Air India likely to post consolidated profit in current fiscal: Report

Air India had been ailing for a long time, before the Tata Group took it over on January 27 last year

Air India is expected to post a consolidated profit this year (FY23), making a turnaround from a standalone loss of Rs 7,000 crore in FY22, a report by The Economic Times said. Along with Air India, its subsidiary Air India Express is also likely to post a consolidated profit.

According to the report, higher demand in international routes and better management of cost may result in profits for the company, which is also expected to post the first positive earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in FY23.

"Revenue performance for the airline has improved significantly. While before privatisation Air India was earning Rs 70 crore per day, it earns Rs 100 per day now even with a lower capacity," a person aware of the matter told ET. 

This would also mean that the Tata Group will be able to make the airline, which was ailing for a long time, profitable in just one year since its takeover on January 27, 2022. Last week, Air India's CEO Campbell Wilson said that the company's progress has been "nothing short of stunning" in the past year.

Campbell also said that while working on improvements, the airline has not shied away from other ambitious actions such as merging Air India Express with Air Asia, Vistara with Air India, or kicking off the establishment of a new InfoTech Centre, or an aviation academy.

"And that's not to mention our much talked-about short- and-medium term fleet expansion," he said in a communication to the employees.

"Taken together, the progress over the last 12 months has been nothing short of stunning, even if so much of what we have been working on has been behind the scenes, building platforms and capabilities so that our future ambitions can take flight," he added. 

"There is of course much more that needs to be done, and everyone internally and externally - is hungry for us to do it," Campbell said.