approval to fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat, and is luring passengers with round-trip fares as low as 9,999 rupees ($220).
By comparison, full service carriers charge between 17,000 and 22,000 rupees for economy class Mumbai-Singapore routes booked a month in advance.
"The entry of IndiGo will help in growing the market. Low cost carriers are creating a new market with a new breed of customers who did not fly international earlier," said Kapil Kaul, chief executive for the Indian subcontinent and Middle East at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
Under Indian aviation laws, an airline needs to locally operate for five years before being assigned overseas routes.
Indian low-cost operator SpiceJet , with just six international flights now among its 200 daily flights, plans to expand its overseas network and has applied for several international routes, CEO Neil Mills said.
"Low cost carriers are much better poised to take advantage of the growth, because India is a very price-sensitive market," Mills told Reuters.
Read More
With low-cost carriers launching routes using narrow-body aircraft to overseas destinations within five hours flying time of India, full-service players are being forced to respond with similar no-frills offerings on popular and profitable routes.
Budget airline IndiGo, which in June firmed up a $16.2 billion order for 180 single-aisle Airbus aircraft, has received government approval to fly to Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai and Muscat, and is luring passengers with round-trip fares as low as 9,999 rupees ($220).
By comparison, full service carriers charge between 17,000 and 22,000 rupees for economy class Mumbai-Singapore routes booked a month in advance.
"The entry of IndiGo will help in growing the market. Low cost carriers are creating a new market with a new breed of customers who did not fly international earlier," said Kapil Kaul, chief executive for the Indian subcontinent and Middle East at the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
Under Indian aviation laws, an airline needs to locally operate for five years before being assigned overseas routes.
Indian low-cost operator SpiceJet , with just six international flights now among its 200 daily flights, plans to expand its overseas network and has applied for several international routes, CEO Neil Mills said.
"Low cost carriers are much better poised to take advantage of the growth, because India is a very price-sensitive market," Mills told Reuters.
Read More
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
IndiGo’s big IPO may lead to re-rating of airline stocks
Mumbai: India’s leading low-fare carrier IndiGo, run by InterGlobe Aviation Pvt. Ltd, is planning to raise $500 million (Rs2,215 crore) through its initial public offering (IPO), the highest ever for an Indian airline, and this may lead to a re-rating of airline stocks, said sector analysts.
Shares of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and SpiceJet Ltd are traded on Indian exchanges.
The IPO is scheduled for the last quarter of the current fiscal ending March 2011, said two persons close to the development. One of them is an airline executive and the other is an investment banker.
IndiGo has hired five investment bankers, including JM Financial Ltd, Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc., UBS AG and Morgan Stanley for the proposed IPO.
Ahead of the IPO, IndiGo is looking at an equity placement that could result in dilution of promoters’ stake of as much as 25%. Last week, the company conducted investor roadshows in Hong Kong and Singapore for the equity placement.
“The exact details of the proposed IPO are yet to be finalized but IndiGo is planning to raise 10 times its earnings,” said one of the persons mentioned earlier. He added that the low-fare airline, which held a 16.4% market share in August through 188 flights across 22 destinations, will raise more than the Rs1,899 crore that rival and full-service airline operator Jet Airways raised five years ago.
Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, did not return calls made to his mobile phone nor did he reply to text messages.
“The IPO is expected to leverage the success story of IndiGo,” said Kapil Kaul, India chief of Sydney-based aviation consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, adding that the airline’s valuation would set the benchmark for industry stocks.
“This could be significantly higher than low-fare airline stock and even higher than full-service carriers such as Jet Airways,” he added.
A successful and large IPO by IndiGo could put pressure on other stocks of airline companies such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines that are also competing to raise funds from the market.
On Monday, airline stocks took a beating, with all three listed airlines losing value even as the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark index, the Sensex, rose 0.15% to close at 20,475.73 points.
SpiceJet slipped 3.25% to close at `74.40, Jet Airways—India’s largest carrier by traffic—fell 1.26% to `806.15, and Kingfisher fell 1.75% to `73.05.
Since January, Jet Airways has risen 45.74%, SpiceJet 31.1% and Kingfisher 15.59%.
Read more: http://www.livemint.com/2010/10/04234454/IndiGo8217s-big-IPO-may-lea.html
Shares of Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and SpiceJet Ltd are traded on Indian exchanges.
The IPO is scheduled for the last quarter of the current fiscal ending March 2011, said two persons close to the development. One of them is an airline executive and the other is an investment banker.
IndiGo has hired five investment bankers, including JM Financial Ltd, Credit Suisse Group AG, Citigroup Inc., UBS AG and Morgan Stanley for the proposed IPO.
Ahead of the IPO, IndiGo is looking at an equity placement that could result in dilution of promoters’ stake of as much as 25%. Last week, the company conducted investor roadshows in Hong Kong and Singapore for the equity placement.
“The exact details of the proposed IPO are yet to be finalized but IndiGo is planning to raise 10 times its earnings,” said one of the persons mentioned earlier. He added that the low-fare airline, which held a 16.4% market share in August through 188 flights across 22 destinations, will raise more than the Rs1,899 crore that rival and full-service airline operator Jet Airways raised five years ago.
Aditya Ghosh, president of IndiGo, did not return calls made to his mobile phone nor did he reply to text messages.
“The IPO is expected to leverage the success story of IndiGo,” said Kapil Kaul, India chief of Sydney-based aviation consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, adding that the airline’s valuation would set the benchmark for industry stocks.
