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'Corporate air travel likely to be affected'
Corporate air travel in the country was likely to decline in the wake of the financial meltdown in the US and some European economies, official said.
Corporate air travel in the country was likely to decline in the wake of the financial meltdown in the US and some European economies, a top Indian airline official said.
"The financial crisis in some overseas developed economies is bound to lead to a drop in corporate travel in Mumbai. This is already visible abroad and will have its impact in India as well. Airlines here will also face a drop in corporate travel," National Aviation Company of India Limited's (NACIL) Chairman and Managing Director, Raghu Menon, told reporters on the sidelines of a function in Mumbai on Saturday.
India would be no exception to what was happening globally, Menon said.
"I think the same problems afflicting other airlines globally would also affect us," he said.
Another problem confronting airlines was that of non-availability of easy credit, the NACIL official said, adding "if banks are unable to lend us money that would also be a problem...."
However, NACIL's operations would not be affected by the on-going financial crisis and there would be no job-cuts, he said.
"As far as Air India (of which NACIL is the holding company) is concerned, we have strong fundamentals and I don't see any question of grounding any of our aircraft," he said.
