The results indicate that Air India’s provisional loss for the fiscal first quarter has crossed ₹1,200 crore, per ET’s calculations, though there can be minimal variations in the actual numbers as sharply higher fuel costs and sustained closure of Pakistani airspace has kept the Tata Group-owned carrier’s operations under pressure. In comparison, Air India’s biggest rival IndiGo clocked a loss of ₹382 crore in the same period.
SIA, however, emphasised that it along with partner Tata Sons are committed to Air India’s long-term success, and working together to support its multi-year transformation programme.
The losses come in the midst of an aggressive network and fleet expansion by Air India, placing combined orders for 770 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing over 2023 and 2024. The carrier has been banking on scale to alleviate unit costs and turn profitable, but external headwinds have complicated that path. A turnaround of Air India could take up to a decade, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said in the company’s FY26 annual report. The carrier posted a net loss of ₹22,238 crore in FY26.
Price of aviation turbine fuel, which accounts for nearly 40% of the cost of operating an airline in India, has spiralled due to the US-Iran war. This has hit all Indian carriers but has proved particularly damaging for Air India, which operates a large number of wide-body jets on long-haul international routes where fuel burn is significantly higher.
