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Jet Airways to add six B737-800 to its fleet in next two quarters
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
May 19, 2005: Jet Airways India Ltd will add six Boeing 737-800 aircraft to its fleet, in addition to the expected acquisition of four Airbus planes, over the next two quarters for its domestic operations.
"The airline will add six B737-800 aircrafts for domestic operations. The aircraft would be absorbed into our fleet in the next two quarters," Jet Airways executive director Saroj Datta said.
Jet Airways had announced plans to acquire 10 Boeing aircraft for its domestic operations in the current fiscal and had earmarked a total of $400 million to buy and lease the jets.
At present, the carrier has 14 B737-800 aircraft in its total fleet of 42 aircraft. The airline has also leased three Airbus A340-300 aircraft for its long-haul operations to London and New York and two Boeing 737-800 aircraft for its South East Asia operations. In the domestic sector, the airline operates 275 flights, connecting to over 45 destinations.
Earlier, Jet Airways was planning to add four Airbus planes to its fleet in the current fiscal, to support its expansion of services in both in domestic and international sectors. The airline was intending to acquire a series of A 330-200 jets from Airbus Industrie, which would be used on its long haul routes, including that for some of the yet-to-be-launched international schedules.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways has posted a 140.32 per cent increase in net profit for the fiscal ended March 31, 2005, at Rs 391.99 crore compared to Rs 163.11 crore for the previous fiscal. This result is of significance as it is the first announcement after its initial public offer and listing on bourses in March this year.
"Inspite of the burgeoning fuel cost which increased by 30.7 per cent this fiscal and the inclusion of catering charges and landing and navigation charges into the service net, the airline has been able to post a healthy profit," Datta said.
The airline has managed to increase its profitability by efficiency improvements like increasing aircraft utilisation to 10.2 hours per day, up from 9.5 hours per day in 2004.
The company’s board has recommended 30 per cent (Rs three per equity shares of Rs 10 each) dividend for the financial year ended March 31. Total income during the reporting fiscal increased by 24 per cent to Rs 4,420.17 crore from Rs 3,565.74 crore posted during the same period of previous fiscal.
On Jet Airways' outlook for the coming fiscal, Chief Executive Officer Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said that it would work towards sustaining its market leadership in domestic operations and achieving profit growth in its international operations.
The airline at present corners a 43 per cent share in the Indian aviation sector, he said. On the impact of various start-up airlines which will enter the Indian domestic aviation sector, Wolfgang said that the scope of such airlines was limited.
BY OUR AVIATION CORRESPONDENT
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