Will do everything possible to recover KFA dues: SBI

SBI is the largest lender to the near-bankrupt airline with an NAP exposure of Rs 1,580 crore

Lead lender to Kingfisher Airlines SBI today said banks would do everything possible to recover their money.

"We will do whatever is appropriate in the best interest of the group of banks," State Bank of India (SBI) Managing Director, Mid-corporates, S Vishwanathan told reporters here

He said every effort would be made at recovering the maximum amount "by all possible methods" which includes letting the company run again, winding up the company, sale of assets or sale of the company itself.

When asked whether the airline, which has been on a partial lockout since the past fortnight, can fly again, Vishwanathan, quipped "that is one of the alternatives."

SBI is the largest lender to the near-bankrupt airline with an NAP exposure of Rs 1,580 crore and the interest which has not been serviced since January.

Banks, which declared Kingfisher as a non-performing asset in January this year, gave a succour to the carrier in the face of the employee strike by agreeing to release around Rs 60 crore last week from an escrow account.

The banks have, however, flatly refused the airline's request for fresh loans and asked it to come up with a revival plan by end of October and the future strategies will depend on that, Vishwanathan said today.

Last week, the aviation regulator DGCA had slapped a show-cause notice to the otherwise flamboyant liquor baron Vijay Mallya-promoted airline threatening to revoke its flying licence due to continuing strike by its employees.

Vishwanathan, who was earlier heading SBI Caps, which was preparing turnaround plan for Kingfisher, was moved back to the bank as a deputy managing director and last week he was promoted as the managing director for mid-corporates at SBI.

Mallya, who is also the promoter chairman of the liquor giants United Spirits and Unit Breweries, is desperately trying to raise funds to save Kingfisher Airlines.

Kingfisher, which was till last year the No 2 airline, is down to the last slot in market share and has not posted profits since its launch in May 2005.

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/will-do-everything-possible-to-recover-kfa-dues-sbi/190884/on

Kingfisher Airlines shutdown will lead to further consolidation in the industry: Report

airlines are seen posting a sharp recovery in the third quarter mainly on the back of a stronger rupeeand capacity rationalisation due to the grounding of KingfisherBSE -0.44 % Airlines, according to a Bank of America Merrill Lynch report.

The report said the onset of the busy season will improve utilisation and yields while the grounding of debt-laden Kingfisher AirlinesBSE -0.44 % will lead to further consolidation in the industry.

"While we expect weak Q2 FY13 results on account of seasonality, we could see a sharper than expected recovery in the seasonally strong Q3," it said.

According to Merrill Lynch, concerns over the Indian currency have eased for now as the rupee has appreciated 6% versus the dollar over the past five weeks. "A significant portion of domestic airlines' costs are US$ denominated and each 1% appreciation in the rupee improves FY13 E EBITDAR by 0.4%, 1.8% for Jet AirwaysBSE 2.29 %and SpiceJet, respectively. Appreciating rupee will also have an indirect impact through the prices of domestic fuel."

The estimates for FY13 are based on an exchange rate of Rs 54/ dollar and $125/bbl for JetKero. The report also points to the temporary shutdown of Kingfisher as a positive.

"This is another marginal positive for the remaining carriers as this further consolidates the industry and eases supply prior to the busy season. We do not expect Kingfisher to normalise its operations in the near term," the report added.

The report, however, does not see significant capacity addition in the near term due to the grounding of Vijay Mallya-owned Kingfisher Airlines, as Indian carriers are not renewing the expired leases and are also sub-leasing aircraft to keep capacity under check.

"As per our channel checks, over the next three months, we expect an addition of 5-6 aircraft, most of which will be utilised in the underserved international routes," the report, drafted by DSP Merrill Lynch India's research analysts Anand Kumar and S Arun said.

