Air India has saved Rs 100 crore in the past year, September-to-September, on fuel bills in short-haul international flights (flight time up to six hours) by fuelling aircraft at international destinations. Jet Airways also followed this practice and is saving 25 per cent on such fuel bills.
Aviation turbine fuel price in India is Rs 40,800 per kilo litre; internationally it is Rs 30,900 per kl. Jet fuel prices comprise 40 per cent of operational cost of airlines in India. Abroad, it is 25 per cent.
“This is one part of it,” said AI’s spokesman Jitendra Bhargave, while confirming the Rs 100 crore saving. “We are also saving fuel by various other methods. We aim at saving Rs 500 crore on fuel expenditure.”
AI, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are the three Indian airlines which fly international. “Jet Airways gets its tank full on international destinations with flying hours up to six hours, which are destinations in West Asian and Southeast Asian countries. The fuel prices are around 25 per cent cheaper,” said a Jet Airways official on condition of anonymity.
Kingfisher does not take fuel from international destinations, as the airline does not have dedicated aircraft for short-haul international routes. Of the 71 aircraft Kingfisher has, only five are dedicated for long-haul international routes, said a company spokesperson.
According to the rules, any aircraft which fly only international routes can fuel at the international destination. But in the case of an aircraft flying domestic after its international trip, it has to declare the fuel left in the aircraft, on which taxes are charged. State-owned AI has 77 of its 134 planes flying international destinations, short and long-haul (it won’t reveal the division).
Jet Airways operates around 60 flights and 20 aircraft to short-haul destinations, of the 33 it operates in the international sector. Among the Indian carriers flying international, AI is the leader, with 36.3 per cent share, followed by Jet Airways and Kingfisher with 8.7 per cent and 1.1 per cent share respectively.
