Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Jet Airways: Don't Expect Delay in Boeing 787 Delivery

Jet Airways (India) Ltd. said Wednesday it doesn't expect any delay in the delivery of its 787 Dreamliner planes from Boeing Co.

Boeing has postponed the first flight of its next-generation aircraft, scheduled to occur by the end of this month, due to structural problems that could hamper maneuverability.

"Our delivery dates are far off," Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Jet's chief executive, told Dow Jones Newswires by phone.

"Boeing might come on track with their delivery schedule. We do not foresee any delay in delivery of the planes," he said.

The latest delay is the fifth time Boeing has put off the program due to hitches in the plane's design or production.

Jet, the country's second-largest carrier by marketshare, had placed an order for 10 of the aircraft, with an option for 10 more, in December 2006. Deliveries were due to start from 2011.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Jet takes off on the low-cost, no-frills route

ew Delhi, Mumbai, June 17 To draw more passengers, Jet Airways is going the low-cost way. By end-June, 110 of its 290 flights will offer no-frills services.
No free meals

The 110 flights will be offered on Jet’s sub-brand, Konnect, launched on May 8. The on-ground and in-flight service on Konnect will be delivered by Jet Airways staff; however, travellers will have to buy their meals on board.

Jet Airways also owns JetLite low-cost airline, which will operate 109 daily flights. Thus, of the 400 daily flights, about 220 will have only the economy class.

Giving financial analysts, an indication of things to come, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, said, “For the short to medium term, the company is adapting to the existing market realities and intends to capture price-sensitive markets through Jet Konnect, in addition to the JetLite offering. These are no-frills economy class services designated to meet the needs of the of the low-fare segment.”

He said the global recession had impacted corporate travel as companies were cutting down costs and travel. “Leisure travel has been impacted.

The domestic market has shown a decline of around 10 per cent for the year ended March 2009 and as against this capacity offered has reduced only by 3 per cent for the period. Currently, yields have been on the decline due to low occupancy in business class,” he added.

The Chief Commercial Officer, Mr Sudheer Raghavan, said that with consumer demand changing rapidly in a dynamic global environment, the Konnect service will give the airline the flexibility and the speed to deploy capacity to meet these changing trends.

The service, which was launched with two Boeing 737s and six ATRs, will have a fleet of seven Boeing and 10 ATR aircraft by the end of the month.
Kingfisher too

The decision of Jet Airways to operate more flights in the no-frills economy class airlines from among its brands comes on the heels of another full-service airline, Kingfisher, going the same path, In May, Kingfisher Airlines converted more than 20 flights to Kingfisher Red, its low-cost cousin.

The decision of Jet Airways to go the low-cost road will affect several vendors including those in the catering business. “The move will result in a drop of about 25 per cent in the catering business, which means that if Jet Airways was uplifting 100 meals a day, they will now pick up only 75,” a source in the catering industry said.

The move could also affect the travel agents as their incomes can get affected due to lower fares.

SpiceJet raises fuel surcharge by Rs.400

SpiceJet raises fuel surcharge by Rs.400

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet Thursday hiked its fuel surcharge by Rs.400 following a recent hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rates.

'We have increased fuel surcharge by Rs.400 on our flights with immediate effect,' Samyukta Shreedharan, SpiceJet chief operating officer, told reporters here.

SpiceJet's decision comes two days after leading private carriers Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines announced hike in their fuel surcharge.

Both airlines raised fares by Rs.400 from Tuesday on all domestic sectors.

'The increase was necessitated by sharp increase in ATF prices by 33 percent since March 2009,' Jet said in a statement Wednesday morning.

National carrier Air India said it has not yet decided on a fare hike.

State-run oil firms hiked fuel prices by 12 percent Monday, the sixth increase since March 16. ATF now costs Rs.36,252 per kilolitre in Delhi, an increase of Rs.3,949. In Mumbai, it costs Rs.37,367 per kilolitre as compared to Rs.33,260 earlier.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Jet Airways raises fuel surcharge post-ATF hike

Jet Airways raises fuel surcharge post-ATF hike

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Carrier Jet Airways on Wednesday said it has raised the fuel surcharge on tickets by 400 rupees across all domestic sectors effective June 17.

The move comes a day after state-run oil firms raised jet fuel prices by over 12 percent from June 16, according to the website of Indian Oil Corp.'s, the country's biggest refiner.

The increase "will be applicable on all flights of Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect and JetLite," Jet Airways said in a statement.

At 11:18 a.m., shares of Jet Airways were up 3.2 percent at 270.65 rupees in the Mumbai market.

Jet Airways slips 4%

Jet Airways slips 4%

Jet Airways touched an intraday high of Rs 270 and an intraday low of Rs 261. At 10:12 am, the share was quoting at Rs 266.15, down Rs 11.4, or 4.11%.

The PSU Oil companies is going to hike jet fuel prices by average of Rs 4,079/kl from Tuesday, reports CNBC-TV18.

