Air fares to rise next month as ATF prices touch all-time high

September 3, 2013

Air_faresNew Delhi, Sep 3: Get set for skyhigh air fares from next month when the peak travel period kicks off with the festive season. Oil companies have hiked aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices by 7%, taking the prices of jet fuel — which is the single largest component of an airline's operating cost — to an all-time high. Now ATF per kilo-litre costs Rs 75,031 in Delhi; Rs 77,632.4 in Mumbai and is the steepest in Kolkata at Rs 85,645.1.

"The July-September period is the leanest travel season of the year and at the moment, airlines are selling tickets at low fares to fill up planes. So hiking fares now may not be possible. Spot fares in the October-mid January season will be high. Expect a 25%-50% hike in spot fares in that period," said an airline official.

The only way to escape high fares in that period will be to book as early as possible. "Advance domestic fares are very reasonable as airlines want to fill planes and also generate some much-needed cash. People should book now," said Anil Kalsi, a leading Delhi-based travel agent.

ATF, whose price is high due to mix of high base price by oil companies and exorbitant sales tax rates by states, accounts for over half of an airline's operating cost. Oil PSUs revise jet fuel prices in the beginning of every month, depending on price of international crude and rupee's exchange rate with the dollar. The latest hike has now brought ATF at record high, surpassing the previous high set last September. A year back, ATF cost was Rs 73,710.0 in Delhi — which was the highest ever then and in exactly a year a new record level has been reached. The aviation ministry has called a meeting of state aviation ministers next week and the issue of reducing sales tax will be discussed there, with more focus on Delhi and Mumbai to lower their taxes on ATF.

Airline sources point out that ATF prices have risen 22% from July to September. The overall cost of operations has gone up by 20% due to jet fuel prices and rupee devaluation. "While costs are up 20%, fares are lower by 30%. In early July, spot fares of Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Bangalore were about Rs 9,000 and Rs 9,800 respectively. The current spot fares for these two routes are Rs 6,000 and Rs 6,500. This is recipe for disaster," said an airline official.

Domestic airlines have long complained of facing an extremely cost-hostile environment in India. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) estimates that airlines here have collectively lost Rs 53,650 crore from 2007 to 2013 and their debt on March 31, 2013, was close to Rs 1 lakh crore. "(While costs are significantly up), yields or fares are down by 30%. The industry has completely lost pricing focus....

Industry risk is at peak and I don't rule out any industry rationalization (hinting at another airline's closure) out of this crisis," CAPA India chief Kapil Kaul said.

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News Network
April 19,2020

New Delhi, Apr 19: With 1,334 fresh cases of coronavirus reported in the last 24 hours, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India has reached 15,712 including 507 deaths, said Lav Aggarwal, Joint Secretary, Health and Family Welfare, here on Sunday.

As many as 2,231 people have recovered from the disease so far, said Aggarwal during the daily media briefing on the coronavirus. "This equals 14.1 per cent of the total cases," he added.

"A total of 15,712 confirmed cases have been reported in India including 507 deaths and 2,231 people, who were COVID-19 positive, have recovered. Out of the total deaths, 27 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours," said Aggarwal.

The Joint Secretary said that no new case was reported in Mahe in Puducherry and Karnataka's Kodagu in the last 28 days.

"A total of 54 other districts beside these two in 23 States/Union Territories did not report any cases in the last 14 days," he said.

He informed that there are 755 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and 1,389 dedicated health care centres in the country, which takes the total dedicated facilities where severe or critical patients can be treated to 2,144.

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News Network
May 19,2020

Kolkata, May 19: The super cyclonic storm 'Amphan' in west-central Bay of Bengal is likely to weaken into an 'extremely severe cyclonic storm' by noon on Tuesday, the Met department said here.

The system, which was situated 670 km south-southwest of Digha in West Bengal, is very likely to move north-northeastwards across northwest Bay of Bengal, and cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts in the afternoon or evening of Wednesday as a 'very severe cyclonic storm', the Met department said.

