Sunday, March 18, 2012

EXCLUSIVE! Kingfisher to drastically cut fleet in restructuring plan

Neelam Mathews
March 18, 2012

Even as tax authorities are unwilling to de-freeze Kingfisher’s accounts, Aerospace Diary learns Kingfisher’s restructured fleet plan to be submitted to DGCA on March 19, has under 18 aircraft. This would mean under 100 flights a day. The airline had earlier submitted its summer schedule to DGCA which included 28 aircraft.

The aircraft will be a mix of the A320 family and ATRs, we learn.

Officially, the airline has 66 aircraft listed on its website. It is still not clear how many AOGs there are as many of the parts have been cannabalised and how many aircraft have been returned or claimed by lessors. An enquiry to Kingfisher met with no response.

With trouble on the international front, the carrier will pull out all international flights from March 25, with the possible exception of flights to London Heathrow that will be pulled out on April 10.

It is not clear if IATA will return the security deposit (for BSP) of around Rs 30 crores to Kingfisher. “Even if IATA does, one wonders how long this will last given its numerous dues to banks, lessors, oil companies, airports, and above all, its people,” said an airline official.



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