IndiGo parent says high fuel prices cloud revenue recovery

InterGlobe Aviation, which operates India's biggest airline, said on Thursday it was seeing a gradual recovery in revenue to pre-pandemic levels as travel demand rebounds, but warned that steep fuel prices were a concern after its quarterly loss widened. High fuel prices pose a threat to a recovery in the pandemic-battered aviation industry across the globe, with US airlines warning a complete return to profit may be delayed as higher prices overshadow strong demand. Revenue is fast returning to normalcy and passenger load factor, or the passenger carrying capacity being used, is expected to be around 76% in October, but fuel prices are worrisome, CEO Ronojoy Dutta said in a post earnings call. Average revenue booked per day in October was the same as it was in pre-pandemic January 2020, even though the airline was operating at 20% less capacity, Dutta added. IndiGo's yields, or the number of rupees earned for each passenger-kilometer flown, grew 20.4% to 4.19 rupees compared with the previous quarter, and Dutta said he expects higher yields to be sustainable going forward. The company, which has reported losses since 2020, said cash burn in the second quarter was 200m rupees a day, down 37% from the previous quarter. InterGlobe's aircraft fuel expenses in the quarter soared 207.8% to 19.89b rupees in the reported quarter, and total expenses surged 71.4%, the company said. IndiGo's net loss widened to 14.40b rupees ($192.32m) in the three months to Sept. 30, from 11.95b rupees a year earlier. Revenue from operations, however, rose 104.6% as COVID-19 vaccination rates picked up and the government eased most air travel-related curbs.<br/>