Go First Secures Rs 210 Cr Through Government’s Credit Line Guarantee Scheme: CEO
- ByStartupStory | January 30, 2023
Go First, owned by the Wadia group, is expecting to receive Rs 210 crore through the government’s credit line guarantee scheme next month. The budget airline aims to enhance its financial standing and grow its operations with the support.
CEO Kaushik Khona said that The airline, which received Rs 210 crore from the promoters last month, aims to have 53 operational aircraft in its fleet by the start of April this year. Currently the airline currently has 37 aircraft in operation.
Under the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), which has come as a relief for many pandemic-hit sectors, Go First has so far availed Rs 600 crore. With promoters’ infusing Rs 210 crore, the airline will be able to get an equal amount under the ECLGS next month, Khona said.
According to reports, Khona said the engine issues are “gradually” getting resolved, and 20 new engines from Pratt & Whitney are expected to come by April. Twenty engines can help Go First operationalise 10 aircraft. One plane has two engines.
Seven new Airbus A320 neo planes will be inducted by April first week.Of the remaining six, two will come in February, three in March and one in April, he added. Going forward, he said, the airline will have 9 more new aircraft by March 2024. Khona noted that in fiscal 2023-24, Go First aims to have 57% growth in passenger volume.
The CEO stated “Today, we already have 37 aircraft operational, and we are receiving 20 serviceable engines by March, which means by April 1, we will have 10 more aircraft in operation from the aircraft which are on the ground.This will help us operate 397-400 flights per day and this way, we will be surpassing the previous peak of both our daily number of flights as well as fleet by a huge number,”
He said there will be 53 aircraft operating in the fleet by April.At the peak of operations, Khona said, the airline had 46 aircraft in operations, operating 333 flights per day.
The airline’s situation has improved and its aircraft are back in operation, thanks to Pratt & Whitney providing the needed engines, according to the CEO. The reduced cost of fuel, from 60% to 42% since September, and the increasing demand for air travel and higher yield are also contributing to the airline’s stability. Despite these positive developments, the airline was recently fined Rs 10 lakh by the aviation regulator DGCA for an incident at Bangalore airport where 55 passengers were left behind on a bus.
The airline entered January with advance bookings at 51%, and should be at the same level the next month also, said Khona, adding that advance bookings for the April-June period are also looking good.
Khona stated “Going forward in April-June the airfares will pick up, and that is why we are giving benefits (by way of special fare offers) to passengers so that they can book in advance.It is still a challenge as there was a lot of fog this time, and our exposure to fog in percentage terms is higher compared to any other airline because our operations are North dominant”.
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