Jet Airways and SpiceJet posted first quarter profits of Rs 25 crore and Rs 56 crore, respectively, after incurring successive quarterly losses.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/indian-carriers-to-benefit-from-temporary-shutdown-of-kingfisher-boa-ml/articleshow/16781241.cms

Kingfisher extends lockout to 20 Oct

Mumbai/Delhi: Vijay Mallya-controlled Kingfisher Airlines Ltd extended its lockout to 20 October, continuing the shut-down that began on 1 October because of employee unrest over unpaid salaries.

The lockout was to have ended Friday but that had looked unlikely as the airline hadn’t submitted a revival plan that the regulator had sought before being allowed to resume services.

“Kingfisher Airlines regrets to announce that the partial lockout declared on October 1st, 2012, as a result of employee-related issues is being extended until October 20th, 2012,” the airline said in a release on Friday. “The company is continuing to work with and appeal to the employees striking work to return to work so that the airline can share its resumption plan with DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and gain their concurrence.”

The carrier said it was hopeful of resuming operations on 21 October.

Mint reported on 10 October that Kingfisher Airlines was likely to extend its lockout and had suspended ticket sales until 20 October. The management has written to the employees seeking a meeting on Monday.

“In an effort to bring closure to the current situation, we would like to invite a representative from each base to meet senior officials from UB Group on Monday,” Hitesh Patel, vice-president, engineering, Kingfisher, said in a late Friday email referring to the Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi bases. “The meeting will take place in Mumbai. The time and location will be communicated shortly.”

Kingfisher had been selling tickets for flights from 13 October onwards, when DGCA asked it to stop doing so on 9 October.

DGCA sent a show-cause notice on 5 October to Kingfisher asking the carrier why its licence should not be cancelled. The airline has to reply to that by 20 October.

“All flights are subject to regulatory approval,” the Kingfisher Airlines website cautions fliers.

http://www.livemint.com/Companies/BllbAxQVCO1UMYBI8pGdrJ/Kingfisher-extends-lockout-to-20-Oct.html

Court orders arrest of Kingfisher Airlines boss

MUMBAI, India (AP) — An Indian court Friday ordered the arrest of the highflying owner of Kingfisher Airlines for bouncing checks, adding to the beleaguered airline's woes as its struggles to resume flights that have been grounded since the start of the month.

The cash-strapped airline has stopped selling tickets on its website through Oct. 20 and is still trying to convince pilots and engineers who haven't been paid for months to return to work. The airline had promised to resume flights on Friday.

A court in the southern city of Hyderabad issued an arrest warrant for Vijay Mallya on charges his airline bounced four checks worth over 103 million rupees ($1.9 million) to the consortium running the airport in the city. The money was meant to cover landing, parking and navigation fees at the airport.

Kingfisher can approach a higher court for a temporary stay on the arrest warrant and it's unlikely that Mallya faces immediate arrest. But it wasn't clear what his next move would be.

"We have not been served with any warrants," said Prakash Mirpuri, Kingfisher's vice president for corporate communications in an email sent Friday afternoon.

Industrialist Mallya is famous for his flashy lifestyle and lavish parties attended by fashion models, Bollywood movie stars and cricket players. Mallya's United Brewery Group is India's largest brewer and owns other businesses in industries from chemicals to information technology. He also owns Force India — an F1 team and Royal Challengers, a cricket team that plays in the Indian Premier League. Mallya's net worth is $1 billion, according to Forbes.

Kingfisher, once one of India's best airlines, is now battling for a lifeline with India's airline regulator, which has asked the company to explain why its license shouldn't be revoked. The company is also drowning in debt.

The Center for Asia Pacific Aviation, an airline industry research group, puts Kingfisher's outstanding debt at $2.5 billion, including about $1.1 billion in bank debt, and says its accumulated losses swelled to $1.9 billion by the end of June.

Kingfisher maintains that it will be able to engineer a turnaround and has pledged to provide India's aviation regulator with a "comprehensive plan for restoration of services after negotiations with our employees" by Oct. 20.

