Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Kingfisher Airlines Defaults On Payment Of Lease - Nov 05, 2008

The kingfisher has flown into fresh turbulence as Kingfisher Airlines has defaulted on payment of lease rentals to GE Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) for four A320s. This is according to a complaint filed by the US company with India’s aviation regulator. GECAS, one of the world’s top aircraft lessors, has asked the Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA) for permission to repossess the aircraft and along with this has demanded that the aircraft be de-registered from the airline. However, Kingfisher, denies any default and has obtained a stay order from the Karnataka HC to prevent the repossession. According to kingfisher Airlines official, “There is no default on part of Kingfisher Airlines.

Had there been a default, the court would not have admitted our case. The fact that the court granted an immediate relief to us... demonstrates that the airline has an obvious and prima-facie case,”. Kingfisher Airlines declined to give details of the dispute on the ground that it was before the court. A DGCA official confirmed that GECAS had written to the aviation regulator for repossession of the aircraft. The tussle with GECAS is the latest instance of the cash crunch being faced by Kingfisher. Kingfisher Airlines posted a net loss of Rs 483.2 crore for the quarter ended September 2008, which was almost double its net loss of Rs 253.1 crore in the same period last year.

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