It was trading with volumes of 34,316 shares. Yesterday the share closed down 3.68% or Rs 10.60 at Rs 277.55.







































































Share Price Movement During The Last 12 Months
Period Price Latest Price Gain/Loss (Rs.) % Gain/Loss
3-Days 304.30 266.15 -38.15 -12.54
5-Days 305.25 266.15 -39.10 -12.81
7-Days 308.90 266.15 -42.75 -13.84
15-Days 317.10 266.15 -50.95 -16.07
1-Month 213.45 266.15 52.70 24.69
3-Month 149.20 266.15 116.95 78.38
6-Month 148.70 266.15 117.45 78.98
9-Month 511.30 266.15 -245.15 -47.95
1-Year 534.10 266.15 -267.95 -50.17




Crude shock: Jet Airways says fare hike is inevitable

Crude shock: Jet Airways says fare hike is inevitable

With oil price ruling above the USD 70 per barrel mark, the Indian aviation sector is feeling the pinch. So, will the rise in crude oil prices force Jet Airways to hike prices soon?

aroj Datta, Executive Director, Jet Airways, said sooner or later the increase in fuel prices will have to be passed on either as a hike in fares or as a fuel surcharge. “The rise in crude it is leading to increases in ATF prices. Every ATF price increase is reflected in a price increase by Indian oil companies and has an adverse impact.”

He wants the Finance Minister to reduce taxes and give ATF declared goods status.

Also see: Crude may go up to $67.3/bbl: Safetrade Advisors

Here is a verbatim transcript of the exclusive interview with Saroj Datta on CNBC-TV18. Also see the accompanying video.

Q: What about crude oil prices that are hovering around that USD 70 per barrel mark? What kind of impact is this having on the cost structures of your airlines and the sector in general?

A: Quite obviously it is leading to increases in ATF prices. Every ATF price increase is reflected in a price increase by Indian oil companies and has an adverse impact. To what extent, I won’t be able to quantify it and tell you right now, but quite obviously sooner or later it will have to be reflected in some form or the other on fares or fuel surcharge or whatever it is. Otherwise, I don’t see how airlines – I am talking about carriers, operators in India who are already making very substantial losses ‑ will be able to continue to even move towards breakeven if we don’t do anything with the fares and the fuel surcharge.

Q: As you have pointed out, ATF prices are rising and the government has clearly pointed out that don’t expect any relief from us. In that sort of a scenario, are you now saying that a fare hike is really inevitable and consumers must brace themselves?

A: My personal opinion is that it is almost inevitable. I don’t know precisely at what level fuel surcharges are today relative to what the fare levels were at that time. But as a matter of principle, logically it must reflect itself sooner or later into some form of increase. I am sure the airlines in India have been paying attention to this.

Q: One of the pending demands for this sector has been declared goods status for ATF. Do you expect that to materialise this time around?

A: We hope it will be heard. The industry has been making representations to the government about the requirement or the need to look at it and to implement it for several years now. The important point is that it has become an industry with very low yields and high import costs. In India, input cost are substantially higher than elsewhere in the world with fuel taxes being 25-26%. You have read what the Director General of IATA had to say recently about the airport and the user charges that are being levied. All of that is making it even more difficult for the airlines to breakeven. Unless the aviation industry is a self-sustaining industry, there is no way it can continue to survive. How long will it survive when it is making losses?

Some of us will have to go out of business, some will survive may be because of government support or because of enough capital available. But it is a very difficult situation that we are in. We sincerely hope that the new government and the Finance Minister will take steps to reduce taxes, make it a declared status, and give us some relief.

Q: The picture is certainly looking bleak for the aviation sector but all indications at this point suggest that the declared goods status will continue to be a long standing demand. It doesn’t seem to be on the priority as far as the government is concerned at least at this point because the states refused to play ball. But the other issue that is being discussed right now is the change as far as the FDI regulation are concerned for the sector. I know that Jet really hasn’t been in favour of opening up the sectoral cap further. Do you continue to maintain that stand?

A: We don’t see what benefit the relaxation of the FDI policy at this point will bring to the industry. The foreign airlines themselves are incurring huge losses and we don’t see why they should be interested in investing in companies which are losing money in India. The primary interest for any foreign airline to invest in Indian carriers would be nearly to get access to the Indian market more effectively than they are able to do merely through marketing arrangements and whether it will bring more capital in. So, whether it will enable the industry to do better is a very difficult question.

We don’t see an immediate need to change the policy. Let the industry do well. When the Indian carriers can negotiate on strong terms with foreign airlines in the market then may be it can be considered. But it is too early to talk of it really.

ATF Prices Up 12%, Airlines Yet To Hike Fares

ATF Prices Up 12%, Airlines Yet To Hike Fares

The aviation turbine fuel-ATF prices that constitute 40% of airlines' operating cost, were raised by 12% on the back of increasing oil prices, reported the media. However, airlines are yet to announce the hike in air fares.

