Jet Airways, Others, Consider Holding Off on New Planes

Airbus and Boeing are working with their Indian airline customers to defer delivery of new planes they have ordered rather than having the airlines cancel the lucrative business. Boeing believes that the Indian aviation market with need 1,000 new aircraft over the next 20 years, and they're not changing that forecast despite the current downturn.

That downturn is rough: airlines are expected to lose about $2 billion this year, roughly double what they lost last year. In response, GoAir, Air India and others have cut capacity (Air India by 15% or so). This was a necessary response, considering there were 50 flights a day between Delhi and Mumbai - way too many for the market.

Last month we saw SpiceJet remove toffees from its flights. Now, JetLite will begin charging for water and snacks. Consumers may complain, but the alternative is that they'll complain much more when there are no more flights at all between the cities they want to fly.