Jet Airways, the Indian airline that is partly owned by Etihad Airways, said its net income in the three months ending September advanced 2.5 per cent, aided by a rise in passengers.
Profit after taxation rose to 849 million Indian rupees (Dh47.2m) from 829m rupees in the corresponding period last year, the Mumbai-based airline said. Revenues increased 3.2 per cent to 58.6 billion rupees, the airline said. The company’s financial year starts on April 1 and ends March 31, as is common practice in India.
Meanwhile, passengers carried by the airline rose 6.3 per cent to 6.7 million in the second quarter from 6.3 million in the same period last year.
“Improvements in operational performance have helped Jet Airways participate in the strong growth being witnessed in the Indian aviation market,” said Naresh Goyal, the chairman.
“Our guests form the core of our business and we continue to evolve to offer them an enhanced experience and additional choices for travel. That includes providing seamless global and domestic connectivity as well as freedom and flexibility to plan their travel via our unique Fare Choices initiative.”
Jet’s focus in recent quarters has been on operational efficiency. That has included reducing costs per available seat kilometre by 7 per cent and increasing aircraft use across its fleet of Boeing 737s to among the highest levels in the industry.
The UK’s Brexit vote, economic worries, fears of terrorist attacks and overcapacity on some transatlantic routes have all led to an increasingly negative view among investors on the big global airlines.
Airberlin, another Etihad partner, announced widening losses and ongoing restructuring in August as terrorist attacks in Europe discouraged air travel in “challenging and volatile” conditions. Its second-quarter loss totalled €62.7m (Dh250m) before interest and tax, up from €15.9m in the comparable period last year.
mkassem@thenational.ae
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