Restrictions on staff travel and hospitality: Air India to cut costs by Rs 1,400 cr

State-owned carrier Air India is to cuts its costs by Rs 1400 crore ($227 million), or about 6 percent of its total outlays, in the next financial year after the government asked the loss-making airline to improve its finances. [caption id=“attachment_1708097” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Reuters[/caption] Air India, which controls close to a fifth of India’s domestic air travel market, has been losing money for years and has long been criticised for its high costs. In 2012, the government handed the company a $5.8 billion bailout package. The airline said in a statement late on Sunday that it would identify “surplus staff”, freeze contractual hiring and discontinue flights which are not meeting fuel cost targets, to reduce its variable spending of Rs 14000 crore by a tenth. Restrictions on staff travel and hospitality have also been introduced, Air India said. All but one of the major carriers in India are losing money because of high operating costs and some of the lowest fare prices in the world amid intense competition. Reuters