The situation has improved in the first quarter of FY20, where both IndiGo and SpiceJet have reported a huge jump in net profits.
Vistara declined to comment on the issue. “As a matter of policy, we do not comment on the financial information of the company,” a spokesperson said.
“Vistara's FY19 losses are in line with our estimates. The first half of FY19 was financially challenging for the entire industry and its losses are aligned to the overall industry performance. Jet’s closure is positive for
Vistara and it has improved its financial numbers, but reaching profitability will be a long haul,” said Kapil Kaul, South Asia CEO of
aviation consultancy CAPA.
Other analysts say the closure of Jet Airways and launch of new international services should help improve aircraft utilisation. Occupancy in business and premium economy cabins, too, is expected to get a boost, especially on the key Mumbai-Delhi route, where it flies 14 daily flights. "The capacity has increased significantly and there is a margin improvement in every quarter except the second quarter of last year. We are now close to break even," said an airline source.
Vistara launched daily services from Mumbai and Delhi to Singapore last week and will add flights to Dubai and Bangkok later this month. Eleven new routes have been added, and fleet size has increased from 22 to 31 between March and August. Vistara ordered 56 Airbus and Boeing planes and promoters also pumped Rs 2,400 crore in the airline in FY19.
Vistara will deploy 50 per cent of its capacity on international routes in the next five years and aims to launch services to London and Tokyo next year, the airline's chief executive officer, Leslie Thng, told mediapersons last week. In the second phase of growth, the airline will look to start non-stop services to the US and Australia, he had said.