JET Airways’ announced revenues of 40,145 million rupees ($898.1 million) for its Q1 fiscal year (April ’11 to March’12), up by 14.7 per cent, while passenger growth increased by 13 per cent and operating profits (EBITDAR) were recorded at 3,120 million rupees ($69.8 million).
The airline continues to maintain its leadership position in the Indian aviation industry with the highest market share of 25.5 per cent for the quarter ending June 2011.
CEO Nikos Kardassis, said, “Jet Group further consolidated its leadership position in Indian skies by carrying a record two million guests in the month of May 2011 further reiterating the fact that Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect and JetLite have all catered to distinct passenger segments.
“Our on-time performance and service delivery have also seen consistent improvements over the last few months.
“The near term does pose some challenge in terms of crude oil prices but I am sure we will come out of this as a much stronger and smarter airline.”
Domestic operations accounted for 43 per cent of total revenues 15,462 million rupees ($345.9 million), reflecting a growth of 12 per cent for the quarter versus the same period last year. International operations accounted for 57 per cent of total revenues of 20,362 million rupees ($455.5 million).
“We achieved seat factor of 80.5 per cent in the first quarter versus 80.1 per cent for the same period, last year. The EBITDAR margins were at 11.2 per cent this quarter,” added Kardassis.
While the domestic sector proved to be a challenge in the first quarter due to competitive pricing activities, which resulted in muted demand and low seat factors, Jet Airways improved its yield per passenger by more than 10 per cent year on year.
The period also saw a steep increase in fuel prices and it was due to the airline’s stringent cost saving measures and regular tactical route rationalisation initiatives that Jet Airways posted operating profits of 3,286 million rupees ($74 million) for the quarter.
This year, Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal has been re-elected to the prestigious board of governors of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) from 2011 to 2013, he previously served from 2008 to 2011.
In further news Jet Airways has partnered with ngpay offering guests a convenient option to seamlessly book Jet Airways tickets on their mobile phones allowing travellers to book cancel and refund their eTickets and also manage payment cards on their phones.
And the airline has also started operating an additional 10 integrated check-in counters at island M of the new Terminal 3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi bringing the number of integrated check-in desks to 42 across islands C, D and M for both domestic and international travel.