The company hasn't made a profit since it was founded in 2005, according to FactSet, a financial information provider.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-10-12/kingfisher-likely-to-halt-flights-through-oct-dot-20

Wreck of aircraft downed by LTTE found

Sri Lankan Navy said on Friday that it had found the wreck of a passenger aircraft shot down by the LTTE 14 years ago.

“On the request of the Terrorist Investigation Division (TID), Navy surveyed the sea bed off the Iranativu island in the northern sea and located some wreckages of a plane,” said Navy spokesman Kosala Warnakulasuriya.

An AN-24 Russian-built passenger aircraft, operated by privately-owned Lion Air, was believed to have been shot down by the LTTE on September 29, 1998.

It took off from the military airport at Palaly in the northern Jaffna peninsula with 48 passengers, six crew members and two Ukrainian pilots heading for Jaffna. The plane went off the radar 10 minutes into take-off. All on board were killed in the crash.

LTTE shot down a series of Sri Lankan Air Force and civilian aircraft between 1995 and 1998

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/wreck-of-aircraft-downed-by-ltte-found/article3993161.ece

Moscow admits to radars on aircraft

The Syrian passenger aircraft forced to land in Turkey did not carry any weapons but had some spare parts for Syrian radars, the Russian Foreign Minister has said.

“There were, of course, no weapons on the plane and could not have been any,” Sergei Lavrov told journalists in Moscow on Friday.

“The plane carried electro-technical parts for radars, which is dual purpose equipment, but is not banned by any international conventions,” the Russian Foreign Minister added.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had earlier alleged that the aircraft had military equipment and ammunition on board.

‘No reply’

Moscow said on Friday it had not received any reply from Ankara to its demand for explanation on the airliner’s detention which “put to risk” the lives of 17 Russian citizens travelling from Moscow to Damascus.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/moscow-admits-to-radars-on-aircraft/article3993160.ece

MLA defends Aranmula airport project

Aranmula MLA K. Sivadasan Nair has said that he has been supporting the proposed Aranmula airport project considering its development potential for the region.

In a statement here on Friday, the legislator refuted the contention that the airport project would bring doom to Aranmula and said that he could not understand the logic behind the clamour against the project. He decried the Communist Party of India (CPI) district secretary’s denigration of the people’s representatives who were supporting the project. The people of Aranmula were aware what stand the party and the secretary would have taken had the party been in power, he said.

Call to make stand clear

The Congress lawmaker asked the CPI to make its stand clear on the former Industries Minister Elamaram Karim’s statement that the project had been cleared by the previous Left Democratic Front government. He said that a vast expanse of the paddy field had been converted in Aranmula while the CPI was at the helm of affairs in the departments of agriculture and revenue.

Being the people’s representative, it was his responsibility to implement the proposed airport project in compliance with the laws of the land, the MLA said asserting that no one could prevent him from doing so by hurling baseless allegations.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/mla-defends-aranmula-airport-project/article3993636.ece

HAL signs design contract for Multirole Transport Aircraft

Contract inked with UAC-TA of Russia and joint venture partner MTAL

The $600-million Indo-Russian military transport aircraft project, the Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA), moved a significant step forward, with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and its two partners signing the initial design phase contract in New Delhi on Friday.

The agreement comes ahead of the state visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin, beginning on October 31.

The Bangalore-based HAL inked the contract with the United Aircraft Corporation-Transport Aircraft (UAC-TA) of Russia, and their 50:50 joint venture partner, Multirole Transport Aircraft Ltd (MTAL). The three signed the earlier general contract in May this year.

The MTA, when developed, will have ready market for 205 aircraft — 45 for the Indian Air Force, 100 for the Russian Air Force, and 60 more for exporting to friendly countries.

The 15-20-tonne aircraft is meant to transport troops and cargo, paradrop or airdrop supplies, including a ‘low-altitude parachute extraction system’.

