SpiceJet on Wednesday announced two additional daily flights from Mumbai, one each to Bangalore and Hyderabad, with both flights scheduled to leave early in the morning and return flights slated for the same evening.

The flights will start on February 4, giving SpiceJet 15 flights a day out of Mumbai. Mr Siddhanta Sharma, CEO of SpiceJet, also announced that the company would shift from its current June-to-May accounting year to the conventional April-to-March fiscal. Therefore its 2005-06 accounting year would comprise a 10-month period. Mr Sharma said the company would post a marginal operating profit this quarter. However, it expects to post a net loss of about Rs 60 crore on a turnover of about Rs 700 crore for the 10-month period ending March 31.

The airline currently has an average return per passenger of Rs 2,525 across its network and a load factor of approximately 80 per cent. At the current load factor, the break-even point would necessitate an average return of Rs 3,050.

Fuel surcharge

The company has no plans to cut its fuel surcharge despite the drop in oil prices. In fact, SpiceJet is likely to increase the surcharge in the event of rising oil prices next month. Mr Sharma said a 5 per cent increase in oil prices would result in a Rs 150 increase in the fuel surcharge.

SpiceJet has the option to order 10 more aircraft in addition to the 20 currently on order with Boeing. Mr Sharma said the company would probably exercise that option, for which confirmation is needed by July.