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Gillibrand defends Green New Deal, calls climate change 'greatest threat to humanity we have'

Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand compared the Green New Deal to NASA's race for the Moon in the 1960s, telling Fox News' "Special Report" Monday night that "global climate change ... is the greatest threat to humanity we have."

"Scientists have just reached the conclusion that [climate change is] happening far quicker than we know," the fired-up senator from New York told Chris Wallace. "And, what New Yorkers know and what people all across this country know is, when severe weather hits, people die. It destroys communities."

The Green New Deal, championed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and endorsed by several of Gillibrand's would-be competitors in the Democratic field, is an ambitious jobs and infrastructure program that calls for every building in the United States to be replaced or retrofitted to become more energy efficient and for the replacement of air travel with high-speed rail, among other conditions. Republicans have mocked the proposal, saying it would cost trillions of dollars and cripple the U.S. economy.

WHAT IS THE GREEN NEW DEAL? A LOOK AT THE ECONOMIC AND CLIMATE CONCEPT PUSHED BY PROGRESSIVES

"When John F. Kennedy was president, he said, let’s put a man on the Moon in the next 10 years, not because it’s easy but because it’s hard," Gillibrand said. "It will be a measure of our innovation, our entrepreneurialism, our excellence. Why not say to the American people, ‘Global climate change is not only real, but the urgency of this moment requires a call to action to all of America’s engineers, all of our entrepreneurs, all of our innovators to ... solve the problems together?'"

Gillibrand and Wallace then had a lively exchange over Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren's vow to not hold any "big-money fundraisers" during her campaign. Wallace asked Gillibrand if she saw any contradiction between Warren's promise and Gillibrand's plans to hold a March fundraiser at the home of Pfizer executive Sally Susman.

"I think you do need to get money out of politics," Gillibrand said. "... Today, the wealthiest, most powerful lobbyists and special interest groups get to write bills in the dead of night."

"Okay, but answer my one question directly," Wallace interrupted.

"I will, but –" Gillibrand began.

"$2,700," said Wallace, referring to the reported top ticket price for the fundraiser.

ELIZABETH WARREN SWEARS OFF 'BIG MONEY FUNDRAISERS' WITH WEALTHY DONORS

"Let me finish, let me finish," Gillibrand said. "I got you, I got you, I got your point, I’m going to get to it." The senator went on to describe Susman as "who’s a dear friend who I’ve known for years and years, who believes in my gay-rights platform and believes in women’s rights."

"Okay, but what about $2,700 tickets?" Wallace asked again.

"Let me finish," Gillibrand said again. "So, what’s wrong with Washington is, there’s so much corruption. So much corruption, so much greed. We can’t actually pass common sense gun reform in this country not because the American people aren’t behind it – because they are – but because the (National Rifle Association) is more worried about gun sales than they are about the well-being of our kids. So what’s really wrong with Washington is corruption and greed."

"Can you answer my question," Wallace repeated.

"Yes, just let me finish," said Gillibrand, who went on to claim she would not take money from federal lobbyists, super-PACs or corporate PACs and would not have an individual super-PAC for her campaign.

"Could you just answer, though," Wallace responded. "$2,700 tickets, are you going to go ahead and have the fundraiser or not?"

"Of course, I’m going to ask Americans all across this country to support my campaign," Gillibrand said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"And, you don't see a contradiction?" asked Wallace.

"I don't," Gillibrand said, "because at the end of the day, people are going to support our campaign because they believe in us."

Source: Fox News Politics

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Albanian opposition denies getting Russian secret funds

Albanian prosecutors say they have questioned opposition Democratic Party leaders about suspicious spending abroad of $650,000 during parliamentary elections two years ago.

A statement by the Tirana prosecutor's office on Monday said Democrats' leader Lulzim Basha and three other politicians were questioned on why their party had not declared the money spent in United States and Scotland.

Basha denied breaking any laws, saying that responses from the authorities in the United States and Britain "prove that the Democratic Party and its leaders have not broken any law."

The U.S. publication Mother Jones has alleged that the Democrats received secret funds from Russian sources using a U.S. lobbyist, Nick Muzin, who was paid by a Russian-linked company called Biniatta Trade.

The center-right Democrats have rejected the allegations.

Source: Fox News World

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Attorney: Fake German heiress had ‘ambitious’ business plans

A defense attorney says fake German heiress Anna Sorokin was merely "buying time" and intended to pay back the friends and banks she's accused of swindling.

