SpiceJet's Q3 loss widens in battle to stay afloat

NEW DELHI: SpiceJet’s net loss swelled more than Rs 100 crore from a year earlier to Rs 275 crore during October-December, a quarter when the airline struggled with acute cash shortage and a spate of flight cancellations. It cut 31 per cent capacity and carried 27 per cent fewer passengers than a year earlier during the past quarter, said the airline which is now attempting a turnaround under new promoters.

"The last quarter was an extremely challenging quarter for SpiceJet as legacy issues, accumulated losses and delays are expected and required re-capitalisation eventually led to aircraft fleet reductions and consequential cancellations of flights in what is traditionally one of the best quarters of the year," chief operating officer Sanjiv Kapoor said, according to a company news release. The airline claimed that its load factor — the number of passengers it carried against available capacity — rose 18 per cent, which was because the airline merged a lot of flights.

Analysts say that the results are on expected lines. "We estimated Q3 loss between Rs 250 crore and Rs 300 crore," said Kapil Kaul, India chief executive at aviation consultancy firm CAPA.