Modiluft Aims At 4-Aircraft Fleet By October-End

However, the airline company is hoping to return to its original strength of six aircraft by the end of the year. According to senior ModiLuft officials, the airline would be getting back three of its aircraft which are currently undergoing maintenance check.

They added that ModiLuft is importing $7.5 million worth of spare parts and has already shelled out $2 million for an engine required for one of the 737-200 aircraft registered as Golf Charlie.

This aircraft is one of the Lufthansa planes and is currently parked at Hindustan Aeronautic's facility at Bangalore. Another aircraft, a 737-400 with the registration number VTMGE, is about to return from Stansead, UK, where it is undergoing checks at the Air UK facility.

 

ModiLuft had also suffered a setback recently when one of its aircraft and overshot the runway at Calcutta and, therefore, had to be withdrawn from services. Officials said that this aircraft too would be ready for flights by the end of this month.

According to Yash Kohli, vice-president, corporate communications, ModiLuft, as soon as the firm date for return of the aircraft undergoing `C' checks is confirmed, the company would convene a meeting for all its major general sales agents (GSAs) and other travel agents to announce the new schedule and take a feedback on the airline's route plans. Although ModiLuft holds such a "debriefing session" before every season, this meeting is being tipped as one which would provide a "new confidence to the travel agents about the company's future."

Once the airline has a strength of four aircraft, it plans to increase its reduced frequencies on its frequent flier routes. These include Delhi-Calcutta-Delhi and Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi. Currently, ModiLuft is operating only two frequencies on each route as against its earlier six frequencies. Meanwhile, the airline has formally submitted to the government an application to raise $ 100 million through external commercial borrowings. The application comes in wake of ModiLuft's earlier application for a $ 60 million GDR issue which has proved to be non-starter.

The airline's GDR application has failed to receive the blessings of the civil aviation ministry which feels that even though the case falls within the policy guidelines, it does not appear to be a good enough reason for raising direct foreign investment through GDRs.

The ministry had further noted that the case would not add to any capacity in the domestic sector but would probably result in outgo of scarce foreign exchange. Also, the ministry had expressed reservations whether ModiLuft would be able to raise equity at the premium mentioned by it.