India’s flagship carrier Air India posted a record full-year loss of $2.79 billion (around Rs 26,798 crore) in 2025-26, dealing a major blow to shareholder Singapore Airlines and underscoring the severe operational and geopolitical challenges facing the Tata Group-owned airline.
The losses resulted in a $743 million hit to Singapore Airlines’ earnings during the first full year since the carrier acquired a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India following the merger of Vistara with Air India.
According to Singapore Airlines’ annual report released on Thursday, Air India Group recorded losses of 3.56 billion Singapore dollars for the 12 months ended March 2026, equivalent to about $2.79 billion at current exchange rates.
The disclosures reveal the scale of financial stress confronting Air India despite the Tata Group’s aggressive turnaround strategy, which includes fleet modernisation, network expansion and integration of its airline businesses.
The steep losses also weighed heavily on Singapore Airlines’ overall profitability. The Singapore carrier reported a 57.4 per cent fall in full-year net profit to SGD 1.18 billion ($930 million), even as operating profit surged 39 per cent to a record SGD 2.4 billion ($1.89 billion).
The contrast highlighted how Air India’s losses dragged down Singapore Airlines’ bottom line despite robust core operational performance.
Singapore Airlines said Air India continued to face “headwinds such as industry-wide supply chain constraints, airspace restrictions, constraints on operations to its key West Asia markets, and elevated jet fuel prices”.
Air India has been grappling with multiple disruptions over the past year, including soaring fuel prices linked to the Iran conflict and Pakistan’s closure of airspace to Indian carriers, which forced airlines to operate longer and costlier routes.
15/05/2026 Firstpost
0 Post a Comment:
Post a Comment