Jet Airways India Ltd. has announced it will close its budget airline subsidiaries in a bid to return to profitability.
According to Chairman Naresh Goyal, the airline will close its Jetlite and JetKonnect businesses by the end of this year and fly all its aircraft under a single, full-service brand. Goyal stated that the airline’s target is to return to profit by 2017. The airline has not reported a profit since 2008.
Jet Airways India is 24%-owned by Etihad Airways. Jet’s long-term plans include leasing A380s from Etihad when the Abu Dhabi-based carrier starts to receive them.
Jet’s losses recorded during Q2 2014 reduced to INR2.18 billion from INR3.55 billion during Q2 2013, and shares have fallen 16% this year, compared with the 21% increase in the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex Index. The stock gained 0.9% in Mumbai trading on Monday, before the release of the quarterly results.