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May 2007

India to release its aviation plan soon: Praful Patel

     Mumbai: Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel has said that India is preparing a plan to make its aviation industry better able to deal with global competition by 2020. "The Vision 2020 statement will be sent to senior government ministers and should be ready in a couple of months," Patel said at Jet Airways Ltd.'s presentation of its new Boeing 777-300 ER and Airbus 330-200 planes. He also said that the policy would help Indian carriers to meet competition from foreign airlines. "We will decide according to the needs of the country. After all, we have so many foreign airlines now coming to India, not only to Mumbai and Delhi but to many other cities. As a result, we will have to review our policies, to be able to take on the competition of foreign carriers," he added. He further said that it is important that Indian companies must now think big, think of not only buying Indian carriers, but to buy carriers internationally also. "Even public carriers will also be expanding their footprints beyond India in the years to come," he said. The Minister said that he would talk to Petroleum Minister Murli Deora and state-run oil companies about high jet fuel prices, adding that options include allowing carriers to import fuel or create a hedge. Indian carriers are allowed to hedge fuel for international flights, but not for domestic operations.
-May 14, 2007