http://www.flightglobal.comen-gbThu, 02 Jul 2009 10:38:32 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/07/02/329130/air-indias-debt-balloons-to-152-billion-rupees.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/07/02/329130/air-indias-debt-balloons-to-152-billion-rupees.html National carrier Air India's debt swelled to 152.41 billion Indian rupees ($3.2 billion) in June after paying for new planes from Boeing and Airbus. This...Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:38:32 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/30/329028/volaris-to-initially-operate-six-daily-flights-to-us.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/30/329028/volaris-to-initially-operate-six-daily-flights-to-us.html Mexican low-cost carrier Volaris plans to initially operate six flights on five transborder routes this year as it prepares to launch more US service and...Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:24:09 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328947/spicejet-reports-sharp-increase-in-full-year-net-losses.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/29/328947/spicejet-reports-sharp-increase-in-full-year-net-losses.html India's SpiceJet has reported that its net losses for the year ended 31 March grew by 165% to 3.53 billion Indian rupees ($73.4 million), although an improved...Mon, 29 Jun 2009 07:57:56 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328896/air-india-studies-low-cost-service-for-domestic-flights.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328896/air-india-studies-low-cost-service-for-domestic-flights.html Air India is considering becoming a low-cost carrier on its domestic services as part of a plan to restructure its operations in order to get a government bail-out. "That is one option - becoming a low-cost airline on domestic operations so that it can compete more effectively with the privately-owned carriers, which increasingly offer more low-cost options on most of the domestic routes," says a spokeswoman for Indian civil aviation minister Praful Patel. She adds that the state-owned flag carrier could cut costs and increase loads through this measure, and become profitable in the domestic sector. Air India has a low-cost subsidiary, Air India Express, that mostly serves international routes. Indian government statistics showed that the country's domestic passenFri, 26 Jun 2009 05:47:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328893/qantas-cancels-15-boeing-787-orders-defers-15-others.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/26/328893/qantas-cancels-15-boeing-787-orders-defers-15-others.html Qantas Airways has cancelled orders for 15 Boeing 787-9s and deferred the delivery of 15 787-8s to reduce capital expenditure amid a challenging operating...Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:18:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328844/qatar-show-man-al-baker-takes-le-bourget-by-storm-again.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328844/qatar-show-man-al-baker-takes-le-bourget-by-storm-again.htmlIt was major air show time again during Paris in June and Qatar Airways once again took its place among the headline makersThu, 25 Jun 2009 12:00:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328833/air-india-to-get-government-bail-out.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328833/air-india-to-get-government-bail-out.html The Indian government has agreed to bail out national carrier Air India, which posted an $800 million loss for the year ended 31 March and appealed to the...Thu, 25 Jun 2009 10:53:25 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328813/airasia-and-malaysia-airports-in-18.4m-tax-dispute.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328813/airasia-and-malaysia-airports-in-18.4m-tax-dispute.html Malaysia-based low cost carrier AirAsia and Malaysia Airports Holdings are embroiled in a dispute over airport taxes at Kuala Lumpur's low cost terminal. According...Thu, 25 Jun 2009 08:05:40 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328812/philippines-zest-ma60-overshoots-runway-at-caticlan.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/25/328812/philippines-zest-ma60-overshoots-runway-at-caticlan.html A Xian Aircraft MA60 turboprop operated by Philippine carrier Zest Airways has overshot the runway while trying to land at Caticlan airport. The China-made...Thu, 25 Jun 2009 07:22:40 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328745/ana-urges-boeing-to-clarify-787-programme-schedule.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328745/ana-urges-boeing-to-clarify-787-programme-schedule.htmlJapan's All Nippon Airways, the launch customer for the Boeing 787, says that it is disappointed with the latest slip in the aircraft's delivery schedule...Wed, 24 Jun 2009 09:25:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328740/china-eastern-to-raise-815-million-from-parent.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328740/china-eastern-to-raise-815-million-from-parent.html China Eastern Airlines moved a step closer towards buying Shanghai Airlines after getting approval from China's securities regulator to raise 5.57 billion...Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:23:53 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328739/chinas-east-star-airlines-attracts-new-investors.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/24/328739/chinas-east-star-airlines-attracts-new-investors.html The owners of the grounded privately-owned Chinese carrier East Star Airlines plan to sell an 85% stake in the company to outside investors to help it avoid...Wed, 24 Jun 2009 04:55:49 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/23/328682/air-india-has-no-plans-for-aircraft-deferrals.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/23/328682/air-india-has-no-plans-for-aircraft-deferrals.html Air India has no immediate plans to defer the aircraft it has on order despite a tough economic environment and a crowded Indian aviation market. This...Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:46:15 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/23/328676/air-india-aims-to-cut-103m-in-wage-costs.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/23/328676/air-india-aims-to-cut-103m-in-wage-costs.html Air India aims to cut 5 billion rupees ($103 million) per year from its total wage bill of 30 billion rupees. In a statement the airline attributes...Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:35:59 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/22/328610/is-the-funding-gap-narrowing.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/22/328610/is-the-funding-gap-narrowing.html Amid fears of a major funding gap, aviation financiers and manufacturers sounded an optimistic note during the recent Commercial Aviation Online Inside Finance event in London. But while fears on the size of the funding gap have eased,as the financial storm calms and feweraircraft needfunding owing to deferred or delayed deliveries, concerns remain. Notably that the estimated $68 billion new aircraft financing bill excludes pre-delivery payments, which are proving a difficult sell. "This year is looking a bit better. The funding gap is progressively closing and aircraft delivery postponements and order cancellations are helping to alleviate this gap," said Christian McCormick, head of aviation finance at Natixis Transport Finance. He recognises funding could be a problem in 2010, but acknowledges there is "still room for other measures to be taken" to help bridge any shortfall, suMon, 22 Jun 2009 14:00:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328524/comment-carbon-credit.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328524/comment-carbon-credit.htmlAt IATA's annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur airline leaders took another big step on the environment by agreeing on capping emissions growth by 2020Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:04:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328511/market-outlook-what-and-where-next.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328511/market-outlook-what-and-where-next.htmlChris Tarry questions if hopes that airlines will emerge stronger from the crisis are realistic. Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:10:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328529/interview-korean-air-chief-executive-cho-yang-ho.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328529/interview-korean-air-chief-executive-cho-yang-ho.htmlThough facing challenges of the economic slowdown and a weak local currency, Korean Air chief executive Cho Yang-ho continues to set his sights on the long-termThu, 18 Jun 2009 11:30:00 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328502/airasia-x-looking-to-have-services-to-north-america-using-a340s.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/18/328502/airasia-x-looking-to-have-services-to-north-america-using-a340s.html Malaysian long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X is considering destinations in North America and new destinations in Europe, possibly using Airbus A340-300s. "(It...Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:27:23 GMThttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/17/328319/iata-predicts-9bn-loss.htmlhttp://www.flightglobal.com/Articles/2009/06/17/328319/iata-predicts-9bn-loss.html IATA is now forecasting a $9 billion global loss for 2009, doubling its $4.7 billion prediction just three months ago. The freight and passenger traffic collapse means revenues for 2009 will fall $80 billion (15%) to $448 billion. "We may start to see a recovery in freight in the second half, but for the passenger recovery we will have to wait for next year," said Giovanni Bisignani, director general of IATA. The body's first quarter figures showa 35-40% fall in premium revenues. Greater losses seem inevitable. Predicting how fast the recovery will run is a tough call. "Looking at history - and reviewing what happened after 9/11 - it took three years [for the industry to recover]," he said. But Bisignani notedthe industry is structurally different this time, potentially shortening the timelines. Bisignani recalled the words of Delta's Leo Mullin and JAL's Isao Kaneko, shortly after he took over IATA's reins. "They Wed, 17 Jun 2009 08:34:00 GMT