Attorney Todd Spodek told a Manhattan jury in his closing argument Tuesday that Sorokin had ambitious business plans and never intended to commit a crime.

He said Sorokin led an unethical and unorthodox lifestyle but was "enabled every step of the way by a system that favors people with money."

Prosecutors say Sorokin bilked people and businesses out of $275,000 over a 10-month period.

They say she peddled bogus bank statements in applying for a $22 million loan to fund a private arts club.

Deliberations are expected later Tuesday.

Source: Fox News National

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Brexit: Deutsche Bank ups likelihood of no-deal, turns bearish on sterling

FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank's office buildings in Frankfurt
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Deutsche Bank is seen in front of one of the bank's office buildings in Frankfurt, Germany, October 27, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo

April 1, 2019

LONDON (Reuters) – Deutsche Bank said on Monday it has increased the likelihood of Britain crashing out of the European Union without a deal on April 12 and has turned tactically bearish on the pound as chaos over the outcome of the prolonged process deepened.

The bank said it has raised its estimate for the chances of a no-deal Brexit to 25 percent from 20 percent and given the increasingly high probability of no deal, it is targeting an exchange rate of 90 pence per euro.

It pegged the chances of Parliament failing to reach consensus in indicative votes later on Monday and the withdrawal agreement being passed by the April 12 deadline at 15 percent and kept its other Brexit forecasts unchanged.

For a graphic on No-deal Brexit probabilities, see – https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ua88Pc

For an interactive chart on this, click on: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ua88yG

For a graphic on No-deal Brexit probabilities, see – https://tmsnrt.rs/2VlgLGT

(Reporting by Josephine Mason and Helen Reid, Editing by Helen Reid)

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U.S. slaps more charges on parents in college admissions cheating scandal

FILE PHOTO: Actor Lori Loughlin and her husband Mossimo Giannulli leave the federal courthouse in Boston
FILE PHOTO: Actor Lori Loughlin, and her husband, fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, leave the federal courthouse after facing charges in a nationwide college admissions cheating scheme, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., April 3, 2019. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

April 9, 2019

BOSTON (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors filed fresh conspiracy and money laundering charges on Tuesday against 16 parents charged with paying bribes to secure their children seats in elite universities in the largest college admissions scam uncovered in U.S. history.

Parents including “Full House” actor Lori Loughlin and her fashion designer husband Mossimo Giannulli had already been charged with racketeering conspiracy for their alleged role in the scheme, in which parents paid some $25 million in bribes to secure their offspring places at universities including Yale, Georgetown and the University of Southern California.

Fourteen parents, including “Desperate Housewives” star Felicity Huffman, on Monday pleaded guilty to taking part in the scam, masterminded by California college admissions consultant William “Rick” Singer.

Singer last month pleaded guilty to facilitating the cheating scam and bribing coaches to present the parents’ children as fake athletic recruits.

Prosecutors have not yet charged any applicants and said that in some cases the parents involved took steps to try to prevent their children from realizing they were benefiting from fraud.

Colleges have begun revoking the admissions and pursuing expulsion of students who obtained their seats as a result of the fraud.

(Reporting by Scott Malone, Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)

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2 paragliders killed after colliding mid-air, crashing into California cliff, officials say

Two paragliders were killed Saturday after colliding mid-air and plummeting about 75 feet into a California cliffside as stunned onlookers watched below.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Lt. Rich Stropsky said at a news conference the "tragic incident" happened around 2:40 p.m. at Torrey Pines Gliderport in the northern coastal part of San Diego County.

"Apparently what happened was the student individual was heading southbound and made a turn, a hard-right turn, right in this area where the flag is and ended up running into the other flyer that was in the northbound direction," he told reporters. "They became entwined, and they started to fall."

One of the men was an experienced pilot who was certified to fly on his own, while the other one was working on getting his advanced certification, according to Stropsky.

HANG GLIDER CLUTCHES TO AIRCRAFT AT 4,000 FEET AFTER PILOT FORGETS TO ATTACH HIM

Madeline Henderson told KGTV she was stunned when she saw the collision take place.

"I initially heard the collapse of the chute," she told the television station. "I heard a collision and some kind of sound, and looked over and saw two people falling from the sky."

Stunned witnesses said the paragliders were "falling out of the sky" after colliding.

Stunned witnesses said the paragliders were "falling out of the sky" after colliding. (FOX5)

Stropsky said the two men, who have not yet been identified, were not flying together and were pronounced dead at the scene.

