AirAsia India March qtr loss narrows to Rs 7.8 crore

On the back of higher passenger load, the low-cost carrier AirAsia India today said it further narrowed its net loss in the March quarter to Rs 7.86 crore, while the revenue soared 179 percent to Rs 196 crore.

The airline had reported a net loss of Rs 26 crore in the December quarter and Rs 65 crore in the July-September period.

The airline, a joint venture between the Malaysian parent and the Tata Group, said the improvement in bottomline was driven by strong capacity growth of 110 percent.

AirAsia India began operations in June 2014 and is not a publicly traded company.

In the December quarter, the airline had reported lower losses at Rs 26 crore while its revenue grew 232 percent to Rs 208 crore and capacity by 133 percent.

The airline said during the March quarter, the average fare rose steadily by 12 percent to Rs 3,155 while ancillary revenue per passenger grew by 115 percent to Rs 502. Total passengers carried rose 127 percent to 0.54 million.

Earlier this month, the airline had said it had 2.5 million guests flown since it began operations and to celebrate the milestone, it offered up to 50 percent discount on returning flight for 50 hours across AirAsia Group network.

AirAsia India had reached the 1-million milestone in August 2015 and in a little more than six months, the number grew to 2.5 million.

AirAsia India which began operations with an Airbus A320 currently has a fleet of six aircraft with 10 destinations and connecting 12 routes -- Bengaluru, New Delhi, Goa, Pune, Kochi, Vizag, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Guwahati and Imphal.

AirAsia Group chief executive Tony Fernandes said the airline is gaining traction among air travellers as seen from strong loads which rose to an all-time high of 86 percent amid stiff competition.

Going forward, Fernandes said, as India is a key growth market for the airline and with a brilliant start to 2016 he foresees the momentum sustaining through the rest of the year.

PTI BEN KRK .