Singapore Airlines keeps faith in Air India turnaround efforts

Mumbai: Singapore Airlines on Thursday backed Air India chief executive Tewolde Gebremariam's efforts to turn around the loss-making carrier, but said a 16% decline in its share of Air India's losses in the September half was largely due to the reversal of earlier provisions, not an improvement in the Indian airline's financial performance.

Air India is looking to convert passenger aircraft into freighters to tap India's largely underpenetrated air cargo market, alongside efforts to expand international ticket sales and improve network efficiency, Singapore Airlines (SIA) chief executive Goh Choon Phong said at the group's post-earnings analyst and media briefing. SIA holds a 25.1% stake in Air India, making the Indian carrier's turnaround an important part of its investment exposure to one of the world's fastest-growing aviation markets.

"India has significant cargo demand, but Air India hasn't really been looking at how best to tap it," Goh said, identifying cargo as an underexploited revenue opportunity for the carrier. He also pointed to efforts to increase ticket sales in overseas markets, noting that a large part of Air India's sales currently originates within India, despite international travel demand also coming from outside the country.


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On the operational front, Air India is shifting some international services from Delhi to Mumbai to reduce additional flying distance and fuel burn resulting from Pakistan's airspace restrictions. The impact is particularly significant on flights to Europe and North America originating from Delhi.