Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The turbulence Indian airlines are facing for over a year now has started denting the fortunes of their foreign partners. The going got tough for them after the US-Iran war erupted on Feb 28. Singapore Airlines (SIA), 25.1% stakeholder in Air India (AI), on Thursday disclosed that AI lost $2.8 billion (over Rs 26,000 crore) in 202526. Due to that, SIA suffered a hit of $743 million that led its net profit to plunge 57.4% to $930 million. Despite the setback, SIA has reiterated its commitment to the partnership and said AI is making progress on multiple fronts, amid serious headwinds.In a statement, SIA said: “SIA group’s net profit declined $1,594 million (minus 57.4%) to $1,184 million, primarily due to absence of $1,098 million non-cash accounting gain recognised in Nov 2024 upon completion of the AI-Vistara merger. The swing from a share of profits of associated companies last year to a loss this year (minus $846 million) was due to the group accounting for its share of AI’s full year losses, versus only four months of the previous year.”
Erstwhile Vistara, in which SIA had 49% stake, had merged into AI in Nov 2024. The first full year of combined entity (FY26) proved to be the start of the toughest period for Indian carriers after Covid, with Pakistan airspace being closed to them (and vice versa) since Operation Sindoor. Since then, flights to the West are taking much longer routes and this hurt AI more cost-wise than any other Indian carrier and added to woes of TataSIA as reviving the Maharaja was never going to be an easy task. Last June’s AI 171 crash was the biggest aviation disaster India had seen in years.“Air India faces headwinds such as industry-wide supply chain constraints, air space restrictions, constraints on operations to its key Middle East (West Asia) markets and elevated jet fuel prices,” SIA said.While recognising the challenges, SIA says things are changing. “Nonetheless, (AI) continues to make progress in fleet renewal and aircraft retrofit programme, initiatives to elevate the end-toend customer experience, and improve its operational performance.” Describing it as a “core component of its longterm multi-hub strategy,” the SIA statement said: “This strategic investment provides the group with a direct stake in one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing aviation markets, complementing its Singapore hub and strengthening its long-term growth.”
