Air India signs codeshare accord with largest Japanese carrier
Air India, India’s leading global airline, and All Nippon Airways, the largest Japanese carrier, have signed a codeshare agreement connecting their networks.
Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) oil companies resumed jet fuel supplies to cash-strapped Air India on Saturday following talks mediated by the government, an official spokesperson said.
Supplies to Air India resumed from Saturday evening, he said. Declining to give details of the agreement reached at talks earlier this week, the spokesperson said Air India has agreed to payment terms for future ATF purchases.
Indian Oil Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) on August 22 afternoon stopped fuel supplies to Air India at six airports of Kochi, Mohali, Pune, Patna, Ranchi and Vizag over payment defaults.
Advertisement
According to the three fuel retailers, Air India owed Rs5,000 crore in unpaid fuel bills with payments being delayed by almost eight months.The overdue amount includes the interest accrued on the outstanding dues.
Air India has a 90-day credit period, which means the aviation turbine fuel (ATF) it buys on a given day has to be paid for in three months. But Air India had not been making payments and the credit period was 230 days, forcing oil firms to snap supplies.
The national aviation company uplifts about 250 kilolitres (kl) of ATF at the six airports on a daily basis. Air India’s flights operating from the six airports, where ATF supplies were suspended, were tanking up from other airports. Air India has a debt of over Rs. 58,000 crore.
The government has already decided to transfer Rs 29,464 crore of its debt into a special purpose vehicle. Centre had decided to offload 74 per cent stake in the airline but got no takers, since many private companies were apprehensive to be in a joint venture with the government.
Advertisement
