Jet Airways declares seventh successive "profitable quarter"

The Group reported total revenue of INR 5,784 cr for the third quarter FY17, an increase of 1.4 per cent over INR 5,702 cr, for Q3 FY16. Passenger revenues during the same period rose by 2.4 per cent to INR 4,962 cr from INR 4,845 cr.

The quarter also saw the Group continuing its deleveraging efforts to reduce debt. The airline reduced its net debt by INR 1,001 cr during this quarter and INR 1,435 cr during the first nine months of the year.

Jet Airways used its fleet mix to advantage to meet the growing demand on key domestic and international sectors including Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Amsterdam, Jeddah and Kuwait, by expanding the deployment of its wide body aircraft.

This allowed the airline to offer guests a distinctive and superior product and service offering, including its signature ‘First Class’ experience. The airline also continued its relentless pursuit of growing its network and reach, together with offering a superior guest experience on the back of expanding alliances and codeshare partnerships with leading global airlines.

Enhanced synergies with partners and improved operational performance helped Jet Airways grow its passenger traffic and carry 6.79 million passengers during the quarter, up 4.1 per cent over Q3 FY16.

Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways said, "In spite of the continuing downward pressure on yields caused by aggressive capacity addition in the industry as well as weaker international aviation markets, we have achieved positive results through our relentless effort to reduce net debt by almost 0.5billion dollars in the past two years. We have deepened our codeshare relationships with our strategic partner, Etihad Airways, and also with other airlines in the Far East, Asia Pacific and Africa. Our choice of Amsterdam as our European gateway, coupled with our comprehensive codeshare partnerships with Air France, KLM and Delta Air Lines out of Amsterdam, Paris and London Heathrow are also beginning to show promising results.”

James Hogan, Vice Chairman, Jet Airways and President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, "We are impressed to note and happy to support the continued trend of progressive developments at Jet Airways, despite the highly competitive and challenging aviation business environment in India as well as in the Gulf, which is another of Jet Airways’ core markets. As the airline’s strategic partner, we remain committed to enhance our combined value and advantage towards our guests and the business, using our mutual synergies as the fundamental building blocks.”

Reflecting the success of its connectivity and codeshare strategy along with efficiencies delivered by a well-integrated network, Jet Airways’ codeshare traffic continued its growth trajectory.

The overall codeshare traffic grew at 7 per cent in the quarter. Together with Etihad Airways, Jet Airways continued to cement its place as the preferred carrier on Indo-Gulf route offering more flights to and from India, than any other airline. The quarter also saw Jet Airways strengthening its codeshare relationships with partners such as Qantas, All Nippon Airways, Korean Air, Bangkok Airways, Garuda Indonesia, and Kenya Airways enabling it to offer an enhanced offering to guests.

A major initiative during this quarter was the expansion of Jet Airways’ codeshare partnership with Delta Air Lines and Air France over London Heathrow and Paris.

The expanded cooperation allows the airline’s guests from India to connect on to 34 North American destinations over Amsterdam, Paris and London - all three Jet Airways’ gateways in Europe. In turn, Delta customers flying between North America and India can connect with Delta codeshare onto Jet Airways’ flights to Mumbai and Delhi and onwards to an additional 10 destinations within India. The expansion of the codeshare was further complemented by network-wide cooperation between JetPrivilege and SkyMiles, the frequent flyer programmes of the two airlines, enabling guests of both airlines to travel and transfer seamlessly and conveniently across each other’s network.