Naresh Goyal-controlled Jet Airways has posted a net profit of Rs 3.52 crore for the three months ended June 30, while Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines has suffered a net loss of Rs 186 crore during the same period.

The contrasting fortunes of the two rivals underscored the fact that Jet Airways has been able to pull out faster from last year’s downturn. Analysts expect the private airlines to post robust growth this fiscal with the airline business growing over 22 per cent.

Jet reported a total income of Rs 2,965 crore. In the corresponding quarter of the last year, it had suffered a net loss of Rs 225.3 crore on a much lower income from operations of Rs 2,398 crore. Jet has clocked three straight quarters of profits though profit in the first quarter is lower than the previous two quarters. The airline’s net profit was Rs 58 crore in the three months ended March 31 and Rs 100 crore in the preceding quarter.

“I am a little disappointed by Jet’s performance. I expected them to post a net profit of at least $7-8 million as this has been a phenomenal three months for them,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Kingfisher Airlines Booking total revenues stood at Rs 1,685 crore in the first quarter against Rs 1,398 crore in the year-ago period.

Analysts attributed three reasons for the contrasting fortunes of the two rivals.

“Jet launched its international operations in 2005 and has done very well recently. Kingfisher Airlines Booking only bolstered its global presence in March and still has to catch up,” Kaul said.

Kingfisher is also saddled with high interest payouts that translate into a structural burden, said an analyst with a Mumbai-based brokerage. The third reason for the lower income and profit posted by Kingfisher is the size of their respective fleets.While Jet Airways has 89 aircraft, Kingfisher has 66 planes.

“Till that is sorted out, the airline will suffer,” he added. Kingfisher paid out interest of Rs 321 in the first quarter of this year compared with Rs 212 crore in the corresponding quarter of the last year.

Jet’s interest burden was not insignificant either. The airline recorded interest and finance charges of Rs 274 crore in the three months ended June 30.

The third reason for the lower income and profit posted by Kingfisher compared to Jet is the size of the respective fleets of the two rival airlines. While Jet Airways has a fleet of 89 aircraft, Kingfisher has 66 planes.

Kaul, however, expects Kingfisher to be back in the black by the end of the current fiscal as its domestic operations gain traction and its international routes stabilise.

Reports filtering in on Sunday said key members of ministerial panel under FM Pranab Mukherjee — Indian railway minister Mamata Banerjee and agriculture minister Sharad Pawar — were opposed to the idea of allowing oil companies to set pump prices in line with global markets or raise fuel prices substantially. Fertiliser minister M K Alagiri is unlikely to support any steep rise in prices, as TN goes for assembly polls next year.

read full story at – Times of India

Acsa managing director Monhla Hlahla at the weekend said the company was prioritising the East as studies showed that this was where future growth would come from.

“Even at the time when they were privatising Acsa, studies always showed that future growth would come from Asia. This was before China became big and it is beginning to show more now. Even if you talk to the airlines, they tell you that Africa is number one and Asia is number two,” Hlahla said.

Hlahla said Acsa would use the World Cup as an opportunity to market the new airport to secure as many new routes as possible. Last week, Acsa met the Beijing Airport Authority and SAA about routes between South Africa and China.

The KwaZulu-Natal government is negotiating with Jet Airways because it wants the airline to launch a direct flight between Durban and Mumbai. The Indian airline already flies from OR Tambo International Airport to Mumbai.

Emirates is the only international airline that is currently using the King Shaka airport. The R7.2 billion facility, which is housed together with the Dube Tradeport 35km outside Durban, can accommodate 7.5 million passengers a year.

President Jacob Zuma, who officially launched the airport at the weekend, added that the government’s trade strategy prioritised greater integration with countries of the South. He said the new airport and the trade hub were well positioned to capture these markets.

Since it started operating at the beginning of the month, King Shaka has seen more than 15 000 passengers come through its gates on more than 700 flights.

Hlahla said the facility had been delivered with precision and excellence by the 8 000 workers who built it from scratch over a period of 33 months. Besides ensuring that there was enough traffic coming through the airport, Hlahla highlighted two other challenges that she said still had to be addressed.

“It is about the sale of the land (the site of the old Durban International Airport). I run a small business compared with government and I need them to finalise the sale of the land so I can put the money back into the business and I can afford to pay my debts,” said Hlahla.

“The other issue is that many people don’t realise how much the aviation industry contributes to growth. We need government policy to create an enabling environment for the industry to grow and to be sustainable. I am referring to a number of things like the regulatory environment.”

Acsa is unhappy with the way that its tariffs are determined and it has approached the courts as it wants to change the regulatory structure.

Transport Minister Sbu Ndebele said the old Durban International Airport site would be used to park planes during the World Cup. The government would call for expressions of interest from the public after the tournament to source development ideas.

Zuma revived the idea of building a new international airport in Durban 16 years ago when he was MEC for economic development and tourism in KwaZulu-Natal. The plan had been opposed under the apartheid government.

