InterGlobe Aviation, which operates India’s biggest airline, said it was seeing a gradual recovery in revenue to pre-pandemic levels as travel demand rebounds, but warned that steep fuel prices were a concern after its quarterly loss widened.

Revenue is fast returning to normalcy and passenger load factor, or the passenger carrying capacity being used, is expected to be around 76 per cent in October, but fuel prices are worrisome, CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a post- earnings call.

Average revenue booked per day in October was the same as it was in pre-pandemic January 2020, even though the airline was operating at 20 per cent less capacity, Dutta added.

IndiGo’s yields, or the number of rupees earned for each passenger-kilometer flown, grew 20.4 per cent to 4.19 rupees compared with the previous quarter and Dutta said he expects higher yields to be sustainable going forward.

The company, which has reported losses since 2020, said cash burn in the second quarter was 200 million rupees a day, down 37 per cent from the previous quarter.

InterGlobe’s aircraft fuel expenses in the quarter soared 207.8 per cent to 19.89 billion rupees in the reported quarter and total expenses surged 71.4 per cent, the company said.

IndiGo’s net loss widened to 14.40 billion rupees ($192.32 million) in the three months to 30 September, from 11.95 billion rupees a year earlier.

Revenue from operations, however, rose 104.6 per cent as COVID-19 vaccination rates picked up and the government eased most air travel-related curbs.

Source: Civil Aviation Authority – Qatar