IA asked to consider leasing 50-seater turboprop aircraft

Our Corporate Bureau

New Delhi, May 16: THE civil aviation ministry has asked Indian Airlines (IA) to consider leasing 50-seater turboprop aircraft to connect feeder routes and tourist destinations, according to Civil Aviation Minister Sharad Yadav, who was speaking at the parliamentary consultative committee meeting in Manali on Tuesday.

IA, the meeting was informed, had suffered a net loss of Rs 177 crore during the last fiscal as against a profit of Rs 28.75 crore in the previous year. These losses were primarily due to a hike in input costs like increase in sales tax on aviation turbine fuel, rise in landing and navigation charges and additional expenditure on sky marshals, which amounted to an additional burden of over Rs 300 crore, said a release.

The financial performance of Air-India was “steadily improving” with operating revenue showing a 12.3-per cent growth from Rs 3,896.40 crore during April 1999 to February 2000 to Rs 4,377 crore April 2000 to February 2001. The financial performance of Pawan Hans Helicopters Limited also improved with the net profit rising to Rs 53 crore in 2000-2001 and revenue increasing to Rs 183.97 crore during last fiscal.

However, Hotel Corporation of India, whose stakes are being divested along with those of the IA and its parent company A-I, suffered a net loss of Rs 20.30 crore last fiscal compared with a loss of only Rs 1.55 crore in the previous year. The loss was incurred primarily due to the wage revision which was effective from January 1997.