Aviation Industry could not grow with high taxation : Goyal

BEIJING: Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal on Monday came out heavily against high tax rates on aviation industry. He said that aviation industry could not grow with such taxation.
‘Air fares in India were about 300 per cent higher than those in China and some other countries because of high tax rates. Do you know that the fares of Chinese airlines are a third of the Indian carriers? Why is it so? Because there are no taxes here. No country in the world except India imposes a service tax on airlines. In fact, the Indian fares are higher by 200-300 pc if compared with the world’s other carriers, leave alone Chinese,” Goyal told Hindustan Times on the sidelines of the annual general sidelines of the annual general meeting of the IATA in Beijing.
Talking about company’s expansion plans, Goyal said ” we are looking at those destinations which will make money like Paris, Munich and Frankfurt to name a few”.

Asked about recent reports that his airline was intending to buy 100 Airbus aircraft, Goyal ruled it out saying “we are only planning to induct four more A330-300 aircraft by early part of the next financial year”.
Regarding joining a global airline alliance, he said “we are in talks both with Star Alliance and Sky Team. Let us see what materialises. That is all I can tell you at this point of time”.

Jet Airways was in an advanced stage of joining the Star Alliance earlier, along with Air India whose induction into the global airlines grouping was put off due to its precarious financial health.