India's second-biggest private airline Jet Airways has reported its quarterly loss narrowed by 86 percent from a year ago as it benefited from troubles roiling rival Kingfisher Airlines. Jet announced on November 02 a net loss of 997 million rupees ($18.5 million) in the second quarter, down sharply from a 7.13-billion rupees loss posted in the same period a year earlier, as operating income surged.
The results surprised aviation analysts who expected the airline to post a 2.6-billion rupee loss for the three months to September. Jet is among the carriers which have gained passengers from cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines owned by liquor baron Vijay Mallya that until last year was India's second-largest airline but now is its smallest. The airline industry's regulator last month suspended debt-laden Kingfisher's licence until it came up with a "viable" revival plan.
Jet's income from operations climbed 20 percent year-on-year to 37.5 billion rupees while overall revenues jumped 25 percent to 41.37 billion rupees. Sale and leaseback of aircraft and scrapping money-losing routes helped buttress performance, the carrier said. Jet is the second-biggest private airline in India by the number of passengers carried with a near 24 percent share of the market. All of India's airlines barring two - low-cost IndiGo and SpiceJet - are losing money and struggling to cope with heavy debt, intense competition and hefty fuel prices.
The government recently cleared a $5.75-billion bailout package for state-run Air India, which has debts of $8.3 billion.
Declining passenger numbers are another problem facing India's once vibrant aviation sector. The number of passengers flying shrank by one percent between January and September, according to aviation regulatory data.