Jet Airways swings to quarterly profit on one-off gain

Jet Airways Ltd reported its first quarterly profit since 2012 on Friday, thanks to the sale of its frequent flyer business, but the airline continued to lose money once one-off gains were excluded.

The airline, which has struggled to make money amid fierce competition for fares and high operating costs, said net profit totalled Rs 69.82 crore (Rs 698.2 million) in the three months to September 30 after it banked a Rs 305 crore (Rs 3.05 billion) gain from the sale of its Jet Privilege frequent flyer programme.

Excluding the sale, Jet, which is targeting a return to profitability by 2017, lost Rs 235 crore (Rs 2.35 billion) in the quarter, less than the Rs 833 crore (Rs 8.33 billion) it reported a year earlier after operating income rose and fuel costs fell.

Indian airlines are largely loss-making as a fight for fares keeps revenues below costs in one of the world's fastest growing aviation markets.