Page 9 - AAA NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2016 Online Magazine

COVER STORY ASIAN AIRLINES

has a fleet of 117 aircraft, comprising Boeing
777-300 ERs, Airbus A330-200 / 300, Next
Generation Boeing 737s and ATR 72-500 /
600s. The average age of the fleet is 7.33
years and it owns 24 aircraft and operates
92 on lease. It has 68 B737 and 18 ATR in
Jet (three 600s and fifteen 500s), excluding
JetLite and a fleet of 10 B777 and 12 A330
(four of 330-300, eight 332s). Jet Airways will
also start taking deliveries of the first of 75
Boeing 737 MAX jetliners that it has on order
from 2018. Jet Airways is well placed to grow
its market share in the coming years and its
partnership with Etihad will better allow it to
weather uncertainty in the sector.

Air India
India’s national carrier Air India (AI) and
a perennial loss maker has managed to
make the best of low oil prices, to post an
operating profit of US$15 million (Rs 105 be hoping for a few more years of low fuel through the Service Bulletins/Modifications
Crore) at the end of fiscal 2016. A revitalised prices to help it cut losses. The price of jet for reliability enhancement on a regular
management that has worked hard to fuel has dropped from US$993 (Rs 67525 basis. These modifications are combined
improve on-time performance and in-flight per kl (Delhi)) in October 2014 to US$688 into Reliability Enhancement Modification
service along with aggressive fares have (Rs 46,826 per kl (Delhi)) in October this Packages,” Minister of State for Civil
allowed the airline to keep its planes full year. AI was one of the early operators of Aviation, Jayant Sinha said in August. Boeing
and reduce losses. The result is that the Boeing’s 787 ‘Dreamliner’ and the aircraft teams have visited Air India’s Mumbai facility,
struggling state-owned carrier now hopes has proven popular and profitable on the for accomplishment of these Reliability
to return to profitability by 2019, instead airline’s medium capacity long haul routes. Enhancement Modification Packages in
of 2021-2022. The airline has managed to AI’s experience with the aircraft however, phases during following durations: Phase I
reduce its net loss from approximately US$ has been soured by technical issues related (From Jan. 2013 to May 2013). Phase II (From
861 million (Rs 5859 Crore) in 2014-15 to US$ to the type. Since its induction into the Air Nov. 2013 to Jan. 2014) and Phase III (From
564 million (Rs 3836 Crore) in 2015-2016. AI India fleet, the Dreamliner aircraft have Nov. 2014 to April 2015; Nov. 2015 to Dec.
still has huge accumulated losses to the tune experienced technical reliability issues. 2015). AI’s plans to return to profitability
of USD$ 6.7 billion (Rs 46,000 crore) and will “Boeing has been addressing these issues will be impacted by intense competition
from Indian carriers such as IndiGo and Go
Air, which are already operating A320neos
on domestic routes, while AI has fallen
behind in acquiring aircraft to cater for the
rapidly growing Indian domestic market.
The airline has received approval to induct
34 aircraft in two batches (19 and 15). 14
out of the 19 aircraft from the first batch
will be A320neos which are being leased
from Kuwait based aircraft lessor ALAFCO.
Deliveries of the NEOs are to commence
early next year and the jetliners will be
powered by CFM LEAP engines.

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