Air India's low-cost airline flies into red

Air India Express in FY24 incurred a loss for a second time in past nine years

- DEEPAK PATEL

Air India Express, the low-cost airline of the Tata group's Air India, has posted a net loss of ₹163 crore in 2023-24 (FY24) as against a profit of ₹117 crore it rang up just a year earlier.

This nosedive stands out as it is only the second time in the past nine years that the airline has found itself in the red.

While the firm's income rose 33 per cent year-on-year (Y-oY) to ₹7,600 crore in FY24, expenditure grew 38.3 per cent to ₹7,763 crore in the same period, according to documents submitted to the Registrar of Companies and reviewed by Business Standard. According to sources, the primary reason for the loss in FY24 was its substantial expansion, particularly in the domestic market, bringing it into competition with market leader IndiGo on various routes.

This led Air India Express to align its fares with IndiGo's lower pricing on those routes, affecting profitability.