Tata Group Budget airline Air India Express has completed its merger with AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India). The company’s top official said this is a strategic initiative to create an integrated budget airline under Air India, with the aim of achieving sustainable profitability without putting pressure on its financial position. Dismissing concerns about the merger of loss-making AIX Connect, Air India Express managing director (MD) Alok Singh said the merger process was completed in October.
The merger process was completed in October
“The merger process was completed in October,” he said. The integration of AIX Connect will accelerate our path to profitability by achieving significant scale, optimizing costs and better utilizing our assets. “The aim is to build a strong, scalable network that supports long-term growth.”
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Air India Express suffered a net loss of Rs 163 crore in FY 2023-24, compared to a profit of Rs 117 crore in FY 2022-23. This was despite a strong 33 per cent year-on-year growth in income to Rs 7,600 crore due to increase in passenger numbers and improvement in operational efficiency. However, expenditure increased by 38.3 per cent to Rs 7,763 crore during the year. AEIX Connect was merged with Air India Express in October. AIX Connect significantly reduced its net loss to Rs 1,149 crore in FY 2023-24 from Rs 2,750 crore in FY 2022-23.
(With inputs from PTI/Bhasha)
