The deep pain in the Indian aviation sector was again reflected in the financial performance of the three listed airlines in the December 2018 quarter.
IndiGo and SpiceJet saw their profits crash 75-77 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) to Rs. 191 crore and Rs. 55 crore, respectively, while Jet Airways posted a loss of Rs. 588 crore.
But if it was any consolation, the December quarter was much better than the September 2018 quarter when all the three airlines faced steep losses.
Yet again, the major pain-point for the sector was fuel costs — driven up by high global oil prices and a weak rupee. Though oil prices declined over the quarter, they still remained high on average ($67 a barrel).
