Air India Express beats gloom, may post revenue of Rs2,000 cr

Mumbai: Air India Express, the low-fare unit of National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), could see a 17% jump in revenue in the year ending 31 March, even as flag carrier Air India continues to be deeply in the red.
The airline, which initially focused on short international flights mostly out of Kerala, is expected to clock sales of Rs2,000 crore from two million passengers, up from Rs1,700 crore in fiscal 2009, which was a 43% rise from the preceding fiscal. The estimates, made internally and reviewed by Mint, are based on higher ticket prices in 2009-10.
In contrast, Air India is facing a loss of Rs5,400 crore for the current fiscal, civil aviation minister Praful Patel had told Parliament earlier this month.
“It (Air India) had incurred a loss of Rs2,226.16 crore and Rs5,548 crore during the financial years 2007-08 and 2008-09, respectively,” Patel told the Rajya Sabha on 9 March. “The trend of losses is likely to continue for few more years.”
In 2008-09, a year hit by a global slowdown that bled other carriers, Air India Express posted a net profit of Rs88.73 crore, before sharing 25% revenue with its holding firm. The airline declined to disclose profit after passing on a quarter of its revenue to Nacil in lieu of sales and marketing costs.
16/03/10 P.R. Sanjai/Live Mint

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Categories: Air India Budget Mar 2010, NACIL Mar 2010