We are evaluating the option of launching a regional airline or commencing international operations. For inorganic growth, we are looking at mergers and acquisitions as and when the opportunity presents; maybe even consolidation. We are conducting the analysis right now. And if the results say it makes sense to explore a few routes, for us it will be a question of how soon we can get those airplanes and how soon we can deploy them.
If it makes economic sense, we may experiment on certain routes for a hub and spoke model. We achieved breakeven profitability in Q3. If the current economic conditions prevail, next year will be a breakeven or even a small profit one for us. We will be very aggressively looking at growth opportunities. A crucial element in surviving this downturn would be to keep a check on costs.
As the Federation of Indian Airlines, we have written letters to the ministry expressing our concern about the increasing fees. The Airport Authority of India has announced a 10 per cent increase in airport fees which are actually not passed on to the customer. So on the one hand we get forced to lower the prices as fuel prices are going down, but on the other hand, the surcharges and different costs keep going up.
We welcome the government's proposal to make it easier for foreign airlines to invest in India. However, we are not looking at equity dilution. We might talk to an airline about a strategic alliance, if an opportunity presents itself in future. We have cash in the bank and we are running almost a cash neutral business right now.
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