AirAsia India June Quarter Revenue Up 73 Per Cent; Net Loss Shrinks 56 Per Cent

AirAsia India, one of India's newly launched economy airlines and a joint venture between Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia Berhad and India's Tata Group, recorded a 73 per cent increase in revenue at Rs 189 crore, narrowing its net loss by 56 per cent during the June quarter as compared to a year ago.

The Chennai-based airline carried higher number of passenger, up 76 per cent, during the latest quarter.

Meanwhile, its load factor was at 87 per cent (up 4 per cent year-on-year) while ancillary revenue per passenger grew by 13 per cent to Rs 415.

"India is progressing very well in the past few quarters," said AirAsia’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Tony Fernandes in a statement.

"Load factor has again posted a record high which demonstrates our guests' preference for flying with us and this is also reflected in the total passengers carried which increased by 76 per cent compared to last year to 0.53 million passengers. Despite being a new airline, it is worth AirAsia India's CASK (Cost of Available Seat-Kilometer) is much lower as compared to its peers in that market," he added.

The AirAsia Group, which also operates in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, and Japan through its associate companies like AirAsia India, posted quarterly revenue of RM 2.77 billion while operating profit for the Group was recorded at RM 425.66 million.

The Group's profit before tax for the quarter under review is recorded at RM 212.42 million, while cash balances stood at RM 2.71 billion.

In AirAsia India, which was launched in 2013, AirAsia Berhad holds 49 per cent stake, while Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, holds 40.06 per cent stake. Aviation investor Arun Bhatia holds the remaining 10 per cent in the airline through his company Telestra Tradeplace.

India's fourth largest low cost carrier after IndiGo, GoAir and SpiceJet, with a current market share of 2.2 per cent, AiraAsia India was also the first foreign airline to set up a subsidiary in India and it marked Tata's return to the aviation industry after 60 years.