Keskar: Unaffected

Mumbai, Nov. 13: The rough patch in the domestic aviation industry has not affected the Boeing order book, said Dinesh Keskar, president of Boeing India.

The Seattle-based aircraft manufacturer has so far not seen any deferment or order cancellations from any of the Indian players.

“Not for Boeing,” said Keskar when asked whether the company had seen any deferments. Keskar was speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of the India Economic Summit organised by the World Economic Forum in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry.

He said the commercial airplane maker had orders of more than 100 aircraft that would take around five years to be completed. This includes 27 787 Dreamliners and 3 Boeing 777s for Air India, 10 Dreamliners for Jet Airways, 30 Boeing 737-800s for SpiceJet and 37 Boeing 737s for Jet Airways.

The domestic airlines have placed huge orders for aircraft from the two leading players — Boeing and Airbus. However, rising fuel costs have pushed several airlines into the red.

Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines, which has suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11, has cancelled several flights since last week.

Jet Airways reported a loss of Rs 713 crore in the second quarter of this fiscal compared with a profit of Rs 12.4 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has also posted a loss of Rs 240 crore against a profit of Rs 10.31 crore last year.

On being asked if a wrong business model was responsible for the current plight of the domestic carriers, Keskar said there was scope for full service and low-cost flights in the Indian aviation sector. However, the airlines must have the right amount of product available for the market.

“What has happened in India is that five years ago, very few people were flying low-cost airlines. Today, three of four are flying in these airlines. You have to adjust your supply. This is where the demand is and that’s where you should give,” he said.