AASL AIRLINE ALLIED SERVICES LIMITED AASL BOARD OF DIRECTORS (AS ON 26.09.2019) Shri Ashwani Lohani Chairman Shri V. Hejmadi Shri Angshumali Rastogi Shri Pranjol Chandra Chief Executive Officer Shri C S Subbiah Chief Financial Officer Shri Ambar Kumar Mondal Company Secretary Smt. Manjiree M. Vaze Statutory Auditors M/s. M Verma & Associates Chartered Accountant 1209, Hemkunt Chambers 89, Nehru Place New Delhi - 110 019 Registered Office Alliance Bhawan Domestic Terminal-1 I.G.I. Airport New Delhi - 110 037 1 AASL CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE Dear Shareholders, It gives me great pleasure to present to you the Thirty Sixth Annual Report of the Company for the year 2018-19. Airline Allied Services Ltd. is one of the leading regional airlines in the country providing connectivity to Tier II & Tier III cities in India as well a feeder to its parent company, Air India Limited and its subsidiary, Air India Express Limited. It is in the process of expanding its operations on Pan India basis by inducting more aircraft in its fleet. These aircraft will serve shorter routes within the country and also fly overseas in the near future. OVERVIEW- CIVIL AVIATION INDUSTRY India’s civil aviation industry seems to have become a more mature market than any time in the past. The number of players in the industry still remain fairly large. The big change in the current year is the emergence of numerous regional airports that will increase connectivity tremendously across the country. In addition, policy changes like allowing foreign direct investment in domestic airlines have changed the market landscape. Passenger traffic is also rising consistently as consumers are shifting from rail to air, more so in Tier II and Tier III cities. AIR TRAVEL GROWTH The latest data released by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reveals that domestic passenger air traffic grew by 18.60% to reach 139 Million passengers in the Year 2018 as against 117 Million passengers in the Year 2017. The other clear trend that has emerged in recent years is the firm preference for low budget airlines by air travelers. The situation now is that Low cost carriers dominate the skies with nearly 70 per cent market share. INDIA TO BE THIRD LARGEST AVIATION MARKET The country is poised to become the third largest aviation market by 2025, overtaking the UK, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The inflow of foreign investment has led to an acceleration in the industry’s growth over the last seven years. According to data released by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), FDI inflows in air transport (including air freight) between April 2000 and September 2017 stood at USD 1.59 Billion. According to Morgan Stanley, the country will witness an investment of USD 25 Billion in the next decade in the airports sector and traffic growth of 13%. It has projected that the share of air travel in air and rail travel combined in the country will grow to 15.2% by 2027 from 7.9% now. Given the huge investments being planned for the civil aviation sector, it is clear that the country is poised for a big leap in the arena of air travel. It has enormous potential for expansion since air transport remains beyond the reach of most of the country’s travelling public. Rail travel has increasingly become more expensive. In contrast, air travel provides comfort with speed. There is thus no doubt that civil aviation needs to keep a focus on quality, cost and passenger interest, which 2 AASL will enable it to become the third-largest aviation market by 2025. FUEL PRICES Fuel prices account for about 30% to 40% of airlines operational costs. In 2018, fuel prices had been on the rise for most part of the year. In case these continue to rise it will impact pricing and also flight occupancy. Indian consumers tend to be extremely price conscious and airlines find that a hike in prices leads to an immediate dip in demand. For this, however, the industry needs to ensure better efficiency in operations to cut costs and improve passenger service to lure customers. To sum it up the Indian aviation industry is on the verge of a major leap forward. It can only be hoped that the policy environment continues to be conducive to its growth so that the industry can realize its full potential in the coming years. NEW CIVIL AVIATION POLICY – REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME The new Regional Connectivity Scheme “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik" (UDAN) introduced by the Government, which will run for 10 years, will work to revive existing airstrips and airports. Under this scheme in 1st round of bidding, Government had awarded approximately 128 