Boosted by higher passenger numbers, AirAsia India has posted a net profit of Rs 13.24 crore for the three months ended December 2017 and plans to start international operations this year.
The no-frills carrier -- a joint venture between the Tatas and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad -- had reported a net loss of Rs 15.27 crore in the December 2016 quarter.
AirAsia India, which currently has a fleet of 16 planes, nearly doubled its revenue to Rs 517.8 crore in the quarter ended December 2017. In the year-ago period, the same stood at Rs 270.36 crore.
In a release today, the Malaysian carrier said AirAsia India recorded a "net profit of Rs 132.4 million (quarter ended 31 December 2016: net loss of Rs 152.7 million) in the quarter under review".
According to the release, the number of passengers carried by the Indian airline rose 79 per cent with a unit passenger revenue of Rs 3,758.
"Ancillary income per passenger was at Rs 416 while the seat load factor was at 85 per cent," it added.
It posted an 80 per cent increase in capacity in the latest quarter compared to the year-ago period.
For full year 2017, AirAsia India's net loss narrowed to Rs 70.19 crore from Rs 144.67 crore in 2016.
AirAsia Berhad Group CEO Tony Fernandes said it was a remarkable quarter for the company as all ASEAN operations as well as India reported good profits.
"We will be adding 7 aircraft for our India operations by the end of 2018 to fulfil the strong air travel demands. We will launch our international and regional routes with the 21st aircraft this year.
"We foresee AirAsia India to be very profitable once we start flying regional routes and connecting them to our already established wide network," he said.
The release noted that AirAsia India would remain focused on building a footprint in the Indian domestic market with introduction of new routes and frequency increases.
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