CAPA > Aviation News > Air India to spin off engineering and ground-handling units: reports

Air India reportedly plans to spin off its engineering and ground-handling units pending government approval and as part of its turnaround plan (Live Mint, 01-Jul-2011). Meanwhile, the carrier will reportedly shortly commence the process of shifting more than a third of its employees to a ground-handling JV with Singapore Airport Terminal Services on 01-Jul-2011 to reduce its staff size to comply with conditions for a turnaround plan amid opposition from two different unions (Economic Times, 01-Jul-2011). Some 12,000 people will become part of the ground-handling joint venture, Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services (AISATS), if the carrier successfully conducts the transfer.

---

You may also be interested in the following articles...

• Financing of Indian airline losses approaching a dead-end
  13-Feb-2012

  India’s beleaguered airline sector will increasingly have to seek innovative sources of funding as traditional options dry up. With the sector having already accumulated losses of USD6 billion in the last five years, which will be compounded by a record USD2.5 billion loss in the 12 months to 31-Mar-2012, existing providers of capital are increasingly nervous about the sector’s viability.  

• India domestic passenger growth slows to 8% in Dec-2011; 2012 growth to slow from 16.6% in 2011
  31-Jan-2012

  India’s domestic air passenger growth slowed to 8% in Dec-2011 to less than half the pace of growth experienced in calendar 2011 and down from the 17-22% growth rates seen between Jun-2011 and Oct-2011. While passenger numbers in India’s domestic market have seen growth now for 31 consecutive months, the result for Dec-2011 marks the end of 16 consecutive months of double-digit growth. This single-digit growth in the peak month of Dec-2011 (to 5.63 million passengers) is a sign that slowing economic growth is affecting air travel and reflects impending capacity caution by some of the nation’s largest players.

  India’s domestic passenger numbers increased 16.6% to 60.7 million passengers in 2011, averaging out at 5.1 million passengers per month, and up 74% from 2006 levels. The largest stand-alone carrier was IndiGo with a 19.5% market share, with IndiGo also the fastest growing carrier in 2011.