Indian PM Narendra Modi is considering a proposal to privatize state-run Air India, possibly asking the buyer to absorb loans of about 200b rupees ($3.1b) linked to aircraft purchases, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said. The deliberations follow recommendations by a government panel for the sale of the money-losing carrier that has nearly $8b in debt, the person said. As for the rest of the carrier’s debt, the government has yet to decide whether to write off or reorganize it, the person said. The process may include disposing of Air India’s real-estate and other non-core assets worth about $3b before the sale or hiving them off, the person said. Air India spokesman Dhananjay Kumar and a spokesman for Modi didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments. Unprofitable for a decade with taxpayers bailing it out in the past six years, Air India’s appeal to any investor is contingent on the government’s ability to write off the debt not backed by assets. That is a political call Modi needs to take at a time when many of the nation’s state-run lenders have been seeking capital injection from taxpayer funds amid mounting bad loans. "Air India is a good vehicle for an investor if the non-aircraft related debt is taken care of and the balance sheet is cleaned up seriously and completely," said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO at Sydney-based CAPA Centre for Aviation. "This is going to be the fastest growing market for several years.”<br/>
star
Air New Zealand Thursday upwardly revised its outlook for 2017, saying it expected earnings before tax to exceed NZ$525m ($371.81m). The airline had said when reporting its half-year results in February that it forecast full-year earnings of NZ$475m to NZ$525m. "Our growth has been supported by robust demand drivers that are expected to remain strong for the foreseeable future," the company said in a presentation to investors, released on the stock exchange. It singled out New Zealand's fast-growing economy, which was prompting domestic demand, as well as record numbers of tourists entering the country as the main factors underpinning the forecast strong results. "The growth of Air New Zealand has been in concert with the growth in tourism to New Zealand," CE Christopher Luxon said. Nevertheless, Luxon said, that ten new airlines had entered the market in the past few years and the environment was becoming much more competitive.<br/>
United is adding a new route to its premium transcontinental service and offering meals for passengers in upgraded coach seats on the flights. Service between Boston and San Francisco will join the lineup of premium cross-country markets, which also include routes from Newark, New Jersey, to Los Angeles and San Francisco, United Continental Holdings Inc. said in a statement Wednesday. Fliers who pay extra for Economy Plus seating will get free hot meals and a complimentary alcoholic drink on the updated transcontinental service, which starts July 1. United is playing catch-up to Delta and American Airlines in expanding or upgrading its offerings on highly competitive cross-country routes. United is dropping the name p.s. Premium Service and will refer to the product as premium transcontinental service, said Maggie Schmerin, the airline’s director of brand public relations. Unlike Delta and American, United won’t provide complimentary meals to passengers in regular coach seats on premium cross-country flights.<br/>