“This could be significantly higher than low-fare airline stock and even higher than full-service carriers such as Jet Airways,” he added.
A successful and large IPO by IndiGo could put pressure on other stocks of airline companies such as Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines that are also competing to raise funds from the market.
On Monday, airline stocks took a beating, with all three listed airlines losing value even as the Bombay Stock Exchange’s benchmark index, the Sensex, rose 0.15% to close at 20,475.73 points.
SpiceJet slipped 3.25% to close at `74.40, Jet Airways—India’s largest carrier by traffic—fell 1.26% to `806.15, and Kingfisher fell 1.75% to `73.05.
Since January, Jet Airways has risen 45.74%, SpiceJet 31.1% and Kingfisher 15.59%.
Read more: http://www.livemint.com/2010/10/04234454/IndiGo8217s-big-IPO-may-lea.html
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Kingfisher Trying to Rope in Former SpiceJet Official
MUMBAI: Vijay Mallya-owned private air-carrier, Kingfisher Airlines is in talks with a top former executive of the budget airline, SpiceJet to take him onboard and a final decision on the issue is expected shotly, sources said.
"The former Chief Executive Officer of SpiceJet Airlines, Sanjay Aggarwal, and Kingfisher Airlines' Chairman, Vijay Mallya are in touch for quite some time. A meeting between the two is slated for later this week," industry sources familiar with the development said here on Wednesday.
If the talks fructify, Aggarwal may be appointed for a top job in Kingfisher as early as October, they said.
Aggarwal, who is credited with flying SpiceJet into profit in FY 10, the first time since its inception in 2005, quit the job in July after Chennai-based media baron, Kalanithi Maran bought 37.7 per cent stake with a 20 per cent open offer, following the US investor deciding to offoad his stake.
If Aggarwal comes onboard, his immediate task would be to turnaround the debt-ridden, loss-making airline, sources said.
Aviation industry research and analysis provider, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in its mid-year review of the domestic airlines in July this year had stressed on the need of CEO and COO in the airline.
"In order to ensure that the airline (Kingfisher) pursues a disciplined turnaround, a new organisation structure needs to be established with the induction of a CEO and COO," the report had said.
As on March 31, 2010, Kingfisher Airlines' debt stood at Rs 6,000-crore, the largest for any domestic private air carrier. Besides, the company posted a loss of Rs 1647-crore in FY 10.
Even in the first quarter of the current fiscal, airline posted a loss of Rs 187-crore.
Source: The Economic Times
"The former Chief Executive Officer of SpiceJet Airlines, Sanjay Aggarwal, and Kingfisher Airlines' Chairman, Vijay Mallya are in touch for quite some time. A meeting between the two is slated for later this week," industry sources familiar with the development said here on Wednesday.
If the talks fructify, Aggarwal may be appointed for a top job in Kingfisher as early as October, they said.
Aggarwal, who is credited with flying SpiceJet into profit in FY 10, the first time since its inception in 2005, quit the job in July after Chennai-based media baron, Kalanithi Maran bought 37.7 per cent stake with a 20 per cent open offer, following the US investor deciding to offoad his stake.
If Aggarwal comes onboard, his immediate task would be to turnaround the debt-ridden, loss-making airline, sources said.
Aviation industry research and analysis provider, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) in its mid-year review of the domestic airlines in July this year had stressed on the need of CEO and COO in the airline.
"In order to ensure that the airline (Kingfisher) pursues a disciplined turnaround, a new organisation structure needs to be established with the induction of a CEO and COO," the report had said.
As on March 31, 2010, Kingfisher Airlines' debt stood at Rs 6,000-crore, the largest for any domestic private air carrier. Besides, the company posted a loss of Rs 1647-crore in FY 10.
Even in the first quarter of the current fiscal, airline posted a loss of Rs 187-crore.
Source: The Economic Times
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Kingfisher, BA enter code-sharing agreement
Kingfisher Airlines Monday said it has entered into a code sharing arrangement with British Airways (BA) under which both the carriers will use each other's flight network to and from India, Sri Lanka, Britain and Europe from Sep 15.
A code sharing agreement allows one airline to use another's flight code on its own ticket, thus allowing its passengers to travel on the other airline's flights. Such a move helps carriers to expand their network without actually incurring costs of deploying its own fleet.
"The codeshare with British Airways will mean that our guests from India will now be able to fly seamlessly to nine new European cities," said Vijay Mallya, chairman and chief executive, Kingfisher Airlines.
According to the airline, its code will be placed on nine BA routes from Heathrow to the British region and continental Europe, while BA's code will be placed on 11 domestic Indian routes and one route to Sri Lanka operated by Kingfisher Airlines.
This is the first time that BA has entered into a code sharing agreement with an Indian airline.
A code sharing agreement allows one airline to use another's flight code on its own ticket, thus allowing its passengers to travel on the other airline's flights. Such a move helps carriers to expand their network without actually incurring costs of deploying its own fleet.
"The codeshare with British Airways will mean that our guests from India will now be able to fly seamlessly to nine new European cities," said Vijay Mallya, chairman and chief executive, Kingfisher Airlines.
According to the airline, its code will be placed on nine BA routes from Heathrow to the British region and continental Europe, while BA's code will be placed on 11 domestic Indian routes and one route to Sri Lanka operated by Kingfisher Airlines.
This is the first time that BA has entered into a code sharing agreement with an Indian airline.
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