Domestic Air Travel

Domestic air traffic to rise 7-10% to 164-170 million in FY25: ICRA

Domestic air traffic is projected to rise 7-10 per cent to 164-170 million in the current fiscal year, while the aviation industry's loss is pegged at Rs 2,000-3,000 crore during the same period, according to rating agency Icra. In the first half of 2024-25, Icra said domestic air passenger traffic stood at 79.3 million, marking a 5.3 per cent annual growth that was partly impacted by the severe heat wave and other weather-related disruptions. The international passenger traffic growth for Indian carriers increased and stood at 16.2 per cent in the first half of the current financial year. On Tuesday, the rating agency said domestic air traffic is expected to jump 7-10 per cent on an annual basis to 164-170 million in FY2025. Icra maintained a 'stable' outlook on the Indian aviation industry, amidst continued growth in domestic and international air passenger traffic. Kinjal Shah, Senior Vice President & Co-Group Head at Icra, said the industry is expected to report a net loss of

Indians plan to travel, shop, spend more this festive season: Amex Trendex

Domestic travel remains popular, with 88 per cent respondents opting for trips within India, while international travel is on the radar for 61 per cent

Civil aviation growth, regional connectivity made air travel inclusive: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday highlighted the growth of the Indian civil aviation sector and said air travel has become inclusive with the regional air connectivity scheme. Emphasising that the civil aviation sector has a major role in growth and creates many jobs, Modi said efforts should be made to ensure that the skies remain open for all and that people's dream of flying is fulfilled. The Prime Minister was addressing the Second Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Civil Aviation in the national capital, where he suggested the idea of having an international Buddhist circuit. Under the regional air connectivity scheme UDAN, which has helped lower middle-class people to fly, 14 million people have travelled by air, Modi said. According to him, a growing middle class and their demand are driving forces for the civil aviation sector, and UDAN has made air travel inclusive. The government is preparing the country for advanced air mobility, and air taxis will be a reali

Rising airfares put a damper on Dussehra and Diwali travel plans this year

The cost of flights during Diwali week in 2024 has surged compared to the same period last year, even for bookings made three months in advance, according to media reports

Domestic air traffic rises 7.3% to 12.9 mn on annual basis in July

Indian carriers flew more than 1.29 crore passengers in July, an increase of more than 7.3 per cent compared to the year-ago period, official data released on Monday showed. However, the air traffic in July was lower compared to 1.32 crore people carried by the domestic airlines in June this year. IndiGo continued to dominate domestic air traffic with its market share rising to 62 per cent in July while that of Air India dropped to 14.3 per cent. Last month, the domestic market share of Vistara climbed to 10 per cent while that of AIX Connect and SpiceJet declined to 4.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively, as per the data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Also, Akasa Air and Alliance Air's share slipped to 4.7 per cent and 0.9 per cent, respectively. "Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-July 2024 were 923.35 lakh as against 881.94 lakh during the corresponding period of the previous year thereby registering an annual growth of 4.

Domestic airlines reported 427 technical faults in aircraft this year: Govt

Eight scheduled passenger airlines witnessed 427 incidents of technical faults in their planes this year till July 19, according to official data. During the period from January 2024 till July 19, as many as 268 flights of scheduled passenger airlines were cancelled. The data was provided by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol as part of a written reply to the Rajya Sabha on Monday. In 2024 till July 19, IndiGo saw 46 incidents of technical faults in its aircraft while the count stood at 51 in the case of Alliance Air. SpiceJet and Vistara had 23 and 44 such incidents, respectively. Air India's Fleet A saw 152 such incidents while Fleet B witnessed 101 such incidents during the January-July 19, 2024 period, as per the data. Fleet A refers to Airbus planes and Fleet B refers to Boeing aircraft. Fly Big and Akasa Air had 6 and 4 such incidents during the given period. Together, the total number of incidents of technical faults in planes of these carriers touched

Air travel demand normalises after Covid boom, customers back to basics

Ryanair reported earlier on Monday a bigger than expected drop in quarterly profit as fares plunged 15 per cent, with management saying that ticket prices were continuing to deteriorate

India's monsoon travel surge: Bookings up 25% with discounts driving demand

Countries with short-haul international flights and visa-free or easily obtainable visa options, such as Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bali, and Malaysia are experiencing a 20% increase in demand annually

Indian aviation sets record H1FY24 traffic; IndiGo, Tata Group thrive

Although June 2024 saw a decline in domestic passenger traffic in India compared to May 2024, it was the best June on record with 13.6 million passengers compared to 12.4 million in June 2023

