Kingfisher Airlines shares up as Air India faces pilot backlash
Kingfisher Airlines' shares gained 7.2% on Friday with intraday gains reaching 9.5%, on a day that saw approximately 12.5 million shares change hands. Kingfisher is planning to raise up to USD175 million through the sale of shares and global depository receipts to repay debt.
After Jet Airways' (shares +4.8%) damaging pilots action earlier this month, Air India's pilots have threatened a strike to protest a 25-50% reduction in productivity linked incentives (PLI) payments. While all international flights operated as per schedule on 26-Sep-09, 13 domestic lights were affected due to a section of pilots reporting sick, mostly in Delhi. 30 flights were reportedly cancelled on 27-Sep-09 as 20 pilots reportedly went on sick leave.
India's Civil Aviation Secretary, M Madhavan Nambiar, stated it is a "very difficult" time for the country's aviation industry. He added that Indian airlines have reported losses of USD2 billion this year, with 3,000 pilots in the country currently unemployed due to capacity cutbacks and cost reduction efforts. He added that "it is a time where we have to pause, we have to introspect and see what we can do to revive this sector".
SpiceJet's shares gained 0.9% on Friday.
Asia Pacific selected airlines daily share price movements (% change): 23-Sep-09