It will be developed by HAL, UAC and the Russian Defence export arm, Rosoboronexport, through MTAL.

“HAL and UAC-TA will start the initial design work immediately in Moscow. A HAL team, consisting of 30 designers, will be positioned at UAC-TA,” a HAL release said, citing HAL’s Chairman R.K. Tyagi, who was present at the signing event. The 10-month initial design phase will be followed by a Detailed Design Phase contract (DDP), under which the design of the plane will be finalised.

Initiated in November 2007, the MTA project is meant to make the country self-reliant in the design, development and production of transport aircraft of this dimension, and the experience required to manage a large number of global suppliers.

The latest contract was signed by T. Suvarnaraju, HAL’s Director (Design and Development), and S. Velmozhkin, General Director, UAC-TA.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/hal-signs-design-contract-for-multirole-transport-aircraft/article3993177.ece

No airport development fee at Chennai, Kolkata

The Centre on Friday directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) not to levy airport development fee on passengers at the Chennai and Kolkata airports.

“Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has directed the AAI not to propose any such fee on the passengers,” the Ministry said in a statement.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/no-airport-development-fee-at-chennai-kolkata/article3993307.ece

Stronger rupee, Kingfisher woes to aid airlines in Q3, says report

Higher utilisation, yields in busy season to also benefit carriers in near term

Mumbai, Oct 12:  

Airline companies will benefit in the near term from an appreciating rupee, temporary shutdown of Kingfisher, capacity discipline and improvement in utilisations and yields due to the onset of the busy season, according to a report by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

“While we expect a weak second quarter of FY13 results on account of seasonality, we could see a sharper-than-expected recovery in the seasonally strong third quarter,” the report added.

The rupee has appreciated six per cent against the dollar over the past five weeks. The report said that a significant portion of domestic airlines’ costs are dollar-denominated and each percentage point appreciation in the rupee improves the FY13 EBITDA by 0.4 per cent and 1.8 per cent for Jet Airways and SpiceJet, respectively.

Shutdown

The temporary shutdown of Kingfisher Airlines (3 per cent market share) is another marginal positive for the other carriers as this further consolidates the industry and eases supply prior to the busy season, the report highlighted. Additionally, the show-cause notice by the aviation sector regulator puts a question mark on Kingfisher’s return.

“We do not expect Kingfisher to normalise its operations in the near term. Despite Kingfisher’s temporary shutdown, none of the carriers are rushing to add capacity,” the report added.

Indian carriers are not renewing expired leases. They are also sub-leasing aircraft in order to keep the capacity under check. “As per our channel checks, over the next 3 months, we expect addition of 5-6 aircraft, most of which will be utilised in the underserved international routes,” the report noted .

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/article3992447.ece

Warrants issued against Vijay Mallya, Kingfisher in cheque bounce case

Hyderabad, Oct. 12:  

In a case of bouncing of cheques totalling Rs 10.50 crore, non-bailable warrants (NBWs) were issued against Kingfisher Airlines, its Chairman Vijay Mallya and four of its officials by a designated court in Hyderabad today.

The 13 {+t} {+h} Special Magistrate Court ordered the issue of the NBWs as they failed to appear before the court.

The case pertains to an agreement between the GMR Hyderabad International Airport Limited (GHIAL) and Kingfisher Airlines to collect user charges for parking, navigation and landing from Kingfisher Airlines.

From January 2012, Kingfisher was not remitting the money. When GHIAL demanded, they issued the amount in four tranches (cheques) for Rs 10.50 crore.

In a statement, GHIAL said it filed four cheque bounce cases against Kingfisher Airlines.

The cases were listed today for the airline to appear in the court. GHIAL said at this stage it would not like to comment more.

According to sources, similar cases of cheque bounce are pending in Mumbai and New Delhi courts against the Kingfisher Airlines .

