Air fuel hike in holiday season makes flyers shell out more

NEW DELHI: Get ready to shell out more for flying this winter. Following the latest hike in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices, national carrier Air India has increased fuel surcharge by Rs 200 on short haul domestic routes (below 1,400km) and by Rs 300 on longer flights within the country. While other airlines did not comment on the impact the recent ATF hike would have on fares, travel industry sources say all of them have already raised ticket prices. "The impact is two-fold. Apart from higher fuel surcharge, high demand in peak travel months of January and December means that the basic fares are also in the highest slabs. So passengers will face a double whammy. Also domestic passengers flying out of Delhi have to again pay Rs 221 from Thursday as airport charge," said an official. A leading travel agent said fares till December 21 (before Christmas break) are about Rs 500-1,000 higher on an average since last month. For instance, average range of fares for flying from Delhi to Goa, Bangalore, Srinagar and Patna is Rs 6,000-8,000; Rs 5-7,000; Rs 4-5,000 and Rs 3,500-5,000, respectively. The fares in the last 10 days of this month will be higher due to peak demand in Christmas season.

Kingfisher Airlines told to pay Rs 60 lakh per day to use Mumbai airport

 MUMBAI: Mumbai airport authorities has put Kingfisher Airlines on cash-and-carry notice. From Saturday, the airline will have to start clearing the dues it owes to the Mumbai airport operator if it wants to continue landing and parking its aircraft here. The notice sent by Mumbai International Airport (Pvt) Ltd (MIAL) to Kingfisher on Thursday said it will have to pay Rs 60 lakh a day to continue using the airport facilities.
All airlines enjoy a credit-cycle and make their payment at month-end or mid-month according to the arrangement they have with the airport operator. But under the cash-and-carry regime, Kingfisher Airline will lose that privilege and will have to pay the airport operator upfront daily for the services and facilities used. 

The notice to Kingfisher read, "The airline owes dues worth Rs 90 crore to MIAL in lieu of aircraft landing/parking charges, office rentals, etc." The payment has been pending for the last six months, said a source. Aircraft landing and parking charges for the airline works out to about Rs 20 lakh a day, the source said, adding that the industry regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has been informed about the airport operator's decision. Refusing to comment on the MIAL notice, a Kingfisher Airlines spokesperson said their "flights will continue to operate as normal as per the revised schedule published on our website". "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on supplier and partner relationships," the spokesperson added. The MIAL spokesperson did not comment. This is the second time MIAL has put Kingfisher Airlines on cash-and-carry, the first was about eight months ago. Like all domestic carriers, Kingfisher Airlines too operates a large number of flights from Mumbai airport. So, the notice is a significant financial hurdle that the airline will have to cross in the next 48 hours. Kingfisher Airlines, which owes over Rs 7,000 crore to its lenders, is struggling to meet its working capital needs and so has been operating a curtailed flight schedule. The recent development comes following a similar move by the Airports Authority of India (AAI). On Thursday, AAI put the airline on cash-and-carry as its dues crossed Rs 240 crore. The airline, as reported in TOI, was earlier paying AAI once every fortnight. AAI sources said it stopped paying mid-October onwards.
All airlines enjoy a credit-cycle and make their payment at month-end. But under the cash-and-carry regime, Kingfisher will lose that privilege and will have to pay the airport operator Rs 60 lakh upfront daily for the services used.