Major air carriers still to clear massive fuel bills

State-owned National Aviation Company of India Limited (Nacil), Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines owe over Rs 2,200 crore as payment for jet fuel, to the state-run oil marketing companies.

Jet Airways and Nacil owe around Rs 800-850 and Rs 1,000 crore to the state-run IndianOil Corporation (IOC), respectively. Nacil also owes Rs 245 crores to Hindustan Petroleum Corporation (HPCL), officials from the oil marketing companies said. 

An IOC executive confirmed the development and added that the company is taking this issue up with the respective companies on a regular basis. “The dues to IOC are in the range of Rs 800- 1,000 crore, but the company undergoing restructuring and the dues are not anything to worry about," said an executive from Nacil requesting anonymity. An email sent to the company remained unanswered.

Analysts say the failure in payment of dues by the aviation companies is a reflection of the high debt that most of these companies have on their books. “Aviation companies are unable to pay their dues because they are into losses. Carriers such as SpiceJet are profitable and hence, pay their dues on time and also get discounts on the ATF price at times. However, going ahead this shouldn’t be a problem as these companies are slowly turning profitable and will be able to reduce their payables," said a Mumbai-based analyst.  

An executive from Jet Airways said, “Dues did not mean the company is defaulting on the payments. All the payments have been on time, as is obvious from the fact that the guarantee has not been invoked by IOC.”  An email sent to Jet Airways evoked no response.

Kingfisher Airlines, on the other hand, owes Rs 176 crore to HPCL. An HPCL executive said, “The carrier is currently on a cash and carry basis with HPCL and in addition to the Rs 500 crore corporate guarantee from the United Breweries (UB) Group, it is expected to provide a bank guarantee of Rs 300 crore. The total dues of the company at present are Rs 176 crores above the approved limit. HPCL might think of putting Kingfisher back on the credit facility once the company furnishes a bank guarantee.”

Kingfisher Airlines agreed to pay all its dues to HPCL by July 31, after the state-run firm was directed by the government to stop supply of jet fuel to the airline.

Kingfisher Airlines has been on the dock earlier with oil companies. Last year the company owed Rs 350 crore to BPCL which it has been paying through instalments of Rs 10 crore a month. "At present, the aviation company's outstanding is Rs 250 crore with BPCL which it would pay off by this November," said a BPCL executive.