UTAH WOMAN SAYS CROWBAR CRASHED INTO WINDSHIELD ON FREEWAY: 'I’M LUCKY TO BE ALIVE'

Another witness told FOX5 San Diego it was "very traumatizing" to witness.

"We've seen the hang gliders, paragliders around but we've never seen anything like this," Tommy King told the television station.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP

San Diego Fire-Rescue had to use a helicopter to recover the bodies because of their position on the cliff, according to officials.

The gliderport where the collision took place is a spot not meant for beginners, with intermediate pilots and advanced pilots needing to check in and show a license before taking to the air, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The last fatal crash at the site took place in 2012 when a woman from South Carolina crashed into a cliff about 200 feet above Black's Beach, according to the newspaper.

“I don’t recall the last time 2 gliders became entwined,” Stropsky told reporters.

Source: Fox News National

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Charles Payne: New York budget, taxes a sign politicians have run out of ways to keep promises

Living in New York is about to get more expensive and more difficult for many.

Fox Business’ Charles Payne says New York politicians are desperate for money and looking for it any which way they can after passing a progressive budget Sunday.

“Well I mean you know they're spending a lot of money and they need to find it any way they can and look under every pillow cushion they could find,” Payne said on “America’s Newsroom” Monday.

NEW YORK OFFICIALS FACE BACKLASH OVER 'CONGESTION TAX'

The Democrat-controlled New York Legislature Sunday passed a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags and planned to approve tolls for driving into the busiest sections of Manhattan starting in 2021 as part of a $175.5 billion state budget agreement 

“You know I do find interesting, though, the idea that we're going to tax people who drive into work in the city to fix the subway," Payne said. “That’s progressive.”

The budget, worked out with Gov. Andrew Cuomo, includes other agreements that will include two other dedicated revenue sources for the subways: a “mansion tax” on Manhattan homes that sell for $25 million or higher, and an internet sales tax levied on retailers who sell merchandise online.

Payne was critical of the budget, saying it doesn’t really help New York grow.

“It's another one of these big city tax plans that ultimately, I don't see how it helps build the city right. It's not pro-growth,” Payne said.  “It's about where can we find money and in many instances where can we deter people from wanting to even come to the city.”

“This budget is probably the strongest progressive statement that we’ve made,” Cuomo said Sunday.  “If you have big problems, it calls for big solutions.”

The Manhattan tolls plan, known as congestion pricing, will be the first of its kind in the nation with the billions the tolls are expected to raise going toward fixing New York City’s mass transit system.

OCASIO-CORTEZ DEFENDS ROLE IN AMAZON EXIT

Payne believes politicians have ran out creative ways to keep promises to their constituents.

"There's no creative way for them to stay in office after making all the promises that they've made to get office in the first place," Payne said. "To ever go back and say hey let's do this in a smart way which will attract business which will attract a well-heeled people to live in our cities."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: Fox News Politics

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Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London
Members of The Cranberries, bassist Mike Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and guitarist Noel Hogan speak to Reuters during an interview in London, Britain, April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Gerhard Mey

April 26, 2019

By Hanna Rantala

LONDON (Reuters) – Irish rockers The Cranberries are saying goodbye with their final album released on Friday, a poignant tribute to lead singer Dolores O’Riordan who died last year.

“In the End” is the eighth studio album from the band that rose to fame in the early 1990s with hits likes “Zombie” and “Linger”, and includes the final recordings by O’Riordan, who drowned in a London hotel bath in January 2018 due to alcohol intoxication.

Work on the album began during a 2017 tour and by that winter, O’Riordan and guitarist Neil Hogan had penned and demoed 11 tracks.

With O’Riordan’s vocals recorded, Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan and drummer Fergal Lawler completed the album in tribute to her.

“When we realized how strong the songs were, that was the deciding factor really… There was no point… trying to ruin the legacy of the band,” Noel Hogan said in an interview.

“It was obvious that Dolores wanted this album done because when you hear the album, you hear the songs and how strong they are, and she was very, very excited to get in and record this.”

The Cranberries formed in Limerick in 1989 with another singer. O’Riordan replaced him a year later and the group went on to become Ireland’s best-selling rock band after U2, selling more than 40 million records.

O’Riordan, known for her strong distinctive voice singing about relationships or political violence, was 46 when she died.

“She was actually in quite a good place mentally. She was feeling quite content and strong and looking forward to a new phase of her life,” Lawler said.

