IA posts 20 per cent increase in traffic

Indian Airlines (IA) has carried a total 2.11 lakh passengers in December 2006, a growth of 20 per cent over December 2005.

"Almost 45 per cent of Indian Airlines capacity is deployed on the international network. In December and January, Indian Airlines supplemented its international capacity by operating flights to carry Haj pilgrims from India to Jeddah and also carried pilgrims to various upliftment points in India," an Indian Airlines press release said.

Commenting on the Air Deccan overtaking Indian Airlines for No. 2 slot, an Indian Airlines executive claimed that it was still maintaining the lead over Air Deccan.

"Indian Airlines boasts 21 per cent market share considering the Revenue Per Kilo Metres (RPKM) while Air Deccan is at 19 per cent. If we include international passengers into that, it will touch 27 per cent," an Indian Airlines executive said.

The market share is always calculated on the basis of capacity induction. Unfortunately, Indian Airlines has to withdraw some domestic capacity to redeploy on the international routes, the executive added.

Referring to the total passengers carried, he added that the increase in traffic is the result of concerted action to improve on-time performance, the quality of product and services on board, and the many marketing initiatives that have been launched by the airline in the recent past.