Andrzej Jeziorski/SINGAPORE
Air India, set for partial privatisation next year, is the latest Asian carrier to blame a poor first-half performance on fuel prices. Preliminary figures from the Mumbai-based carrier show a Rs283million ($6 million) operating loss for the six months to the end of September (despite a 6.5% increase in revenues toRs23 billion), compared with a Rs598 million operating profit in the period last year.
Profit from associated businesses (which took a Rs655 million loss last year) cut overall losses to Rs231 million. Air India's passenger load factors rose to 73% from 68%, and it says it would have made a profit were it not for fuel price hikes. The Indian Government plans to sell 40% of Air India - with a maximum 26% going to foreign entities.
Airbus Industrie and Boeing have meanwhile submitted "technical and financial" bids for the fleet renewal of Indian Airlines, which should lead to orders for 35-41 single aisle aircraft. The carrier's board will meet this month to discuss the proposals, but with the carrier set for privatisation a quick decision is unlikely.
Around 51%of Indian Airlines is to be sold by 31 March, and Indian sources say the company - which began evaluating fleet replacement in 1997 - may delay a decision until after its ownership has been decided. It is evaluating the Airbus A320 family, and Boeing's 717 and Next Generation 737 families. Five 737-200s are being acquired in the interim.
n Taiwan's China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways have raised their profit forecasts for the calendar year, citing favourable operating conditions. CAL lifted pre-tax profit predictions by 34%, while EVA, which upped its full-year forecast in July, is raising its call by 20%. Both carriers say they have hedged against the soaring fuel prices which have so dented the performance of other airlines.
CAL expects to turn in its "best performance in the last five years", with a pre-tax profit of NT$3 billion ($90 million) on operating revenues of NT$72.5 billion. CAL's nine-month load factors were up 3.5% to 77.5%, with passenger revenues up 6.6%. Cargo revenues soared 27.5%.
EVA's pre-tax profit forecast stands at NT$2.5 billion, on operating revenues of NT$54.5 billion. The carrier attributes its strong performance to rapid market recovery, with additional income from the launch of its Taipei-Tokyo service in September.
Source: Flight International
