Ia Plunges Further, Loss At Rs 34 Cr

Indian Airlines has registered a loss of Rs 34 crore in the first half of 1998-99 against a budgeted loss of Rs 14 crore.

In other words, the carrier has exceeded its anticipated loss figure by Rs 20 crore in the first six months of the year. The total loss in April-August was Rs 23 crore against a budgeted loss of Rs 3.75 crore. This was despite the budgeted revenue being on target. The carrier had budgeted a revenue of Rs 1,400 crore for April-August 1998-99. It achieved a revenue of Rs 1399.95 crore. However, losses were in excess indicating that expenses were out of control.

Total expenses of the carrier in April-August 1998-99 were Rs 1,422.95 crore, well above the budgeted expense figure of Rs 1,404.47 crore.

While non-operating expenses were at Rs 94.35 crore (exceeding the budgeted figure of Rs 88.99 crore) in the first five months of the year, the operating expenses have been Rs 1,328.60 crore (exceeding the budgeted figure of Rs 1,315.48). As a result, the total expenses are around Rs 18 crore higher than the budgeted numbers.