“A lot of the lyrics in this album are about things ending… people might read into it differently but it was a phase of her personal life that she was talking about.”

The group previously announced their intention to split after the release of “In The End”.

“We are absolutely gutted we can’t play (the songs) live because that’s something that’s been a massive part of this band from day one,” Noel Hogan said.

“A few people have said to us about maybe even doing a one off where you have different vocalists… as kind of guests of ours. A year ago that’s definitely something we weren’t going to entertain but I don’t know, I think it’s something we need to go away and take time off for the summer and have a think about.”

Critics have generally given positive reviews of the album; NME described it as “(seeing) the band’s career go full-circle” while the Irish Times called it “an unexpected late career high and a remarkable swan song for O’Riordan”.

Their early songs still play on the radio. This week, “Dreams” was performed at the funeral of journalist Lyra McKee, who was shot dead in Londonderry last week as she watched Irish nationalist youths attack police following a raid.

“We wrote them as kids, as a hobby and 30 years later they are on radio and on TV, like all the time… That’s far more than any of us ever thought we would have,” Noel Hogan said.

“That would make Dolores really happy because she was very precious about those songs. Her babies, she called them and to have that hopefully long after we’re gone… that’s all any band can wish for.”

(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; additoinal reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Susan Fenton)

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2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston
2020 Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren participates in the She the People Presidential Forum in Houston, Texas, U.S. April 24, 2019. REUTERS/Loren Elliott

April 26, 2019

By Joshua Schneyer and M.B. Pell

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Senator Elizabeth Warren will introduce a bill Friday that offers new protections for U.S. military families facing unsafe housing, following a series of Reuters reports revealing squalid conditions in privately managed base homes.

The Reuters reports and later Congressional hearings detailed widespread hazards including lead paint exposure, vermin infestations, collapsing ceilings, mold and maintenance lapses in privatized base housing communities that serve some 700,000 U.S. military family members.

(View Warren’s military housing bill here. https://tmsnrt.rs/2Dy5aht)

(Read Reuters’ Ambushed at Home series on military housing here. https://www.reuters.com/investigates/section/usa-military)

The Massachusetts Democrat’s bill would mandate both regular and unannounced spot inspections of base homes by certified, independent inspectors, holding landlords accountable for quickly fixing hazards. The military’s privatization program for years allowed real estate firms to operate base housing with scant oversight, Reuters found, leaving some tenants in unsafe homes with little recourse against landlords.

The bill would also require the Department of Defense and its private housing operators to publish reports annually detailing housing conditions, tenant complaints, maintenance response times and the financial incentives companies receive at each base. The provisions aim to enhance transparency of housing deals whose finances and operations the military had allowed to remain largely confidential under a privatization program since the late 1990s.

The measure would also require private landlords to cover moving costs for at-risk families, and healthcare costs for people with medical conditions resulting from unsafe base housing, ensuring they receive continuing coverage even after they leave the homes or the military.

“This bill will eliminate the kind of corner-cutting and neglect the Defense Department should never have let these private housing partners get away with in the first place,” Warren said in a statement Friday.

The proposed legislation comes after February Senate hearings where Warren, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, slammed private real estate firms for endangering service families, and sought answers about why military branches weren’t providing more oversight.

Her legislation would direct the Defense Department to allow local housing code enforcers onto federal bases, following concerns they were sometimes denied access. Warren’s office said a companion bill in the House of Representatives would be introduced by Rep. Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico.

In response to the housing crisis, military branches are developing a tenant bill of rights and hiring hundreds of new housing staff. The branches recently dispatched commanders to survey base housing worldwide for safety hazards, resulting in thousands of work orders and hundreds of tenants being moved. The Defense Department has pledged to renegotiate its 50-year contracts with private real estate firms.

Congress has been quick to take its own measures. Earlier legislation proposed by senators Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris of California, along with Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, would compel base commanders to withhold rent payments and incentive fees from the private ventures if they allow home hazards to persist.

(Editing by Ronnie Greene)

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A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: A worker holds a nozzle to pump petrol into a vehicle at a fuel station in Mumbai, India, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas

April 26, 2019

By Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma

NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Surging global oil prices will pose a first big challenge to India’s new government, whoever wins an election now under way, especially as domestic prices have been allowed to lag, meaning consumers are in for a painful surge as they catch up.

For oil-import dependent India, higher global prices could lead to a weaker rupee, higher inflation, the ruling out of interest rate cuts and could further weigh on twin current account and budget deficits, economists warned.

