Archive for June, 2010

The founder of Sun TV Kalanithi Maran and his unlisted aviation firm Kal Airways have agreed to buy 37.7 per cent in budget airline SpiceJet Ltd andwill make an open offer for a further 20 per cent, SpiceJet said.

India’s domestic airlines carried a total of 47.85 lakh passengers in May this year as against 41.88 lakh passengers in April, an official statement said here today.

Air India has current outstanding long-term debt of about $5 billion (233 billion rupees) and is considering several steps including selling non-core assets to improve its balance sheet, said a senior executive at the loss-making carrier.

Jet Airways has entered into a code share agreement with United Airlines to provide better network connectivity between the United States and India. The agreement between Jet Airways and United Airlines will open for sale on June 17 for travel from June 30 onwards.

The recent Air India Express crash in Mangalore has hastened a slew of measures to improve the safety and efficiency of Air India flights bound for Gulf destinations.

After signing a deal to acquire 37.73 percent stake in budget carrier SpiceJet, Sun TV Network promoter Kalanithi Maran on Monday made the mandatory open offer to buy another 20 percent from the public at Rs 57.76 per share.

Bob Gower, a F/A-18 fighter plane expert, has been named as vice president of Boeing Military Aircraft division in India.

Two passenger aircraft narrowly missed a head-on collision at Mumbai’s domestic airport this month, one in a number of recent incidents that underline growing concern about the country’s aviation safety standards.

There was finally some good news for the global airline industry at the recently concluded Annual General Meeting of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) — that it is likely to post a profit of $2.5 billion in 2010.

What do you think of Maran picking up the required stake in SpiceJet at a huge discount of Rs 40 per share that’s being talked about?