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Regional airline Air Costa today said it expects to break even by next fiscal on the back of an expanded route network and fleet.
"We also had challenging times like other carriers and had some losses. But now we are picking up and expect a better financial performance in the winter schedule. We are hopeful of attaining a break even in the next 2-3 quarters," Air Costa chief financial officer Vivek Choudhary told PTI.
He said that the airline has logged a 25% growth in revenue and yield in June month-on-month, adding, "the load factor has gone up to 82% from 72% when we launched the airline last year".
The Vijaywada-headquartered regional carrier, which commenced operations last October, currently operates 34 flights from nine destinations with a fleet of four Embraer aircraft.
"We are taking delivery of one nore aircraft this month and with that we plan to launch two new routes within the summer schedule," Choudhary said.
On the question of Air Costa seeking pan-India air operator permit, the CFO said that the plans are very much on track and the airline may move its application to the aviation regular by September.
"We will definitely apply for a pan-India flying licence. The issue so far was that our licence is in the name of the holding company. But now the AP High Court has given its nod to demerge our aviation business from the main business. So we will now form a wholly-owned subsidiary for aviation business under the parent company LEPL and seek the licence," he said.
Air Costa is run by Vijayawada-based real estate and renewable energy company LEPL.
Commenting on the Union Budget, Choudhary said the airline sector was expecting a lot for the regional carrier from the Finance Minister, but it did not get much.