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article3992425.ece

No airport development fee in Chennai, Kolkata

New Delhi, Oct. 12:  

In a relief to passengers flying from Chennai and Kolkata, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has directed the Airports Authority of India (AAI) not to impose any airport development fee (ADF).

The State-owned airports planned to levy an ADF of Rs 300 on each passenger departing on a domestic flight and Rs 1,000 on every passenger catching an international flight.

The proposal had been approved by the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA), the independent airport regulator appointed by the Government to look at airport charges.

AERA will now determine only user development fee (UDF) and other tariffs, such as landing and parking charges, and no ADF will be charged from passengers flying from Kolkata and Chennai airports, even after modernisation is complete.

Modernisation

Modernisation and expansion of Kolkata and Chennai airports are taking place at a cost of Rs 2,325 crore and Rs 2,015 crore, respectively.

In a consultation paper on ADF proposals put up in the public domain, AERA officials warned that any delay in levying the charges would result in passengers paying more to travel through the two airports at a later date.

No extra burden

On Friday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a statement saying that AAI had now submitted proposals to AERA without incorporating ADF. “The directive on ADF is in line with the stated objective of the Government to make air travel affordable and to ensure that passengers are not subjected to any extra burden,” it added.

Incidentally, passengers taking a domestic flight from Delhi now pay Rs 200 while international flyers are charged Rs 1,300. Similarly, Mumbai charges Rs 100 from each domestic passenger and Rs 600 from an international traveller.

The airports in both the metro cities are being modernised by a consortium headed by private company.

In Delhi, the Bangalore-based GMR Group leads the consortium while a GVK-led team is undertaking the modernisation of Mumbai airport.

Officials of neither AAI nor AERA were available for comments.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/article3992433.ece

Syrian plane carried Russian munitions, says Turkey

Istanbul:Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday a Syrian passenger plane forced to land in Ankara was carrying Russian-made munitions destined for Syria's armed forces, ratcheting up tension with his country's war-torn neighbour.

Damascus said the plane had been carrying legitimate cargo and described Turkey's actions as an act of "air piracy", while Moscow accused Ankara of endangering the lives of Russian passengers when it intercepted the jet late on Wednesday.

The grounding of the plane was another sign of Ankara's growing assertiveness towards the crisis in Syria. Turkey's chief of staff warned on Wednesday the military would use greater force if Syrian shells continued to land in Turkey.

"This was munitions from the Russian equivalent of our Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation being sent to the Syrian Defence Ministry," Erdogan told a news conference.

A spokeswoman for Moscow's Vnukovo airport told state news agency Itar-Tass everything put on the plane had cleared customs and security checks and no prohibited items were on board.

Asked about Erdogan's statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry referred to her remarks and declined further comment.

Russia's arms export agency said it had no cargo on the flight, and the Interfax news agency quoted a Russian diplomat as saying the cargo seized by Turkey was not of Russian origin.

Syrian Arab Airlines chief Ghaida Abdulatif said in Damascus the plane had been carrying civilian electrical equipment.

Turkey has become one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's harshest critics during a 19-month-old uprising that has killed some 30,000 people, providing sanctuary for rebel officers and pushing for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.

Russia has stood behind Assad and an arms industry source said Moscow had not stopped its weapons exports to Damascus.

Military jets escorted the Airbus A-320, carrying around 30 passengers, into Ankara airport after Turkey received an intelligence tip-off. The Turkish foreign ministry said the plane had been given a chance to turn back towards Russia while still over the Black Sea, but the pilot chose not to do so.

"This hostile and deplorable Turkish act is an additional indication of the hostile policy of Erdogan's government," Syria's foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Ankara of "harbouring terrorists" and allowing them to infiltrate Syria.

The Syrian conflict threatens to suck in neighbouring states and exposes the deep Sunni-Shi'ite rift in the Middle East.

