NEW DELHI (Reuters) - State-owned carrier Air India is to
cut its costs by 14 billion rupees ($227 million), or about 6 percent of its
total outlays, in the next financial year after the government asked the
loss-making airline to improve its finances.
Air India, which controls close to a fifth of India's
domestic air travel market, has been losing money for years and has long been
criticised for its high costs. In 2012, the government handed the company a
$5.8 billion bailout package.
The airline said in a statement late on Sunday that it would
identify "surplus staff", freeze contractual hiring and discontinue
flights which are not meeting fuel cost targets, to reduce its variable
spending of 140 billion rupees by a tenth.
Restrictions on staff travel and hospitality have also been
introduced, Air India said.
All but one of the major carriers in India are losing money
because of high operating costs and some of the lowest fare prices in the world
amid intense competition.
($1 = 61.6100 rupees)
(Reporting by Tommy Wilkes; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)
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