Domestic airline capacity to rise 10%, says CAPA study

Driven by a rebound in passenger growth and low fuel prices airlines are expected to add 26 planes in domestic market, according to a Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) report.

"Domestic capacity is projected to grow by 8-10% in FY2015 and will largely be driven by IndiGo and start-up carriers. IndiGo is expected to deploy six A320s in the domestic market between April 2014 and March 2015. AirAsia India, which launched with one Airbus A320 in Jun-2014, is likely to reach a fleet size of five to six aircraft by Mar-2015. Vistara may have about five aircraft in operation by the end of FY2015. However, the final number of aircraft may vary as Air Asia India's plans are subject to change, while Vistara's growth is dependent on the timing of its launch,'' CAPA said in its report.

Domestic air traffic grew by over 18% in October compared to same month boosted by festive season travel demand. Indian carriers flew over 5.9 million passengers last month up 5 million in last October.

CAPA expects domestic traffic to grow 6% and international traffic to rise 10% in FY 2015. Jet Airways will add international capacity 10-12% with most of the growth coming from connecting Abu Dhabi with other Indian cities. Plans to launch daily service to Chicago and New York via Abu Dhabi have been put on hold till the US-Federal Aviation Administration upgrades India's safety ranking.

Air India's international expansion has primarily been in Europe. Last year it launched Birmingham and this year it has added Milan, Rome and Moscow to its network, with Amsterdam, Munich, Madrid and Barcelona expected in the coming months, CAPA has said.