regional routes. In the 2nd, 3rd and 3.1 round of Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), 325 routes, 235 routes and 44 routes respectively, have been awarded to airlines and helicopter operators with the aim of enhancing flight services to hilly and remote areas. Under the scheme airline operators have to offer half of their seats at discounted rates with the Government providing Viability Gap Funding (VGF) or subsidy to airlines. With the introduction of RCS, a number of new routes to unserved and undeserved airports have opened up for Alliance Air and it has been awarded 17 routes, 26 routes, 40 routes and 12 routes in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 3.1 round respectively of the bidding process. The Hon’ble Prime Minister flagged off the first UDAN flight on the Shimla-Delhi sector on 27 April 2017 and Alliance Air had the privilege of being the launch carrier. Alliance Air had launched 29 routes as on 31 March 2019 and also holds the credit for the first airline to complete commencement of operations on all the awarded routes in the first round of bidding. Under Wings India 2018, organized by FICCI in association with Govt of India, Alliance Air has been declared as the winner of ‘Best Airlines and Helicopter under RCS’. As operation to unserved and undeserved airports has been incentivized by the Government it will stimulate traffic on regional routes connecting Tier-II/III cities. Alliance Air, with its young fleet of ATR aircraft can take a position of dominance in the regional market. It, therefore, plans to participate aggressively in the subsequent rounds of RCS bidding as well. PERFORMANCE OF THE COMPANY DURING THE YEAR During the year, the Company incurred a Net Loss of Rs. 2,965.67 Million for Financial Year 2018- 19 (Rs. 2,709.25 Million). Although the total revenue has increased by Rs. 2,227.84 Million, but expenditure increased by Rs. 2,484.25 Million thereby leading to the increase in loss by Rs. 256.41 Million. The increase in losses can be attributed to the following reasons: Pay and allowances increased by approx..24% mainly due to increase in number of Expatriate Pilots, additional manpower recruitment in all departments to cater to the expansion plans. ATF cost increased by Rs. 810.33 Million due to increase in operation - resulting increase in 3 AASL quantity uplifted and average ATF rate increased by 25%. Lease charges increased by Rs. 318.35 Million due to full year impact of 6 Aircraft inducted in the year 2017-18 and induction of 4 new Aircraft in the year 2018-19 (Rs.2,122.50 Million from Rs. 1,804.15 Million). The maintenance charges increased by Rs. 451.36 Million (Rs.2,121.33 Million from Rs. 1,669.97 Million) due to increase in the expenditure on AOG, HSI, GMSA and Cost of material consumed. Handling charges increased by Rs.171.03 Million due to 37% increase in departures & 65% in rates. Other - increase in costs are mainly due to buyout of 02 ATR-42 aircraft, induction of 04 ATR-72 aircraft in fleet, increase in Financial cost towards interest on outstanding amount to Air India and various costs by way of MSA entered with and payable to the parent company. Salient features of increase in revenue are enumerated below: Passenger revenue increased by Rs.1,733.29 Million due to net impact of increase in passenger carriage by 0.316 Million and increase in passenger yield by Rs.321 per passenger. Code Share revenue of Rs. 239.90 Million in 2018-19 as per MSA signed between AIL & AASL, which was made effective 1 April 2018. RCS, VGF & Charter revenue increased by Rs. 354.80 Million (Rs. 891.21 Million to Rs. 1,246.01 Million) due to increase in RCS routes in current year. FUTURE PLANS The passenger aviation market in India has been growing steadily due to induction of capacity by all airlines and also fares becoming more affordable. The growth in Tier II and III cities is still largely untapped, although larger airlines have started deploying capacities in smaller airports. Alliance Air has the advantage of operating ATR type of aircraft since January 2003. It intends to build on this experience of over a decade of serving to Tier II and III cities. The Company has a fleet of 2 ATR 42-320 and 18 ATR 72-600 aircraft. The existing fleet is deployed to operate about 87 flights every day over a network of 55 stations. The Company plans to expand its network and reach to neighboring countries. It further plans to increase the fleet to 40 aircraft by FY 2021. It plans to reverse the trend of adverse financial parameters and improve the financial position of the Company as well. We hope to do much better in the year 2019-2020 and confident of increasing our revenues, cutting down on expenses and loss making routes.