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What ails India’s airlines?

India's domestic aviation industry is said to be one of the fastest growing in the world, so why are airlines making huge losses?

India's domestic aviation industry is one of the fastest growing in the world. But with soaring demand comes cut-throat competition, and pressure to keep costs low.

Most Indian airlines, facing a turbulent time over the last few years, are making huge losses, and many airlines are struggling to stay in business. The latest example is the 25-year-old Jet Airways, which has temporarily suspended operations – and the jobs of 23,000 employees – saying it has no more money to fly its aircraft.

So what's going wrong?

We take a look into this lucrative but high stakes industry with a senior Jet Airways pilot and vice president of the National Aviators' Guild, a former joint secretary of India's civil aviation sector, and a young entrepreneur who is the CEO of a private jet service.

Will India manage to keep its aviation industry ticking? And is it the end of the road for full-service airlines?

Presenter: Devina Gupta

Contributors: Captain Asim Valiani, Vice President, National Aviators' Guild; Sanat Kaul, Former Joint Secretary, Civil Aviation; Kanika Tekriwal, CEO, JetSetGo

Image: A Jet Airways employee protests outside Indira Gandhi International Airport (Credit: Sanjeev Verma/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Available now

25 minutes

Last on

Fri 19 Apr 2019 15:32GMT

Broadcast

  • Fri 19 Apr 2019 15:32GMT

Podcast