Dublin: Air India, who is set to announce its first profit in nearly decade, will continue to make money even if oil rises to $60 a barrel, an airline board member said on Thursday.
The Indian government said in March that state-owned Air India would report a Rs8-crore ($1.25 million) profit for the 12 months to March 31 compared to a Rs2,636.18-crore ($394 million) loss in the previous year.
Air India has been able to turnaround years of losses largely due to the collapse in the oil price that has slashed the airline’s operating costs, board member Pankaj Srivastava told Gulf News in Dublin at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meet.
But operating costs have increased for many airlines in the past four months with oil benchmark Brent crude rallying by 80 per cent to $50 a barrel on Friday.
“It’s hardening again. So I expect it’s going to stabilise at $55/$60 … [and] with that kind of pricing we would still be profitable,” Srivastava said.
03/06/16 Alexander Cornwell/Gulf News
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The Indian government said in March that state-owned Air India would report a Rs8-crore ($1.25 million) profit for the 12 months to March 31 compared to a Rs2,636.18-crore ($394 million) loss in the previous year.
Air India has been able to turnaround years of losses largely due to the collapse in the oil price that has slashed the airline’s operating costs, board member Pankaj Srivastava told Gulf News in Dublin at the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual meet.
But operating costs have increased for many airlines in the past four months with oil benchmark Brent crude rallying by 80 per cent to $50 a barrel on Friday.
“It’s hardening again. So I expect it’s going to stabilise at $55/$60 … [and] with that kind of pricing we would still be profitable,” Srivastava said.
03/06/16 Alexander Cornwell/Gulf News
