Jet posts profit on higher fares, plane sales

New Delhi, Oct 29 (UNI) Jet Airways today reported a fourth consecutive quarterly profit after it raised fares and sold aircraft.

Net income in the second quarter ended September 30 totaled Rs 28.36 crore compared with a loss of Rs 55.13 crore a year earlier.

The airline had a foreign exchange gain of Rs 73.54 crore and a Rs 315 crore profit from plane sales.

Jet, which had been forced to sell 60 per cent of seats at a discount last fiscal year, increased some fares by Rs 200 last month and cut the number of tickets it sells at a concession. Jet also eliminated some low-fare tickets.

Jet's foreign currency gain came from the appreciation of Indian rupee against US dollar, which cut the value of its outstanding overseas loan. The airline had as much as 800 million dollars of overseas loans to buy more than 30 new planes from Airbus SAS and Boeing Company.

The Indian currency has gained 12.2 per cent against the dollar this year.

UNI