At the India Aviation 2008 held at Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad yesterday, the chiefs of both the airlines revealed that the code-sharing and operational alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines was needed to avoid bankruptcy and to ensure profitability. This information was revealed at the end of the chief executives conclave during the show. Vijay Mallya, Owner, Kingfisher Airlines and Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways also hinted that the airline industry was seeking some kind of regulatory body to ensure healthy competition while avoiding excess capacity.
Goyal told reporters after an open house interactive session between Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel and more than 35 CEOs from the aviation industry that code-sharing and route rationalisation were needed by both of Jet and Kingfisher to avoid bankruptcy. According to Goyal, the Indian air traffic sector is now burdened with around 30-40 per cent excess capacity, and all airlines were bleeding. “There is no Chapter 11 bankruptcy in this country, so what do you do,” he commented, referring to a bankruptcy code in the US that allows re- organisation under that country's bankruptcy laws. |