By -
Aug 5, 2014
Mumbai’s towering billboards, which hawk everything from
the latest Bollywood movies to soda, block out more than some sunlight.
They’re also a physical hurdle preventing Air India Ltd. from reaching its potential on what should be one of its most lucrative routes.
The height of hoardings near India’s financial hub means the Boeing Co. (BA) 777-300ER jets the carrier uses for non-stop flights to Newark, New Jersey, near New York City must fly 51 fewer passengers, or 15 percent below capacity, in order to clear them. That’s costing 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) a month in lost revenue, India’s junior aviation minister G.M. Siddeshwara told parliament yesterday.
For Air India, which is surviving on a 300 billion-rupee taxpayer bailout and hasn’t made a profit since fiscal 2006, the adjustment means further delays in eliminating losses. The billboards, some as high as a seven-story building, line the main road between Mumbai and the hub in a northwestern suburb.
“This is a very serious issue,” said Mohan Ranganathan, a former commercial pilot and aviation safety consultant based in Chennai, India, who added that signs high enough to represent an obstacle to aircraft would “violate” standards imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The 16-hour non-stop Newark service operated by Air India - - the longest such direct flight by an Indian carrier -- requires the twin-engine 777s to carry a high fuel load, so any weight savings must come in the form of fewer passengers.
United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL), the only other carrier to fly nonstop between Mumbai and Newark, uses the smaller 777-200. The billboards don’t affect United’s operations or capacity, Mary Ryan, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based carrier, said in an e-mail.
The basic initial cruise altitude for the 777-200ER with General Electric Co. (GE) engines is 36,600 feet (11,200 meters), while for the bigger 777-300ER with GE engines, it decreases to 34,100 feet, according to Boeing’s website.
On the highway to the airport most of the hoardings are located on top of or between residential high-rises. While some of the tallest are to be found 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the hub, in a residential neighborhood 2 kilometers away at least 15 billboards can be found along a 600-meter road -- peddling an eclectic mix of affordable suburban homes, the latest Bollywood movie and deals on domestic flights.
Airports Authority of India, the former monopoly airports operator and a stakeholder in Mumbai airport, acted to remove some billboards after complaints from Air India, according to the minister’s statement.
Saddled with more than 380 billion rupees of debt, the carrier is also seeking compensation from Boeing for delivering overweight 787 jets it says don’t meet fuel-efficiency targets.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi at akotoky@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net Suresh Seshadri
The height of hoardings near India’s financial hub means the Boeing Co. (BA) 777-300ER jets the carrier uses for non-stop flights to Newark, New Jersey, near New York City must fly 51 fewer passengers, or 15 percent below capacity, in order to clear them. That’s costing 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) a month in lost revenue, India’s junior aviation minister G.M. Siddeshwara told parliament yesterday.
For Air India, which is surviving on a 300 billion-rupee taxpayer bailout and hasn’t made a profit since fiscal 2006, the adjustment means further delays in eliminating losses. The billboards, some as high as a seven-story building, line the main road between Mumbai and the hub in a northwestern suburb.
“This is a very serious issue,” said Mohan Ranganathan, a former commercial pilot and aviation safety consultant based in Chennai, India, who added that signs high enough to represent an obstacle to aircraft would “violate” standards imposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The 16-hour non-stop Newark service operated by Air India - - the longest such direct flight by an Indian carrier -- requires the twin-engine 777s to carry a high fuel load, so any weight savings must come in the form of fewer passengers.
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Air India spokesman G.P. Rao and Vaibhav Tiwari, a spokesman for GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd. (GVKP)’s Mumbai International Airport Pvt., didn’t respond to calls seeking comment.United Continental Holdings Inc. (UAL), the only other carrier to fly nonstop between Mumbai and Newark, uses the smaller 777-200. The billboards don’t affect United’s operations or capacity, Mary Ryan, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based carrier, said in an e-mail.
The basic initial cruise altitude for the 777-200ER with General Electric Co. (GE) engines is 36,600 feet (11,200 meters), while for the bigger 777-300ER with GE engines, it decreases to 34,100 feet, according to Boeing’s website.
On the highway to the airport most of the hoardings are located on top of or between residential high-rises. While some of the tallest are to be found 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the hub, in a residential neighborhood 2 kilometers away at least 15 billboards can be found along a 600-meter road -- peddling an eclectic mix of affordable suburban homes, the latest Bollywood movie and deals on domestic flights.
Airports Authority of India, the former monopoly airports operator and a stakeholder in Mumbai airport, acted to remove some billboards after complaints from Air India, according to the minister’s statement.
Saddled with more than 380 billion rupees of debt, the carrier is also seeking compensation from Boeing for delivering overweight 787 jets it says don’t meet fuel-efficiency targets.
To contact the reporter on this story: Anurag Kotoky in New Delhi at akotoky@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anand Krishnamoorthy at anandk@bloomberg.net Suresh Seshadri
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