20. January 2007


Date: 20. Jan. 2007
Jet Airways, India's premier airline, has rescheduled some of its flights operating from and to Delhi due to IAF fly past exercises being held from January 20 till 24, 2007 and on January 26, 2007, leading to restriction of air space over Delhi between 1100 hours and 1215 hours on these dates.
The following flights have been rescheduled on January 20, 21, 23, 24 and on January 26, 2007:
Jet Airways flight 9W 3705/3706 operating on Delhi-Vadodara-Delhi sector will depart Delhi at 0535 hours and arrive Vadodara at 0750 hours. On the return sector, flight 9W 3706 will operate from Vadodara at 0820 hours and reach Delhi at 1045 hours.
Jet Airways flight 9W 901/902 operating on Delhi-Kolkata-Delhi sector will leave Delhi at 0545 hours and arrive Kolkata at 0745 hours. On the return sector, flight 9W 902 will operate at 0825 hours from Kolkata and reach Delhi at 1040 hours.
Jet Airways flight 9W 331 operating on the Mumbai-Delhi sector will depart Mumbai at 1015 hours and arrive Delhi at 1215 hours.
Jet Airways flight 9W 3319/3320 operating on Delhi-Lucknow-Delhi sector will leave Delhi at 0845 hours and reach Lucknow at 1010 hours. On the return leg, flight 9W 3320 will operate at 1040 hours from Lucknow and arrive Delhi at 1205 hours.
Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com


Date: 20. Jan. 2007
Air Force exercises for Republic Day will affect flight operations to and from New Delhi — for a little more than an hour — till January 26. However, there will be no change in flight schedules on January 25 as the Air Force exercise will not be held that day.
The exercises, which kicked off on Saturday, will be held every day till January 24 and on January 26 — between 11 am and 12.15 pm. Civilian aircraft will not be allowed to fly over Delhi air space during the period, leading to rescheduling of some flights.
Though most airlines are yet to change their schedules, Jet Airways has rescheduled some of its flights to avoid passenger inconvenience.
Indian Airlines and Air Deccan spokespersons told HT that they were yet to reschedule any of their flights. Officials of other airlines could not be reached.
Jet Airways flights in several other domestic sectors have also been rescheduled as well as their operations in the Kathmandu and London sectors.
Kingfisher Airlines has also rescheduled a few of its flights connecting Delhi on January 21. Further rescheduling will be announced later.
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com


Date: 20. Jan. 2007
IN A move that would enable airline companies to lease and purchase aircraft at cheaper rates, the government is likely to ratify the Cape Town Convention that seeks to establish international legal regime for high-value and mobile equipment such as aircraft, railway rolling stock and space equipment. The principal objective of the convention is to ensure efficient financing of expensive mobile equipment such as aircraft.
Once India joins the Cape Town Convention , the risk attached to asset-based financing and leasing transactions of domestic airline companies is expected to go down. The civil aviation ministry has already submitted a proposal to the Cabinet seeking permission to join the Cape Town Convention.
Once the Union Cabinet approves it, India would become the 14th country in the world to join the convention.
The reduction in risk with regard to lending credit is expected to increase the availability of funds at a cheaper cost for the aviation sector. It will also broaden the spectrum financing alternatives available to aircraft operators. International creditors, bankers and financiers find it easy to lend to companies operating in countries that have ratified the convention, sources said.
The convention will also help governments whose credit in the form of sovereign guarantees or national debt is used to finance aircraft acquisitions. Civil aviation ministry believes that accession to Cape Town Convention will be in the long-term interest of domestic airlines. With increase in numbers of private airlines in the country , the system of government guarantees for purchasing aircraft is expected to diminish . The airlines, especially in the private sector, will have to depend on asset-based financing for fleet expansion.
Most private domestic carriers such as SpiceJet, IndiGo, Kingfisher Airlines, Air Deccan, Jet Airways and Air Sahara have massive expansion plans lined up. Domestic carriers are expected to buy close to 480 aircraft in five years at an estimated investment of $30 billion, that will increase the total number of aircraft in the country to 775. The accession by India to the Cape Town Convention specific to aircraft equipment will come in handy for airlines to get credit at cheaper rates.
There will be another advantage for airline firms of countries that have ratified the Cape Town Convention. They will be required to pay an exposure fee of 2% against the normal rate of 3% to the US Exim Bank. The Export-Import Bank has offered to reduce its exposure fee to 2% for international buyers in countries that ratify and implement the Cape Town Convention. Air India, for instance, is obtaining 85% of the export support credit from Exim Bank to finance its fleet acquisition plan involving 68 Boeing aircraft at a cost of $7.1 billion. Ratification of the treaty would result in substantial reduction of exposure fee to the domestic carriers.
So far, 13 countries including the US, Ethiopia , Ireland, Malaysia, Pakistan and Nigeria have ratified the convention. In order to establish uniform legal regime for high-value and mobile equipment such as aircraft, the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the protocol to the convention were adopted at a Diplomatic Conference held in Cape Town in 2001.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com


Date: 20. Jan. 2007
Private airline Jet Airways is talking to several leading private equity firms to raise $400 million (over Rs 1,760 crore) through qualified institutional placements for its aircraft acquisition plan.
The qualified institutional placements are aimed at improving the airline's balance sheet besides raising 15 per cent of the cost of its $2.5 billion bill for 20 wide-bodied aircraft for international operations and 10 Boeing 737s for domestic operations. The rest of the bill will be funded by debt.
The qualified institutional placement could result in a dilution of the promoters' equity by 10 per cent. The promoters currently hold 80 per cent in the airline.
According to Business Standard, the airline was also considering a follow-on issue or a combination of QIP investments and equity expansion. However, the airline, which reported a third-quarter profit over the trailing quarter on account of improved load factors and an aircraft sale, has dropped plans for a $500 million foreign currency convertible bonds issue.
A Jet Airways executive said the airline would extend its international operations to North America, Europe, Africa and Asia once it acquired the wide-bodied jets.
Besides its $2.5 billion acquisition programme, Jet Airways also plans to buy 10 Boeing 787-8 "Dreamliners". The biggest commercial aircraft from the Boeing family, the Dreamliner carries a listed price of $1.5 billion.
Deliveries are scheduled between July 2011 and December 2012. Investment bankers say qualified institutional placements reflect the changing investment climate in the aviation industry. For instance, reputed investment houses like the Tata Group, Istithmar PJSC and Goldman Sachs recently acquired a stake in low-cost carrier SpiceJet. "With its India-UK operations nearing break-even, investing in Jet Airways makes sense for private equity firms," said an investment banker.
Source: http://www.indiapost.com