Jet Airways today blamed a steep fall in the rupee, slowdown in the domestic aviation market and rise in fuel costs for a sharp widening in standalone net loss at Rs 891 crore in the July-September quarter, 2013-14.
It had logged Rs 99.7 crore loss in the year-ago period.
Jet Airways Group operates more than 550 flights a day with its two brands, the full-service Jet Airways and the low-cost JetLite.
The consolidated losses were much higher at Rs 998.5 crore. The airline did not offer a comparative figure either this quarter or in the corresponding quarter last fiscal, when it offered only standalone numbers.
One of the worst quarterly set of numbers came in even as the airline reported a 12 per cent rise in the number of passengers carried as well as the 3 per cent growth in available seat kilometres, apart from 6 per cent rise in the number of departures during the reporting quarter.
However, rise in the fuel cost and the steep fall of rupee negated these gains. Operating revenue grew almost flat at 1 per cent to Rs 4,607.9 crore from Rs 4,563 crore a year ago as passenger yields declined 11 per cent to Rs 7,376 from Rs 8,335.
Standalone income rose marginally to Rs 4,267.7 crore from Rs 4,194.7 crore.
"Lean season and economic slowdown resulted in drop in yields. Depreciating currency, high fuel prices and increases in airport charges in select airports have driven cost pressures resulting in losses," the company, which is awaiting some approvals for selling 24 per cent stake sale to Etihad Airways, said in a statement.
Though it has already received the Cabinet approval as well as those regulators barring the CCI, the deal has been challenged in the Supreme Court.
