Domestic air traffic up 20% in June

Domestic air traffic rose 20.81% in June on the back of low fares and peak season demand. Carriers flew 7.9 million passengers last month in comparison to 6.6 million passengers in June 2015.

IndiGo retained its leadership position with a market share of 37.9% followed by Jet Airways-JetLite combine (19.1% ) and Air India (15.5%).

AirAsia India reported load factor of 90.2%,  which is its highest ever since its launch in June 2014 and second only to SpiceJet, which reported occupancy of 93%. But AirAsia India also had a high cancellation rate with about 10% of its flights getting cancelled in June. Market leader IndiGo reported occupancy of 77.9% lowest amongst all airlines.

Airfares are lower this year due to capacity increase in the market and lower jet fuel price. An analysis carried out by online portal Yatra.com last month showed that last minute fares on some routes are lower by as much by 50%. The portal said fares had declined due to lower jet fuel price and increase in capacity in domestic market. 

(Source: PTI Graphics)

According to DGCA data, domestic airlines flew 47.5 million passengers between January-June this year, registering a year-on-year growth of 22.52%. Aviation consultancy Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) estimates domestic traffic in India to cross 100 mn in FY17. “We expect close to 20% year-on-year growth in the domestic market and the growth could exceed even further,” Kapil Kaul, CAPA’s chief executive (South Asia) had said in February.