But compounding the future pain, state-run fuel suppliers and retailers have held off passing on to consumers the higher prices during a staggered general election, which began on April 11 and ends on May 23, according to sources familiar with the situation.

That delay is expected to be unwound once the election is over. And there could be additional price increases to make up for losses or profits missed during the period of delayed increases, the sources said.

In some major Asian countries, such as Japan and South Korea, pump prices are adjusted periodically so they move largely in tandem with international crude prices.

That was what was supposed to happen in India but the election means there have been many days when pump prices have been unchanged.

In New Delhi, for example, while crude oil prices have gone up by nearly $9 a barrel, or about 12 percent, in the past six weeks, gasoline prices have only risen by 0.47 rupees a liter, or 0.6 percent.

State-controlled fuel suppliers and retailers declined to say why they had delayed price increases, or discuss whether there has been any pressure from the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

A government spokesman declined to comment.

The opposition Congress party said Modi’s government was violating its own policy of daily price revision by advising the state oil companies to hold prices steady.

“The government should cut fuel taxes otherwise consumers will have to pay much higher oil prices once the elections are over,” said Akhilesh Pratap Singh, a senior leader of the Congress party.

(GRAPHIC: India Polls: Fuel price hike lags crude surge – https://tmsnrt.rs/2XLlxik)

Nitin Goyal, treasurer at the All India Petroleum Dealers Association, representing fuel stations in 25 states, said prices were similarly held down for 19 days in the southern state of Karnataka last year, when it held state assembly elections.

Only for them to surge after the vote.

“Consumers should be ready for a rude shock of a massive jump in retail prices, similar to the level we have seen in the Karnataka state election,” Goyal said.

‘CREDIT NEGATIVE’

Sri Paravaikkarasu, director for Asia oil at Singapore-based consultancy FGE, said retail prices of gasoline and gasoil prices would have been up to 6 percent, or about 4 rupee, higher if they had been allowed to rise in line with global prices.

“Indian pump prices have failed to keep up with the recent uptrend in crude prices,” Paravaikkarasu said.

“With the country’s general elections underway, the incumbent government has been keeping pump prices relatively unchanged.”

India had switched to a daily price revision in June 2017 from a revision every two weeks, as the government allowed retailers to set prices.

But the government faced protests last October when retailers raised prices by up to 10 rupees a liter after the crude oil price went above $80 a barrel, forcing it to cut fuel taxes.

Global prices rose to their highest level in 2019 on Thursday, days after the United States announced all Iran sanction waivers would end by May, pressuring importers including India to stop buying Tehran’s oil. [O/R]

Higher oil prices will mean Asia’s third largest economy is likely to see growth of less than 7 percent rate this fiscal year, economists said. Growth slowed to 6.6 percent in the October-December quarter, the slowest in five quarters.

Rating agency CARE has warned that a 10 percent rise in global oil prices could increase demand for dollars, putting pressure on the rupee and widening the current account deficit.

India’s oil import bill rose by nearly one-third in the fiscal year ending March 31 to $140.5 billion, against $108 billion the previous year.

“The increase in international oil prices is a credit negative for the Indian economy,” ICRA, the Indian arm of the Fitch rating agency, said in a note.

“Every $10/ bbl increase in crude oil prices increases the fiscal deficit by about 0.1 percent of GDP.”

Any big price rise would also build a case for the central bank to keep rates steady, or even raise them.

The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee, which cut the benchmark policy repo rate by 25 basis points this month, warned that rising oil and food prices could push up inflation.

Policymakers are worried that a sustained increase in the oil price in the range of $70-75/barrel or higher can move the rupee down by 3-4 percent on an annual basis.

The rupee has depreciated by 1.24 percent against the dollar since a year high in mid-March.

($1 = 70.1800 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Manoj Kumar and Nidhi Verma; Editing by Martin Howell and Rob Birsel)

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FILE PHOTO: Uber's logo is displayed on a mobile phone in London, Britain
FILE PHOTO: Uber’s logo is displayed on a mobile phone in London, Britain, September 14, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo

April 26, 2019

(Reuters) – Ride-hailing company Uber Technologies Inc unveiled terms for its initial public offering on Friday, telling investors it would seek to sell as much as $10.35 billion in stock at a valuation of up to $91.5 billion.

In a regulatory filing, Uber set a target price range of $44-$50 per share for its IPO. The company will sell 180 million shares in the offering, with a further 27 million sold by insiders.

