GoAir preparing for IPO 'at the right time': CEO

As investors turn positive on the aviation sector, Budget airline GoAir is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), says Livemint in a report. The company’s CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said that the airline has not put the idea on backburner. Rather, it is waiting for the right time. The industry is also getting more investor interest now after Warren Buffett’s positive comment on the sector.Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway recently invested USD 9.3 billion in top four US airlines. This coincided with a rally in listed Indian aviation stocks – IndiGo, SpiceJet and Jet Airways. In August last year, Wadia-group backed GoAir said that an IPO is likely to take place by FY17-18 end. It had also said that once Airbus A320neo planes join its fleet, the company will prepare for an IPO.The aircraft have now started joining GoAir’s fleet. Lower fuel cost in the last two years has boosted profits for airlines companies.In 2015-16, GoAir reported profit of Rs 166 crore while IndiGo, during the same period, reported profit of Rs 1,990 crore Founded in 2006, GoAir has 24 aircraft fleet and enjoys 8 percent market share. The airline plans to increase its fleet size to 37 by March 2018-end. Adding to this is the rapidly growing Indian air passenger traffic. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), India was the global leader in terms of air traffic growth for consecutive 22nd month. Air traffic jumped 26.6 percent year-on-year in January. In past six years, domestic air passenger traffic has nearly doubled to 100 million.