Import of ATF not feasible; FDI is new lease of life: Goyal

While addressing the concerns affecting of the aviation sector including Jet Airways, chairman Naresh Goyal said that the recent government initiative of allowing direct import of aviation fuel (ATF) was not a feasable option.

Explaning that the sector would not benefit from the proposal, Goyal said, "The country does not have the infrastructure to transport imported fuel from the ports."

He added that PSU oil companies which have the facilities to store ATF, disagreed to support Jet Airlines after several meetings with the the management.

At a time when the aviation sector is plagued by negative sentiment, Goyal said that allowing FDI into the sector was welcome and would offer a fresh lease of life for many airlines.

Goyal said that an official announcement would be made On the airline's entry into global alliances. The chairman also protested the increase of airport charges and pointed out that the company would be adversely impacted by Rs 50 crore annually.

Earlier in the day, Jet reported a net profit of Rs 24.70 crore for the April-June period  as against Rs 298 crore loss,YoY. The improved performance was due to improvement in yields and cost cutting measures. The country's largest private airline said if not for a  forex loss of Rs 69 crore, it would have posted better results.

Sales of the company too rose 30% to Rs 4587 crore as the airline witnessed sharp increase in its passenger load factors aon account of rival Kingfisher Airlines curtailing operations.