Date:23/09/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/09/23/stories/2008092356091600.htm

Business

Kingfisher hopes to turn profitable by 2010

Special Correspondent

Applies for a licence to import aviation turbine fuel

BANGALORE: Kingfisher Airlines is expected to turn profitable by 2009-10 even as the airline has applied for a licence to import aviation fuel for its domestic operations.

UB Group Chairman Vijay Mallya told newspersons here on Monday on the sidelines of the annual general meeting of McDowell Holdings that he expected that the airline should start performing well from the next quarter itself. “You will be surprised with the next quarter results itself. We hope to turn profitable by 2009-10 if the ATF prices remain the same,” he said.

Mr. Mallya said the airline had applied for a licence with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for importing ATF for its domestic operations.

He confirmed that Kingfisher Airlines had allowed 300 employees to leave the organisation.Mr. Mallya said the airline had deferred buying at least 20 Airbus aircraft to 2010, 2011 and 2012 from 2008.

He pointed out that his airline had the lowest cost of operations. Unlike some of the other airlines, Kingfisher Airlines was not a legacy carrier. “Therefore, my costs are much lower because we have outsourced a whole lot of operations,” he said. He said synergies between the erstwhile Deccan Aviation as well as Kingfisher Airlines had led to savings of about Rs. 300 crore. He said no timelines had been set for raising $400 million through equity for the airline. “We are in no hurry and there are no deadlines," he said. He denied that the U.S.-based investor, Wilbur Ross, had approached him for buying a stake in SpiceJet.