India’s Jet Airways Group, in which Etihad Airways owns a 24 per cent stake, has posted a second consecutive quarter of profit.
Jet Airways said it made a net profit of 830 million Indian rupees (Dh46.7m) in its second quarter, which runs to the end of September, compared with a loss of 428m rupees in the same period a year ago.
The carrier launched a three-year turnaround programme in November 2013 when Etihad bought its stake for US$379m.
Revenue for the second quarter was up 8.1 per cent to 55 billion rupees from 50.9bn a year earlier.
Jet Airways group comprises Jet Airways and Jet Lite, its low-cost unit. “It is encouraging to report a profit in the second quarter, which is traditionally a lean season for the aviation sector,” said Cramer Ball, the chief executive of Jet Airways.
The airline said that the performance was driven by rising passenger numbers, which grew 26.3 per cent to 6.3 million in the quarter ended September compared to 5 million a year earlier.
The airline’s international business registered a 6.6 per cent growth in capacity and a 9.7 per cent growth in passengers. Average aircraft usage rose nearly 10 per cent to 12.6 hours.
Meanwhile, Jet also said that it had launched 19 additional frequencies and eight new flights as part of its winter schedule.
selgazzar@thenational.ae