India records 79 million domestic air passengers in H1FY24, up 4%: DGCA

In June 2024 domestic airlines flew more than 13.2 million passengers in India, that is around 5.76% more than 12.4 million passengers during the same period last year

Delhi Airport T3 opens first retail liquor store for domestic passengers

The liquor store at Terminal 3 will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, unlike other retail liquor shops in Delhi. A similar store is also expected to open in Terminal 1

India now 3rd-largest domestic airline market; capacity doubles in 10 yrs

The LCC growth has been fueled by IndiGo; in the last decade, its market share has nearly doubled from 32 per cent to 62 per cent

Summer travel rises 40% this year, travel sector see buoyant demand

As Indian travellers pack their bags to escape the scorching heat, there has been a 40 per cent on-year increase in summer travel this year, with hospitality and travel services providers noticing buoyant demand. Although the ongoing general elections have had a minor impact on corporate and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) business, hotels are finding increased retail business with beach destinations still fighting it out with hill stations for the favoured holiday site. "Those in the Northern part of the country head to the hills to escape the heat. There is also movement from the cities to nearby tourist or leisure destinations. Industry sources estimate a 30 to 40 per cent increase in the summer travel this year as compared to last year," Hotel Association of India, President and Radisson Hotel Group Chairman-South Asia, KB Kachru told PTI. MakeMyTrip Co-Founder & Group CEO Rajesh Magow said, "Summer is always one of the biggest quarters of the year in

April domestic air travel growth slows to 13-month low; Air India grows

Modest growth attributed to multiple factors plaguing the aviation industry

How Indians travel and spend: Amsterdam, London top summer destinations

The first three months of 2024 have registered 97 million passengers traveling through Indian airports for both international and domestic trips

Akasa Air now allows carriage of pets weighing up to 10 kg in cabin

Akasa Air passengers can now carry pets that weigh up to 10 kilograms in the cabin of domestic flights, with the airline on Wednesday saying the enhancement to its pet travel service has been done after taking customer feedback into consideration. In November 2022, the airline introduced the service wherein passengers have been allowed to travel on domestic flights with their cats and dogs in the cabin or cargo, based on their weight. "As part of the enhancements, Akasa Air now allows customers to travel with pets weighing up to 10 kg (including the weight of the container) in the cabin -- an increase from the previous limit of 7 kg. This change has been introduced keeping customer feedback in mind, reflecting the airline's commitment to continuously enhance its services to meet the evolving travel needs of its customers," the airline said in a release. In the cargo, pets weighing up to 32 kg are allowed by Akasa Air. According to the release, the airline has carried more than 3,20

Indians prepare for summer travel despite heat waves, soaring fares: Report

IMD expects May 2024 to record a higher than normal number of heat wave days in various parts of the country

Over 44% passengers paid extra charges on booking flight tickets: Survey

As much as 44 per cent respondents in a survey complained that they had to pay extra charges to get a seat at the time of purchase of a flight ticket. Many of the respondents also reported paying between Rs 200 and Rs 2,000 as seat allocation fee, which can amount to 5-40 per cent of the air fare, LocalCircles, which carried out the survey, said in a statement. It also said there has been a very marginal improvement in the last 12 months in the ability of consumers to get a free seat when booking their flight. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs and consumer regulator CCPA late last year convened a meeting of the airlines on the issue and questioned them about the alleged unfair trade practices and misleading claims of "free" web check-in, it said. The new survey, which received over 41,000 responses from consumers across 339 districts of the country, has focused on fliers' problems when booking for travel with family members, particularly young children, LocalCircles said. According

SpiceJet adds 10 aircraft to fleet ahead of busy summer schedule

Low-cost carrier SpiceJet has finalised lease agreements for 10 aircraft to ensure seamless travel during the upcoming summer season

Air passenger traffic in India likely to reach 300 mn by 2030: Scindia

The number of domestic passengers in India is expected to surge to 300 million annually by 2030 from 153 million in 2023, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said on Thursday. Speaking at the inaugural session of Wings India 2024, a civil aviation conclave and exhibition here, Scindia also said the number of airports, and waterports will increase to over 200 from the existing 149 in the country. With 300 million passengers a year in 2030, India's aviation penetration would be at 10 to 15 per cent and still be a potential market. He noted that the domestic air passenger traffic witnessed 15 per cent growth CAGR while that of international 6.1 per cent in the last decade. In the last 15 years, domestic cargo witnessed a growth of 60 per cent international at 53 per cent. Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation General VK Singh and Telangana Minister K Venkat Reddy also spoke on the occasion.