State-run oil companies Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum raised aviation turbine fuel prices by Rs.3,949 to Rs 36,252 per kilolitre, effective Monday midnight. In Mumbai, the home to the nation's busiest airport, the price of the fuel will go up from Rs 33,260.8 per kilolitre to Rs 37,367 per kilolitre.

A Kingfisher spokesperson said that the impact of the hike in ATF prices on air fares is being analyzed and a decision will be taken soon. Jet Airways is also keen on a fare hike in the near future. It recently launched Jet Konnect that offers service at fares 15% lesser than Jet Airways. The other airlines are also reportedly scrutinizing the situation, but have not come out with air fare revisions.

Jet Konnect ups flights to 100 per day

Jet Konnect ups flights to 100 per day

Jet Airways Konnect, an all economy service run by Jet Airways (India), has increased the number of flights by over 60 per cent within a month of operation to 100 per day.
The increased frequency kicks in with effect from Monday. Konnect was launched with 62 flights on May 8, this year. On June 12, the Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier increased the flights further to 92. The steady month-on-month increase in flights is symptomatic of the pressure facing the struggling aviation industry in India that is desperately seeking to woo travellers with discount pricing. Jet, which is known as a premium airline, wants to limit the dilution of its brand equity and has therefore come up with a new brand to compete in price wars, industry experts said. Jet Airways also controls the economy carrier JetLite. Senior Jet Airways officials told Financial Chronicle that they are introducing Konnect services on price-sensitive routes where lower fares are likely to spur increased occupancy that could help the airline break even and perhaps even earn profits.
“The company has seen an increase in bookings by 35 per cent and the occupancy has also gone up from 50 per cent to 70 per cent for the low cost service,” said Ragini Chopra, vice-president – corporate communications, Jet Airways (India).
The company plans to add four Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a phased manner from June 16, 2009 for the Konnect offering. With the introduction of these new aircraft, Konnect will have a fleet of seven Boeing 737-800 and 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft.
Chopra said the airline has enhanced the capacity in the Boeing 737-800 aircraft by removing the business class seats. “Some aircraft will be able to seat 176, while some can accommodate around 168 passengers,” she said.
When asked, whether the company is planning to increase its fares due to
rising crude oil prices, Chopra said, “Nothing
has been decided on fare hikes. We are watching
the market condition based on which we will take a decision.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Jet, SpiceJet offer monsoon specials

Jet, SpiceJet offer monsoon specials

Jet Airways, Jet Konnect, JetLite and SpiceJet are offering special fares for a limited period ending June 13. Spice’s offer is between June 10 and 12.

Jet Airways Konnect, JetLite and Jet Airways Konnect have introduced special all-inclusive fares on several key routes valid for travel between July 1 and September 30.

As for SpiceJet, the offer is valid for travel between July 1 and September 15 to all 18 destinations on its direct flight network.

Also Read: Don't see stimulus for aviation in Budget: Praful Patel

Some of the all-inclusive fares ex-Mumbai being offered by SpiceJet are Delhi for Rs 1,830, Ahmedabad for Rs 1,330, Bangalore for Rs 1,530, Kolkata 1,830 etc.

JetLite offers an all-inclusive fare of Rs 1,300 on routes including the Imphal / Kolkata-Guwahati, and Mumbai-Nagpur/ Hyderabad sectors among others.

Jet Airways offers an all-inclusive fare of Rs 1,650 on routes including the Chennai-Bangalore, and Mumbai-Vadodara/Ahmedabad/Hyderabad/Goa sectors.

Jet Airways Konnect service offers an all-inclusive fare of Rs 1,300 on routes including the Kolkata-Agartala, Bangalore-Hyderabad and Chennai-Hyderabad sectors. Fare on routes including the Mumbai-Bangalore/Jaipur sectors is Rs 1,600. The fare is Rs 1,900 on routes including the Mumbai-Chennai/Kochi sectors.

Jet Airways Konnect to add 30 new flights

Jet Konnect to add 30 new flights

Jet Airways Konnect, the all-economy service launched by Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways Konnect last month, will enhance its network to include 30 new flights to its current pan-India network of 62 daily flights effective June 13, said a statement.

With the launch of these new services, Jet Konnect will link Hyderabad and Thiruvananthapuram with Chennai, while enhancing current services on the Coimbatore-Chennai sector.

Jet Airways Konnect will also introduce services from Thiruvananthapuram and Mumbai to Bangalore, while enhancing existing services on the Hyderabad-Bangalore sector. This service currently links several destinations, including Kochi, Pune, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Bhopal, Amritsar, Jorhat, Agartala and Guwahati with five major metros - Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai.

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The Jet Airways Konnect service will operate with a fleet of 10 ATR 72-500 and three Boeing 737-800 aircraft on key domestic routes across India, the statement added. Jet Konnect airline started this service with six ATRs and two B737s on May 8.