Two Sunni Islamist rebel groups said late on Thursday they had detonated bombs in a state security compound in central Damascus. Lebanon's Shi'ite Hezbollah group - which, like Syria's rulers, is allied with Shi'ite Iran - meanwhile denied sending fighters to aid Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had been expected to visit Turkey at the start of next week but Turkish officials said hours before the plane was grounded that Russia had requested the visit be postponed, citing his heavy work schedule.

"BRUTAL MASSACRES"

Turkey said it would stop more Syrian civilian aircraft using its airspace if necessary and instructed Turkish passenger planes to avoid Syrian airspace, saying it was no longer safe.

"We are determined to control weapons transfers to a regime that carries out such brutal massacres against civilians. It is unacceptable that such a transfer is made using our airspace," Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

Turkey has boosted its troop presence along the 900-km (560-mile) border and returned fire in response to shelling from northern Syria, where Assad's forces have been battling rebels.

Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel said on Wednesday his troops would respond "with greater force" if Syrian shelling continued and parliament last week authorised the deployment of troops outside Turkish territory.

Such approval has in the past been used for strikes against Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq. In 2008 Turkey sent 10,000 troops backed by air power over the border.

Some 25 fighter planes were sent to a military base in the southern city of Diyarbakir, around 100 km from the Syrian border, on Monday, the Dogan news agency said.

Syrian refugees fleeing across a river into Turkey spoke of chaos as Syrian government forces battled rebels for control of the area around their home town of Azmarin on Thursday.

Loudspeakers in Azmarin, audible from Hacipasa on the Turkish side, called on rebel fighters to give up.

"Give up your weapons. Come and surrender. We are coming with tanks and planes," they said between bursts of mortar fire.

RISKS OF DEEPER INVOLVEMENT

Turkey has made clear that beyond like-for-like retaliation it has no appetite for unilateral intervention in Syria. Such a move would be fraught with risks.

Turkey relies on Russia, which has blocked tougher UN resolutions against Damascus, both for energy needs and to help realise its ambitions to be a hub for energy supplies to Europe.

Many Turks see Russia as harbouring sympathy towards the militant Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), which has stepped up violence in southeast Turkey in recent months. Turkish officials believe Syria and Iran have also been backing the group.

"We get 80 per cent of our natural gas from Iran and Russia. Already the PKK card is being used by Iran against Turkey ... so the risks for Turkey of being involved in even a limited operation are huge," Ulgen said.

The establishment of foreign-protected safe zones in Syria would be hazardous, with the exit strategy for foreign forces dependent on the Syrian opposition's ability to topple Assad.

The opposition is deeply divided. Organisers of a Qatar conference aimed at uniting it said on Thursday it had been postponed until they can agree on fair representation for disparate groups.

The Syrian rebels are outgunned by the government but can still strike at will, while Assad has assumed personal command of his forces, convinced he can prevail militarily.

"The earlier Bashar goes, the easier the transition in Syria will be," French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.

"The longer it lasts, the greater the risk of civil war, chaos and partition. I refuse to accept that."

Rebels attacked a Syrian army base near the main northern highway on Thursday to try to consolidate their control over the supply line to Aleppo, days after capturing a strategic town in the area, opposition activists said.

They used at least one tank seized from the army, as well as rocket-propelled grenades and mortar bombs, to hit the Wadi al-Deif base, three km east of the town of Maarat al-Nuaman, which they captured this week, they said.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/syrian-plane-carried-russian-munitions-says-turkey/300003-2.html

Turkey forces Syria plane to land, makes Russia see red

ISTANBUL: Moscow accused Ankara of endangering Russian lives on Thursday after Turkey forced a Syrian passenger plane to land and seized what it suspected was military equipment being ferried from Russia to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Damascussaid intercepting the Syrian Air plane was an act of piracy, further heightening tensions between the neighbours after Turkey's chief of staff warned Ankara would use greater force if shells from Syriacontinued to hit Turkish territory.

