Market share fall not a huge concern: Jet CEO

The airline focused on revenue growth and profitability

Jet Airways management is not too perturbed over the decline in market share as it continues to register good revenue growth. On Wednesday, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation released monthly traffic data for November. IndiGo continues to lead the pack with a market share of 27.3%. Jet Airways along with Jet Konnect hold on to number two rank (25.1%), but on a standalone basis Jet Airways has slipped behind Air India and SpiceJet.

"It [fall in market share] does not worry me at all. What matters is not the passenger numbers but the revenue. Consumer goods companies worldwide are not counting how many soaps or bottles of water they are selling. They are looking at the revenue. We continue to be the leaders in India and grow our revenue by offering the best network and service," said Jet Airways Chief Executive Officer Nikos Kardassis.

The airline posted Rs 166 crore loss in September quarter but revenue increased 25% and margins improved. Kardassis indicated the revenue was growing in third quarter too but did not share details.

The airline has cut down on capacity in domestic sector and redeployed some of its Boeing 737s on international sectors. According to winter schedule approved by the DGCA, Jet Airways has four hundred less departures compared to 2011. It has secured approval for 2,515 weekly flights in the current winter schedule. Jet Konnect's schedule more or less remains the same with little over 850 weekly flights.

According to sources, the airline has clubbed flights reducing capacity on certain metro routes reducing capacity by 10-12%. "The focus seems to be on route profitability," a source said.

While reduction of flights is one reason Jet has also been losing ground to low-cost airlines over the past few months. "There has not been a significant growth in premium or business travel. Even within leisure segment, people are opting for budget travel. The low-cost airlines are luring large groups and tour operators with discounts," a source said.

"Air India, too, has filled in the gap created by Kingfisher Airlines. Air India seems to have got it right and increased its share. The low-cost airlines are also gaining advantage," said Sharat Dhall, chief operating officer, Yatra.com.

Jet officials said traffic is down across the sector because of increase in fares. "Higher fares has impacted the entire market not just us," an executive said.