The merger of airlines such as Air India-Indian Airlines, Kingfisher-Air Deccan, Jet Airways-JetLite have considerably widened their losses during 2008-09, report media.
Losses of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), which runs Air India, doubled from Rs.2,226.16 crore in 2007-08 to Rs.5,548 crore in 2008-09.
Likewise Kingfisher's loss rose about four times to Rs.1,602 crore from Rs.408.91 crore in the year ended March 31, 2008. During the same period, Jet Airways that merged with its subsidiary JetLite, erstwhile Air Sahara also reported increased losses.
Apart from merger, very high fuel cost, the global economic downturn and comparatively low yields due to stiff competition had also contributed in pushing up their losses. The International Air Transport Association or IATA estimates one-third of the global aviation industry's losses was due to these reasons.
However, the government defends its stand on the merger of the two State-run carriers saying that the critical mass or size would be a key factor to help them survive and prosper in spite of hectic global and domestic competition.
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