The grounding of the plane was another sign of Ankara's growing assertiveness over the crisis in Syria following almost a week of retaliation by its armed forces to gunfire and shelling spilling across the border.

"Turkey has crossed a new threshold," said former Turkish diplomat Sinan Ulgen, chairman of the Centre for Economic and Foreign Policy Studies think-tank.

"With the action they took last week the government is in the slightly more comfortable position of having shown it has the strength to retaliate."

Military jets escorted the Damascus-bound AirbusA-320, which was carrying around 30 passengers from Moscow, into Ankara airport late on Wednesday after Turkey received intelligence that it was carrying "non-civilian cargo". The Turkish foreign ministry said the plane had been given a chance to turn back towards Russia while still over the Black Sea, but the pilot chose not to do so.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/middle-east/Turkey-forces-Syria-plane-to-land-makes-Russia-see-red/articleshow/16776439.cms

Airport authority may gift Perunelli a new fish market

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Airports Authority of India is looking at constructing a modern fish market at Perunnelli near Muttathara as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity. The authority has initiated talks with the Loyola College of Social Sciences to undertake a baseline study for the project, which will also help it contain the bird menace at the airport.

The Department of Public Enterprises had issued revised guidelines in April 2010 to be followed by profit-making PSUs to donate a part of their income for social projects as part of the CSR activity. "The DPE circular states that there should be no duplication of the CSR project with either central, state or local government initiatives, and the AAI has been grappling with bird menace at the airport. So we decided to go ahead and construct a sheltered space and a waste disposal unit to contain the issue," an AAI official said.

Fr Joye James, who is part of the project, said he had visited the market site along with his colleagues from Loyola. "It could be done. Our initial estimate was about people and we realised that there are 55 people engaged in selling fish between 8 am and 11 pm and 48 vegetable sellers. There is 21 cents and we need to work this out carefully," he said.

The Loyola College team will take 10 days to compile data from a questionnaire and hold focused group discussion while the AAI officials will work in the field, handing out questionnaires and meeting people to explain the project. "The corporation has been informed and they have no objection with our CSR project. The finance, engineering and operational departments will execute the project. Ancillary services like solid waste management will also be incorporated in the project study," the official said.

A biogas plant can generate electricity and this will help in operating the market even after sunset, Fr James said, adding that he was awaiting the final word from AAI on the project.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/Airport-authority-may-gift-Perunelli-a-new-fish-market/articleshow/16777479.cms

Banks tighten noose around Kingfisher Airlines

Commercial banks which have lent over Rs.7,000 crore to Kingfisher Airlines are closely monitoring the situation and are tightening the noose around its promoter to protect their interest.

They may take drastic steps, including auctioning the mortgaged assets or selling pledged shares in case the airline fails to come up with a revival plan in the next three weeks.

State Bank of India (SBI), the lead banker of the 17 member lenders’ consortium, with exposures of over Rs.1,400 crore to Kingfisher, said it was concerned about the current situation and was waiting to hear from the management.

“We are talking to them daily. It (the lock out) is a matter of concern but what we can do? Our efforts are on to recover the maximum by all possible means,” said S. Visvanathan, Managing Director, SBI. “The banks are looking at all aspects to ensure that money given to them (Kingfisher) will be recovered,” Mr. Visvanathan added. By the end of this month, Kingfisher should come up with a revival plan which the banks will closely examine. SBI Caps has been entrusted with this task but banks have made it clear that there will be no morerestructuring this time. The airline has told banks that the loans could be repaid by flying all the aircraft to generate money and by roping in a foreign partner. “Let us not second guess. They will come out with something. Our effort is to ensure that our interest is protected at all costs,” the SBI MD said.

The banks also confirmed that Rs.60 crore had been released to Kingfisher from an escrow account that was de-frozen by the tax authorities. However, the airline has not paid salary to employees so far. “We are still waiting to hear from the management. We don’t know what is Mr. Vijay Mallya upto? He is not saying any thing,” said a striking employee.

