But burdensome though the taxes are, they are not the only reason why India's private airlines are suffering.
Governments in the region have followed Chile's lead and decided to get out of the way of private airlines.
The air chief marshal said he did not begrudge the high salaries being offered to his pilots by private airlines.
Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority has begun safety inspections of all airplanes operated by private airlines, days after a crash killed 127 people.
But an added complication has been the emergence of many new private airlines in India that has led to a massive demand for trained pilots.
"The defence minister has ordered a shake down inspection for all the private airlines, " Pervez George, head of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority, told the AFP news agency.
Just as private airlines remain at least as zealous about safety as state-owned ones, there is no reason to expect private railways to skimp more than the always-cash-strapped public ones.
High net-worth individuals also raised their holding to 13.78 percent from 8.45 percent in June quarter, assuming either the government will save the airline or a foreign buyer will acquire it on the cheap now that New Delhi is allowing for foreigners to buy private airlines in the country.
He also spoke candidly on the issue of fighter pilots wanting to quit the IAF for better salaries being offered by private Indian airlines.
All leading online travel agents are aggressively pursuing private label partnerships with airlines.
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Why are private banks not like airlines and telecommunication companies and allowed to go bankrupt if they have been run in an irresponsible way?
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The impetus for the legislation was private pressure from the airlines whose business was disrupted by air traffic furloughs, coupled with public outrage from travelers who were forced to endure delays.
The private activity bonds for American Airlines are now trading around their full face value.
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The industry boomed about a decade ago after deregulation allowed more private players to set up airlines.
The companies defended the choice of transport, saying their chief executives use private jets rather than commercial airlines for safety reasons.
Emirates Airlines offers first-class passengers a private suite, a seat in a pod-like, private space and a chair with massage capability.
Most, including American Airlines, prefer to deal with customers in private.
Meantime, American Airlines, one of the county's biggest private employers, has laid off dozens of Miami-area workers in recent years and avoided Chapter 11 by winning wage and benefit concessions.
Simulators, which have long been used for the airlines and military, now are widely available for the private pilot.
Several U.S. airlines, regardless of whether they lost crew, will hold private memorials.
Orbitz also offers its private-label solutions (hotel bookings at travel supplier websites) to Delta Airlines, KLM, LAN Airlines and Alaska Air, among others.
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The arrival of the -- much delayed -- Airbus A380 "super" jumbo aircraft, which is due to make its debut revenue-earning flight with Singapore Airlines later this year, heralds a whole new era of super private jet.
All the same, some industry experts are sceptical that genuine private investors would be willing to put money into Alitalia and, unsurprisingly, leading European airlines have expressed their concerns to the authorities in Brussels.
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It would become a private, nonprofit corporation, controlled by a board of directors made up of representatives from the commercial airlines, general aviation, airports, ATC workers and passengers.
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