Air India posts losses, blames fuel costs
State-operated Air India lost more than $110 million during the 2005-2006 financial year, mostly due to escalating fuel costs and interest payments on new planes, the Economic Times reported Monday.
The newspaper quoted Air India spokesman Jitender Bhargava as saying that fuel costs shot up $96.5 million to $882.5 million while revenue declined from $1.4 billion to $1.3 billion in the last year. He also said nearly every airline in India, domestic or international, was losing money.
Air India has embarked on an aggressive new fleet turnover program, with some 68 planes on order.
