Jet Airways Group today declared a highest ever annual profit in its history for the year ended Mar 31, 2016, and thereby achieved return to profitability a year earlier than the target set in its turnaround plan two years ago.
The consistently strong financial performance has enabled Jet Airways to reduce its debt by INR 1,680 crores during FY16.
Cost per available seat kilometer (CASK) excluding fuel dropped by 3.2% from INR 3.37 in FY15 to INR 3.26 in FY16, clearly indicating Jet Airways’ success in achieving operational efficiencies throughout its business.
For Q4 of FY16, the company reported a net profit of INR 426 crores, compared to a loss of INR 1,803 crores for the same period last year. It marks the company’s fourth straight quarter of profitability.
Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said: “Jet Airways has been revitalized as a business in the last two years. Our focused efforts have resulted in significant improvement in operational performance leading to record profitability.
Customer satisfaction, network enhancement and driving benefits through further improvements in operational efficiencies continue to be our key priorities.
The Indian aviation industry is witnessing a growth phase and Jet Airways’ commitment to connect India to the world and vice versa is our contribution to India’s economic growth story.
The competitive and structural challenges in the Indian aviation market continue to exist. In addition, the induction of capacity and the enhanced competitive scenario is creating a constant pressure on yields. We will continue to focus on strengthening our balance sheet to ensure sustainable growth and value addition for our stakeholders.
We are committed on delivering an enhanced guest experience and leveraging the commercial and operational synergies from our partnership with Etihad Airways.”
The improvement in performance has been achieved largely due to the combination of enhanced fleet utilization and optimization of network, which enabled better integration between domestic and international operations. Additionally, the implementation of a full service strategy across the domestic operation, supported by the ‘Guest First’ approach along with an increased focus on premium traffic, has contributed positively.
James Hogan, Vice Chairman, Jet Airways and President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We are very satisfied with the strong operational and financial performance achieved by Jet Airways.
The return to profitability is a result of the effective partnership between Jet Airways and Etihad Airways. Between the two airlines, we have been able to provide a compelling option of wider combined network and exceptional guest experience for travellers to and from India.
Etihad Airways is committed to its partnership with Jet Airways and is focused on driving further synergies, along with other Etihad Airways Partner airlines.”
Continuing the positive trend from Q3, the final quarter of 2016 saw ongoing improvements in all key performance indicators. Passenger revenues for Q4 FY16 rose by 3.1 % to INR 4,686 crores from INR 4,543 crores in Q4 FY15 while EBITDA increased to INR 1,058 crores compared to INR 275 crores in Q4 FY15.
Overall codeshare traffic for the fourth quarter of FY16 grew 21 % to 570,000 passengers. A wider network of codeshares now enables Jet Airways to offer significantly enhanced global connectivity and has helped deliver the increase in passenger traffic. Codeshare traffic with strategic alliance partner Etihad Airways over its Abu Dhabi hub and with its partner airlines grew 45% in Q4 of FY16.
Jet Airways, together, with Etihad Airways, now has the largest market share of the Indian international traffic.
Re-affirming its commitment to continue providing a best-in-class full service travel experience, Jet Airways announced the confirmation of its largest-ever fleet order for 75 Boeing 737 Max aircraft.
In FY16, Jet Airways shifted its European gateway from Brussels to Amsterdam, resulting in significantly enhanced connectivity for its guests to 30 destinations in Europe and 11 in North America along with codeshare partners KLM and Delta.
In Mar 2016, Jet Airways faced an unprecedented situation following the unfortunate events in Brussels. A well-coordinated and quick response by teams across Jet Airways network resulted in the safe evacuation of guests.
Jet Airways continued with its focus on leveraging technology to deliver an enhanced guest experience. Jet Airways was the first airline in India to explore wearable technology with the launch of its app for Apple Watch that enables real-time flight status and alerts guests on their upcoming trips. To further leverage the power of Social Media platforms, Jet Airways has enhanced its #JetInstant initiative with the introduction of Tweet Check-in. This first-of-its-kind Twitter-based integration allows guests to check-in for their flights with just a tweet.
Jet Airways is India’s premier international airline operating flights to 68 destinations, including India and across the world. Jet Airways’ robust domestic network in India spans the length and breadth of the country covering metro cities, state capitals and emerging destinations. Beyond India, Jet Airways operates flights to key international destinations in South East Asia, South Asia, Middle East, Europe and North America.
The Jet Airways Group currently operates a fleet of 116 aircraft, comprising Boeing 777-300 ERs, Airbus A330-200 / 300, Next Generation Boeing 737s and ATR 72-500 / 600s. With an average age of 7.07 years, this is one of the youngest fleets in the region.
Jet Airways, together with airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Etihad Airways, Etihad Regional operated by Darwin Airline, and NIKI, participates in Etihad Airways Partners. Etihad Airways is part of the Etihad Aviation Group, which also holds minority investments in each of these airlines.