Air India Express Increases Borrowing Limit to ₹17,500 Crore Amidst Ongoing Losses and Turbulence

Air India Express Raises Borrowing Limit by 25% to ₹17,500 Crore

Key Highlights

• Air India Express has increased its borrowing limit by 25% to ₹17,500 crore to fund near-term and next-fiscal operations.
• The move marks the airline's third increase in borrowing limit since merging AirAsia India in 2024.
• The airline's debt (excluding lease liabilities) jumped 61% to ₹10,087.4 crore in FY25, while losses expanded more than fourfold to ₹5,822 crore.

Financial Performance

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• Air India Express' revenue rose 26% year-on-year to ₹16,033 crore in FY25.
• The airline's loss of ₹36 on every ₹100 of revenue is significantly higher than parent Air India's loss of ₹6.5 for every ₹100 earned.
• Air India's standalone borrowings (excluding lease liabilities) stood at ₹29,713 crore in FY25, down over 8% from ₹32,465 crore in FY24.

Borrowing and Debt

• The airline's revised borrowing limit exceeds its FY25 revenue of ₹16,033 crore.
• The higher borrowing ceiling gives the airline breathing room to manage cash flows, but also highlights the mounting pressure on the Tata Group's aviation bet.
• The airline's debt (excluding lease liabilities) could increase to ₹17,500 crore, which would be a significant increase from its FY25 debt of ₹10,087.4 crore.

Leadership and Competition

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• Air India Express competes with IndiGo in domestic operations and also flies to West Asia and Southeast Asia.
• The airline has appointed Captain Hamish Maxwell as manager and key managerial personnel for a one-year tenure.
• IndiGo has appointed Aloke Singh as its chief strategy officer, marking the first leadership change at the country's largest airline since founder Rahul Bhatia stepped in as interim chief executive.