The first quarter proved fruitful for the recession-hit low cost domestic airline SpiceJet, apparently due to a shift in passenger traffic towards low-cost economy airlines.

High passenger turnout helped the domestic carrier to get out of trouble, and report a net profit of Rs 26.34 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, 2009.

SpiceJet Chief Executive Officer, Sanjay Aggarwal said: "We had a great quarter given the challenges the industry continues to face. We saw an increased acceptance of our service by the consumers. This helped in absorbing the additional
10 per cent capacity that we deployed last year."

The airline suffered a loss of Rs 129.22 crore in the first quarter of 2008, owing to decline in passenger traffic and increased input costs. ATF prices too continued to fluctuate during the period, increasing the cost of operations of the airlines.

The carrier reported a total income of Rs 534.41 crore during the first quarter, as compared to Rs 483.40 crore in the same period last year.

Mr. Aggarwal said: "We expect the yields to remain under pressure during the quarter July-September, which are traditionally weak months for travel."

Shares of the carrier surged 7.35 per cent to close at Rs 20.45 in the morning session at the BSE.