Skip to main content

IndiGo may junk sale-and-leaseback model, opt for outright buys

Mumbai:-
                IndiGo would replace the industry’s traditional sale-and-leaseback model for aircraft financing with outright purchases for some of its future fleet additions, underscoring the focus on cutting total ownerships expenses by the low-cost airline that Monday posted the biggest-ever quarterly profit in Indian aviation.

Indigo Airlines


The adoption of the new business model, according to senior executives at the country’s largest carrier, would help IndiGo lower overall costs of fleet ownership. ET had reported six days ago that an imminent change in global accounting standards will, among other things, impact IndiGo's aircraft lease rental strategy the most, and said that the new norms may prompt carriers to making outright purchases.

Chief financial officer Rohit Philip said IndiGo will shift to a model of outright purchase. Aircraft kept in the fleet for long are better owned than leased as direct ownership leads to cost optimization, he said.

IndiGo on Monday announced a net profit of Rs 812 crore for April-June, up 37% from Rs 592 crore a year earlier, aided by lower finance costs and increased yields. Sydney-based consultant CAPA Centre for Aviation called it the highest quarterly profit by any airline in India and said reported profit beat its estimates of Rs 700 crore.

Sales in the June quarter soared 25% to Rs 5,956 crore. The airline's yields increased 2.2%. In a conference call with analysts, chief financial officer Rohit Philip said IndiGo’s yields in the April-June quarter last year were hit as it didn't go for aggressive price cuts.


IndiGo's revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) increased by 5.5%. The airline's cost per available seat kilometre (CASK) increased by 1.3% but the costs excluding fuel decreased 2.5%, primarily due to a 34% fall in finance costs.

RASK and CASK, best-known measures of an airline’s operational efficiency, are calculated by dividing total operating income or cost by a number of available seat kilometres or ASKs. ASKs are calculated by multiplying available seats for a plane by number of miles it will be flying for a given flight. IndiGo has been expanding capacity at a 25% annual rate and will grow at 20% by 2020, said Philip.

Analysts have typically attributed IndiGo's robust earnings and cash-flow also to smartly crafted aircraft orders and sale and leaseback deals.

Voluminous orders have given it heavy discounts on asset prices and maintenance rates. Conversely, short sale and leaseback agreements have ensured that aircraft are phased out before they get too old.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Infra, skilled manpower needed to sustain aviation sector growth: Jayant Sinha

New Delhi:-                      India needs infrastructure and trained manpower to sustain the growth of its civil aviation sector, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.   "Land for airports development" and skilled manpower are required to sustain the growth being witnessed by the sector, he said at an event here to launch skill development initiative for aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs).  The initiative comes after a report submitted to the Civil Aviation ministry highlighted that 72,900 technicians and AMEs will be required by the industry by 2035.  However, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's data showed that only 3,644 basic licenses and only 159 type rated AME licenses were issued in the last five years.  On an average, eight AMEs are required for maintenance of an aircraft. This figure assumes significance in the light mega  aircraft orders that have been recently placed by domestic airlines.  

Air India puts on hold leasing of 787-9 planes, says Boeing

New Delhi:-                      Air  India  has put on hold plans to lease  Boeing  787-9 planes amid the government's decision to divest stake in the airline, a senior official from the US aircraft maker said today. Air India Boeing also said it would honour commitment to  Air India , which is expected to take delivery of six more planes from the aircraft maker this fiscal. When asked about Air India's plans to induct 787-9 aircraft, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Senior Vice President (  Asia Pacific  and India Sales)  Dinesh  Keskar said those are on hold now. Air India has put on "hold" plans to lease Boeing 787-9s because of government's plans to sell stake in the carrier, he said here. Earlier this year, the airline's board had given its nod to induct seven Boeing 787-9s. Boeing 787-9 planes can accommodate up to 290 passengers. About delivery of other Boeing planes to Air India, Keskar said those commitments would be honoured. Earlie

THE CHINESE AERONAUTS BUILD GYROCOPTERS FROM GAMING JOYSTICKS AND SPARE PARTS

IN HER DREAMS ,  Xiaoxiao Xu flies as birds do, riding the wind on outstretched arms, her body light and free. She shares this recurring fantasy with the self-taught aviation enthusiasts who fill her delightful book,  Aeronautics in the Backyard . The eight men she photographed have little to no formal training in aeronautics. They are farmers, barbers, and carpenters with nothing more than a deep love of flight and a knack for cobbling together airplanes and gyrocopters. Most learned what they know from books and magazines, and happily pour time and money into contraptions that may not actually fly. And not one of them minds at all if people find them odd. "The thing I like the most about the aeronauts is that they dare to be different,” Xu says. “They don’t care about the risks, the chance of failure, or what other think about them. They have a free mind whether or not their planes succeed in lifting off.” These dedicated aeronauts—or nuts—hunt down parts in aircra