IndiGo Air makes Rs 88cr operating loss in 2011-12

Moneycontrol Bureau

IndiGo, the country's largest air carrier by passengers carried, had an operating loss of Rs 88 crore in 2011-12, states a report in Business Standard.

The report further states that the above mentioned news was according to an answer tabled in Parliament yesterday.

The Gurgaon-based airline's operating expenses during the year were Rs,640 crore as compared to an operating revenue of Rs. 5552.4 crore due to it starting international routes, which take  atleast 2-3 years to break-even, say industry watchers.

IndiGo had made a profit of Rs. 18.1 crore in 2008-09, Rs. 446.7 crore in 2009-10 and Rs. 602.4 crore in 2010-11, before it started flying international.

A year back, IndiGo, started flying on  international routes. It is now flying to five international destinations —Bangkok, Dubai, Muscat, Kathmandu and Singapore. In 2011-12, its operating revenue rose 45 per cent, while operating expenses rose 75 per cent over 2010-11. In the latter year, operating expenses and revenue both grew 47-49 per cent as compared to 2009-10. With the civil aviation ministry allocating traffic rights to Indian carriers for the next three seasons, IndiGo will be operating 172 services a week by next winter, as compared to 116 now, according to a ministry statement.