The weatherman said that 'Amphan' is expected to cross West Bengal-Bangladesh coasts between Digha in West Bengal and Hatiya islands in Bangladesh on May 20 as a very severe cyclonic storm, after losing some steam as it approaches landfall, with a maximum sustained wind speed of 155 to 165 kmph gusting to 180 kmph.

Gale wind speeds reaching 240 to 250 kmph were prevailing over west-central and adjoining east-central Bay of Bengal, the Met office said, adding, it will gradually reduce to 200 to 210 kmph gusting to 230 kmph by Tuesday evening.

The Met department, which has issued an "orange message" for West Bengal, warned of extensive damage in Kolkata, Hooghly, Howrah, South and North 24 Parganas and East Midnapore districts.

There is likely to be disruption of rail and road link at several places, uprooting of communication and power poles and extensive damage to all types of 'kutcha' houses, the weatherman said.

There is also likelihood of massive harm to standing crops, plantations and orchards, the Met office said.

Wind speeds along and off the coastal areas of West Bengal will reach 45 to 55 kmph with gusts of 65 kmph from Tuesday afternoon, and will gradually increase becoming gale wind speeds reaching 75 to 85 kmph with gusts up to 95 kmph from May 20 morning along and off districts of North and South 24 Parganas, East and West Midnapore, Kolkata, Howrah and Hooghly, Regional Met Director G K Das said.

"It will gradually increase thereafter becoming 110 to 120 kmph gusting to 130 kmph over West Midnapore, Howrah, Hooghly, Kolkata and wind speeds of 165 to 175 kmph gusting to 195 kmph over the districts of North and South 24 Parganas and East Midnapore from the afternoon to night of May 20," Das said.

Under its impact, the coastal districts of Gangetic West Bengal, including North and South 24 Parganas, Kolkata, East and West Midnapore, Howrah and Hooghly are likely to experience light to moderate rain at many places with heavy downpour at isolated places on Tuesday, he said.

On Wednesday, rainfall will occur in many places over the districts of Gangetic West Bengal, with extremely heavy rain at one or two places in Kolkata, Howrah, East Midnapore, North and South 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts, he said.

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News Network
February 4,2020

New Delhi, Feb 4: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused Arvind Kejriwal of having a "partnership" with Pakistan and appealed to the people in Delhi to not vote for the AAP chief as it will make Pakistan happy.

Ramping up his attack on the Shaheen Bagh protest, Adityanath said that the protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) is merely an excuse for people to vent their anger against the scrapping of Article 370.

"You must have seen their partnership on 370. Arvind Kejriwal used to speak in the same voice as Imran Khan on Article 370. You must have heard it.

"Now when elections are taking place in Delhi, who is speaking in favour of Arvind Kejriwal? It is the ministers of Pakistan. They are aware that Kejriwal is feeding 'biryani to protesters at Shaheen Bagh'," he said, referring to Pakistan minister Fawad Chaudhry's tweet asking Indians to defeat Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Adityanath addressed three rallies on Monday in the national capital ahead of assembly elections.

"Will Pakistan decide who Indians should vote for. If voting for Kejriwal will make Pakistan happy, should it be done," he asked at a rally in Mehrauli.

Adityanath said his Delhi counterpart Kejriwal has become a "toy in the hands of anti-social and anti-India elements".

Addressing a rally in Vikaspuri in west Delhi, he said that Kejriwal is not bothered about key issues such as providing clean drinking water but is concerned about Shaheen Bagh, the anti-citizenship amendment act protest site.

At another rally in Uttam Nagar in west Delhi, Adityanath said Kejriwal has played with the emotions of the people of Delhi for the last five years.

"He obstructed the development of Delhi. And knowingly and unknowingly, he became a toy in the hands of anti-social and anti-India elements," Adityanath said.

The protest at Shaheen Bagh, he said, has disrupted traffic across the capital.

"A guest with an appointment to meet him at 9.30 am could only reach at 11. He told me he had left as early as 7 am but got stuck because of the traffic in Shaheen Bagh," he said.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister also slammed Kejriwal for "sympathising" with elements who he said gave anti-India slogans in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

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