Meanwhile, the lock out is expected to be extended till October 20. The deadline of the DGCA show cause notice ends on October 19.

http://www.thehindu.com/business/companies/banks-tighten-noose-around-kingfisher-airlines/article3988517.ece

Pvt airlines keen on flying abroad from Mangalore

International airport tag will help Mangalore to attract private carriers, according to M.R. Vasudeva, Airport Director, Airports Authority of India, Mangalore.

Speaking at a ‘meet-the-press’ programme organised by the Dakshina Kannada District Working Journalists’ Union here on Thursday, he said that three-four private airlines may start operating from Mangalore to Gulf destinations by March 2013.

Though there may not be a sudden jump in passenger numbers immediately, the airport should see good growth in passenger movements by 2013-14, he said. The airport handled 9.30 lakh passengers during 2011-12.

Some of the foreign carriers have shown interest in operating from Mangalore to destinations such as Dubai, he said. At present, Air India Express is the only carrier that connects Mangalore with Gulf destinations.

The October 4 Cabinet meeting had taken a decision to accord international airport status to Mangalore. Mangalore airport was declared a Customs aerodrome in May 2006. This enabled the airport to operate international flights to Gulf destinations.

To a query on domestic flights, Vasudeva said Jet Airways will operate a morning flight to Mumbai from October 28.

With this, the total number of daily flights by different carriers from Mangalore to Mumbai will increase to five.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-others/tp-states/article3988983.ece

‘Will do whatever appropriate’ to recover Kingfisher loan: SBI

State Bank of India on Thursday said it will do whatever appropriate to recover the loans that banks have made to the beleaguered Kingfisher Airlines (KFA).

The cash-strapped airline owes about Rs 7,000 crore to a consortium of 17 banks, including SBI, IDBI Bank, Bank of Baroda and Bank of India.

SBI Managing Director S. Visvanathan said: “Our effort is to recover the maximum from the company by all possible methods. There are many methods by which we (banks) recover money.

“We let the company run and they give us the money back. We wind up the company, sell the assets and get the money back. We sell the company itself and get the money back. We will do whatever is appropriate in the best interest of the group of banks.”

Pointing out that SBI had fully provided for its exposure of about Rs 1,500 crore to KFA, the top SBI official said “(from now on) we are only going to look to the upside, if there is any.”

Banks are looking at KFA from all aspects to ensure that the money that has been lent to it is recovered.

The current lock-out at the airline due to strike by pilots and engineers is a concern, said Visvanathan. He added that the revival plan (to resume operations) will be shared by KFA in the third or fourth week of this month.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-money-banking/article3988973.ece

Mumbai airport handled nearly 31 m flyers last year, says report

The Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) in Mumbai served 30.7 million passengers in 2011-12 against 29 million the previous year, according to a corporate sustainability report by Mumbai International Airport Pvt Ltd (MIAL), the airport operator.

The airport transported 657,000 tonnes of cargo in 2011-12, down from 670,000 tonnes in 2010-11, the report added. CSIA became the first airport in India to report on sustainability, which complies with the international standards of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

Detailed disclosure

The report contains detailed disclosures on the performance of MIAL based on key sustainability parameters such as economic, environment and social performance.

“As part of modernisation, we have many plans in store for the coming years. The construction of our new integrated ‘green’ terminal will increase our passenger handling capacity to 40 million,” said R.K. Jain, CEO, MIAL.

The biggest investment by MIAL is in the ongoing construction of a new terminal at Sahar.

When complete, this new Common User Terminal will cover a land area of 2.10 lakh square metres and will replace the existing international terminal.

The terminal itself will have an area of 4.39 lakh square metres spread over four levels and will include new taxiways and areas for aircraft parking.

The entire project is estimated to cost Rs 9,800 crore and employ over 12,000 workers, the sustainability report added.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/todays-paper/tp-logistics/article3988951.ece