Air India Takeoffs Face Hurdle in Tall Mumbai Billboards
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Mumbai’s towering billboards, which hawk everything from the latest Bollywood movies to soda, block out more than some sunlight. They’re also a physical hurdle preventing Air India Ltd. from reaching its potential on what should be one of its most lucrative routes.
The height of billboards near India’s financial hub means the Boeing Co. 777-300ER jets the carrier uses for non-stop flights to Newark, New Jersey, near New York City must fly 51 fewer passengers, or 15 percent below capacity, in order to clear them. That’s costing 100 million rupees ($1.6 million) a month in lost revenue, India’s junior aviation minister G.M. Siddeshwara told parliament yesterday.