“There has never been any doubt in my mind that this airport was the missing piece of the puzzle to enable growth and development in this region and for our country. More than 80 percent of our national economy is housed in the three cities of Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban,” Zuma said.

“Durban, however, was the only city that lacked the aviation infrastructure that was able to accommodate long-haul international flights,” the president added.

Besides being a connecting medium, the Jet Airways communities – www.facebook.com/jetairways and www.twitter.com/jetairways – will also provide guests with news updates about flight schedules, new customer programs, route additions, services and special offers, etc.

Mr. Nikos Kardassis, Acting CEO, Jet Airways, said, “Social Media is fast gaining prominence in a wired world and these initiatives would help Jet Airways in actively engaging and interacting with all our stakeholders. Our guests and customers will find these channels especially helpful as it will provide them with access to real-time information, leading to significantly enhanced customer satisfaction. Our presence on Facebook and Twitter will also help in generating important feedback that would help us improve the overall experience for our guests.”

“There will be fog tomorrow (Tuesday) and it will remain till noon. Foggy conditions will persist for the next few days. On Tuesday, the maximum temperature is expected to hover around 18 degrees Celsius and the minimum is expected to be around 8 degrees Celsius,” an official of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

The minimum temperature Monday was recorded at 8.2 degrees Celsius, one degree above the average for this time of the season while the maximum temperature was recorded at 18.9 degree Celsius, two degree below the season’s average.

Train services were disrupted due to thick fog in the neighbouring regions of the national capital. According to a Northern Railway spokesperson: “As many as 34 trains were rescheduled, 45 were delayed by more than three hours, and 33 were cancelled or partially cancelled.”

“Partially cancelled means that the services on a part of the route were cancelled,” the spokesman explained.

But operations at the Indira Gandhi International Airport remained unaffected by the fog.

“There was shallow fog in the morning, but it did not pose any problem in the flight operations since runway visibility remained over 1,500 metres for the main runway while it was over 1,200 metres for the new runway,” an airport official said.

However, flights to Srinagar, Amritsar and Chandigarh were delayed due to fog in those cities.

Four persons were also injured in an accident in north Delhi area Monday morning when a delivery van rammed into a scooter due to poor visibility as a result of fog.

One year ahead of the opening ceremony, Delhi is struggling to convince event organisers that it will be able to host a successful Games in a city notorious for traffic congestion, pollution and infrastructure chaos.

Delegates from the 71 teams have arrived for the general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and will take an inspection tour of the city’s preparations on Thursday.

Police warned all residents not to use most key city centre routes throughout the day, and maps published in newspapers highlighted which roads would be cleared for Games delegates between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm.

The move has not gone down well with Delhi drivers who already face congested roads and long traffic jams made worse by the hectic construction activity ahead of the Games.

“It’s a foolish idea,” said Sanjaya Gupta, 42, an executive who commutes 10 kilometres (six miles) every day by car to his office.

“It would have been good to give the delegates a taste of our traffic woes so that they realise that New Delhi is clearly unsuited to host this event next year.”

Banker Subhas Bose, 39, feared the whole city may be shut down when the Games take place.

“If they can block roads for an inspection, will they ask Delhites to stay indoors for a fortnight during the Games,” he asked.

“I will not leave home on Thursday, and maybe I will take leave town when the Games start.”

A recent study by the state-run Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) said 6 million vehicles travelled New Delhi’s roads, with 900 added every day.

Pupils at a primary school in the southern county of Cork are being asked to bring their own toilet paper to school to help save money, one of the starkest examples yet of the death of Ireland’s “Celtic Tiger” economy.

“The letter was sent out just as a way of balancing books here in the school and not intended as a demand,” said Catherine O’Neill, principal at St John’s Girls National School.

O’Neill said the request was made because of cuts to government grants for books and computers. She added that parents were responding well.

“I’ve done a quick tour of the classrooms this morning and I’d say at least half the pupils have brought them (toilet rolls) in,” she told national broadcaster RTE.

“I have no doubt that there are an enormous number of schools out there that are doing the same thing.”

NEWS SOURCE – REUTERS.COM (http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSTRE59558I20091006)

M Pandian, 40, had lost one of his dear ones in Chennai and reached IGI airport in the morning with a hope of getting a seat in any of the low-cost carriers.

“After reaching airport, he tried to get a ticket in the low-cost carriers, but the timings and the ticket prices did not suit him,” an airport official said.

With the hope of getting a low fare ticket on an Air India flight, he reached the ticketing counter where he found the ticket price to be Rs 5,059.

As he had just Rs 4,200 in cash and had no ATM or credit card, Air India officials present at the spot came to his rescue and pooled the deficit amount of Rs 800 to pay for his ticket on flight IC-429 for Chennai.

Pandian profusely thanked them for their humanitarian gesture and took the flight.