High selling, distribution costs of debt-laden Jet Airways under scanner

Commission paid to promoter-owned firm raises suspicion among analysts, auditors

At least two financial transactions conducted every year by full-service airline Jet Airways — selling and distribution costs and commissions paid by the firm to Jetair Private Limited — are coming under increasing scrutiny of auditors and analysts.

A closer look at the annual reports of all the airlines shows that while IndiGo and others spend around 2 to 4 per cent of their total revenue on selling and distribution costs, the corresponding percentage for Jet Airways is as high as 12.

In addition, a yearly amount — albeit much smaller — is paid to Jetair Private Limited, a company