New Delhi: The domestic airline industry is in “great stress” as it is grappling with high fuel prices and fall in rupee, SpiceJet chief Ajay Singh said on Monday.
His comments come against the backdrop of high crude oil prices hurting the airline industry as Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) alone accounts for over 40 per cent of a carrier’s operational costs.
“Airlines across the world are suffering from high oil prices and in India we compound the problem with significant taxes as well. “The depreciation of rupee has been a big issue… many of our costs are denominated in dollars. Of course, there is great stress in the sector,” he said.
Despite the fact that India is the fastest growing aviation market in the world, it has been very tough to pass on the sudden increase in costs because things happened together — the rise in oil prices and depreciation of rupee, he noted. On why airlines are not able to increase fares, he said it has all happened at a time when the season is a little weak.
