SpiceJet had worst on-time performance in March; Akasa was best: Govt data

AirAsia India and Air India had the -lowest and third-lowest OTPs among 7 major carriers

SpiceJet, which has been dealing with a shortage of funds, had the worst on-time performance (OTP) in March this year at 76.748 percent, according to data from the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MOCA).

On the other hand, new airline Akasa Air had the best OTP among all carriers in March at 94.539 percent, as stated by the MOCA data reviewed by 'Business Standard'.

While SpiceJet refused to comment on the government data, it stated that the airline "has been striving hard to continuously improve performance on all aspects, including our OTP" and it is "hopeful" that there would be continued improvement in the coming period.

Last month, SpiceJet's lowest OTP for a day was observed on March 31, when only 47.2 percent of its flights operated on time, as per the MOCA data.

Meanwhile, on three out of 31 days last month, Akasa Air had an OTP of 100 percent. On March 1, March 22, and March 28, not a single Akasa Air flight was delayed, as per the MOCA data.

Neelu Khatri, Co-Founder, and Senior Vice President (Operations) of Akasa Air, told 'Business Standard' that the airline has been leading the OTP charts since its first commercial flight seven months ago. "However, it is too early for us to congratulate ourselves," she added.

She said Akasa Air's aim is to be the OTP leader over the next seven decades based on the strong foundation laid during the last seven months.

Tata Group-run carriers AirAsia India and Air India had the second-lowest and third-lowest OTPs among the seven major carriers in March 2023, according to the data.

AirAsia India's lowest OTP for a day was on March 4, when only 60.9 percent of its flights operated on time, as per the data. Air India's lowest OTP for a day was on March 2, when 46 percent of its flights were delayed, as per the MOCA data.

Air India told the paper it has been seized with the issue of OTP, which has significantly improved in the last one year from the lower side of 70 percent.

"This improvement is witnessed in the OTP being above 80 percent consistently every month. We continue to work with the resources, systems, and capabilities adopting relevant changes to continue to improve on this aspect," the carrier said. AirAsia India, which is Air India's subsidiary, did not respond to queries sent by 'Business Standard'.

After winning the bid for the airline on October 8, 2021, the Tata Group took control of Air India on January 27, 2022. Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson had said in July 2022 that the carrier's OTP "is not up to the mark" and "certainly not to the world-class level to which we aspire and which our customers expect".

As per the MOCA data, India's largest airline IndiGo had the second-best OTP among all carriers in March at 92.426 percent. Vistara, which is in the process of being merged with Air India, had an OTP of 84.677 percent. Go First had an OTP of 84.671 percent.

While IndiGo and Go First did not respond to queries, Vistara said the variation in OTP in the month of March 2023 can be attributed to external factors beyond control, such as weather conditions, which impacted all airlines.

Vistara said it constantly strives to minimize inconvenience to customers. "We managed to maintain an industry-leading average OTP of around 85 percent in the year 2022 and are tirelessly working towards improving this in the months to come," it added.

Regarding Akasa Air's OTP, Khatri noted that as the airline is rapidly growing, it has taken proactive measures to build "dependability" into its flight network and operation's design.

"We routinely run time and motion studies to ensure that our processes run with stability, and we train our employees to deliver on these processes with precision. Furthermore, to maintain these stringent standards that we have set for ourselves, we continuously analyze complex operations data to identify improvements that we can make to our processes," she added.