Word: air
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...revel in the musical sun. A tiny girl—maybe eight—grabbed the hands of an even tinier boy, and they twisted ‘til the cows came home. Teenagers lounged in the grass by the Charles, 50-somethings waved their hands in the air, fathers danced with daughters on their shoulders. It didn’t matter that we were too far away to hear the harmonies, or that few of the performers on stage belonged to the original, 1961 band. As we watched the Red Line shoot across the Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge...
...Brace for impact. The global recession has hit air carriers everywhere, but a sharp decline in passenger numbers is especially bad news for India. With oil prices rising to $73 a barrel, Indian airlines - which carry just 2% of the world's passengers - could sustain more than $2.5 billion in losses this year, accounting for one-fourth of the projected $9 billion in losses for the entire industry, according to the International Air Transport Association. Weighed down by overcapacity, debt and the government's refusal to provide bailouts, Indian carriers are being forced to slash their operations and reduce ticket...
...That change includes deferring aircraft deliveries, cancelling orders, rationalizing routes and trimming staff to stave off financial collapse. "It's going to be tough, but we mean business," says Praful Patel, India's civil aviation minister. At the same time, three of the country's largest carriers - state-owned Air India, and private players Jet Airways and Kingfisher - are trying to attract more passengers by turning their full-service domestic fleets into budget businesses. In January, India's budget airlines fleet totaled 75 jets, compared with 120 full-service planes. The Center for Asia Pacific Aviation's Kaul reckons that...
...Hardest hit by the economic downturn has been national carrier Air India: It reported annual losses of $1 billion in the fiscal year ending March 31, along with an accumulated debt of $3.5 billion; that debt load is expected to rise to $7 billion by 2012 if it takes delivery of 111 new aircraft already on order. Air India alone accounts for 10% of the total projected losses for the global airline industry this year - even though it carries just 0.35% of global traffic. Air India is suffering from an aging fleet and a bloated staff roster...
...With no bailout help from New Delhi in sight, Air India is bidding to bring its profitable international budget brand - Air India Express - to Indian turf. Air India Express, which has been flying routes to the Middle East and Southeast Asia for the past five years, will configure 10 of its 57 planes for budget flights by September, says Air India managing director Arvind Jadhav. The company plans to increase the number of budget flights a day from 25 initially to 43 by October. Ticket fares will be down 25% making it attractive for fliers. The logic, says aviation minister...