In the filing, Uber also reported a net loss attributable to the company for the first quarter of 2019 of around $1 billion and revenues of roughly $3 billion.

(Reporting by Joshua Franklin; editing by Patrick Graham)

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FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways aircraft are seen parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai
FILE PHOTO: Jet Airways aircraft are seen parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, India, April 18, 2019. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo

April 26, 2019

By Aditi Shah and Abhirup Roy

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI (Reuters) – The grounding of India’s Jet Airways is turning into a quick windfall and long-term opportunity for international airlines keen to scoop up nearly a million outbound passengers from what was once the nation’s biggest airline.

Jet, which previously had a fleet of around 120 largely Boeing Co planes, was forced to indefinitely halt all flight operations on April 17 after its banks rejected the carrier’s plea for emergency funds.

The carrier’s descent into crisis has benefited international airlines in the form of rising fares and demand, data showed.

Fares from India to cities such as Dubai, London, New York, Singapore and Bali in the first quarter of 2019 rose between 4 percent and 32 percent from a year ago, according to Indian travel portal MakeMyTrip Ltd.

In the peak travel months of May and June, fares to London have spiked as much as 36 percent and tickets to San Francisco are up nearly 20 percent from a year ago, according to data from travel portal Yatra.com.

“For the next three months it’s actually bonanza time for international players,” said Ashish Nainan, a research analyst at CARE Ratings. “At least until the middle of June, the fares are not going to come down.”

Due to rising demand, even before Jet’s lessors grounded planes, carriers such as British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, Singapore Airlines Ltd and United Airlines saw an up to a 27 percent increase in passenger numbers from India in the last quarter of 2018, data from India’s aviation regulator showed. That is the latest period for which the data is available.

India is one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets, clocking 15-20 percent domestic growth in recent years. It has long had only two full-service long-haul carriers, state-run Air India and Jet.

Jet is now hoping to be bailed out by a new investor, with final bids due on May 10.

INCREASING CAPACITY

Before its grounding, Jet had the biggest share of India’s outbound international air traffic, carrying 12 percent of the 7.8 million passengers headed overseas in the Oct-Dec quarter, down from 14 percent a year earlier, data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation showed.

For an interactive graphic on Jet’s market share, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2WvDQYi

For an interactive graphic on average daily flights by the airline, click https://tmsnrt.rs/2FeFDel

The total number of passengers traveling overseas with Jet fell 10 percent during the last quarter of 2018 even as the outbound travel market grew about 5 percent.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines posted a 27 percent increase in passengers from India, Cathay registered 17 percent growth and British Airways saw a 10 percent rise in the same period.

Cathay said the events at Jet combined with increasing demand for travel had led it to deploy larger aircraft with more seats on some Indian routes.

“In the long term we would certainly like to be able to offer more capacity into India, not just on our existing routes but by establishing new services to secondary cities,” Cathay said in a statement.

Singapore Airlines, in an email to Reuters, said the Indian market is “very promising” but declined to give details of airfare levels or demand patterns in the wake of Jet’s exit, citing a quiet period before the release of its annual results.

DOMESTIC GAINS

Jet’s grounding has also had a big impact on the domestic market, with inter-city air fares to major cities such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata soaring more than 20 percent in May and June, according to Yatra.com.

The spike in fares is expected to underpin strong earnings for IndiGo and SpiceJet Ltd, which are set to report results for the quarter ended March 31 in the coming weeks.

“Domestic Indian carriers are the main benefactors, but I suspect if Jet fails to be revived by May 10 then Vistara and other airlines that ply international routes, particularly the lucrative Gulf market, are the main winners,” said Shukor Yusof, the head of aviation consultancy Endau Analytics. Vistara is a joint venture of India’s Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.

Inadequate bilateral traffic rights between India and other countries, however, could be an impediment to foreign carriers’ hopes of winning business lost by Jet, some analysts said.

“Even before Jet’s operational shutdown, international capacity was significantly constrained,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO for South Asia of consultancy CAPA. “We have now more serious capacity challenge … this is unlikely to be stabilized in the near term.”

A new national government likely to be in place sometime after elections end in May is expected to address the international capacity constraints, and once bilateral agreements are eased airlines including Emirates, Turkish and Qatar would immediately benefit, said Kaul.

“We would love to add more flights but we are at the limit of the allocation granted to us for traffic rights,” Emirates Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Alexander Cornwell in Dubai, Jamie Freed in Singapore and Tanvi Mehta in Mumbai; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

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