Dec. 20—Domestic air passenger traffic increased by 2.4% month-on-month to 11.7 million in November, as per the latest data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
India's largest airline IndiGo has made a comeback as the most punctual domestic carrier after seven months with an on-time performance of 92.5% at the four metro airports, the data showed.
IndiGo jumped from the fourth place recorded in October at 87.5% and dethroned Air India as the most punctual airline at the four metro airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru, the data showed.
The low-cost carrier had soared past its competition in time-keeping in the current year during the months of February and March, with 95.4% and 93.9% of flights reaching destinations on time, respectively. Since then, however, the Tata group airlines AirAsia India, Vistara, and Air India have moved ahead in the punctuality meter.
Air India, which secured the most punctual airline title after years in October 2022 at 90.8% on-time performance, was second in November at 88.2%. It was followed by Vistara at 85.6%, AirAsia India at 75%, Alliance Air at 71.3%, and SpiceJet at 56.8%. GoFIRST, which has been facing shortage of engines, continued to be the least punctual airline for the third month in a row with the punctuality rate dropping further to 35.9% in November from 60.7% in October.
"We are pleased to return to the top of on-time performance operations. Despite numerous challenges, the team at IndiGo has devised and successfully executed its plan to ensure the passenger experience, consistency and operational efficiency that IndiGo is renowned for," Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, president and Chief Operating Officer, IndiGo, said.
The takeover of Air India by the Tata Group and then the subsequent consolidation of Vistara and AirAsia India under the Air India umbrella has intensified the competition in the Indian aviation industry with Air India brand now being seen as a strong competitor to IndiGo. In August, Akasa Air, backed by late billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, also entered the low-cost carrier segment.
As of November, the market share of IndiGo in domestic flights stood at 55.7% as against 56.7% in October, followed by Vistara at 9.3%, Air India at 9.1%, AirAsia at 7.6%, SpiceJet and GoFIRST at 7.5% each, and Akasa Air at 1.8% from 1.4% in October. The combined market share of the three airlines under Tata umbrella increased marginally to 26% from 25.9% in October.
The passenger load factor or capacity utilisation for all airlines rose in November as against October on account of peak travel season. The passenger load factor for IndiGo rose to 86.9% from 82.1% in October, for Air India it rose to 85.7% from 82.7% and it increased to 79.2% in November from 77.5% in October for Akasa Air.
As the Indian aviation market has been witnessing above pre-covid level of daily air passenger traffic over the past two weeks at over 410,000 passengers, the air traffic in December is expected to further increase owing to strong travel sentiment during the holiday and festive season, an industry expert said.
"A quick recovery in domestic passenger traffic is expected in FY2023, aided by normalcy in operations and the waning pandemic. However, the earnings recovery for domestic airlines will be slow-paced due to elevated ATF prices in addition to the rupee depreciation against the US dollar amid a heightened competitive environment," Suprio Banerjee, Vice President & Sector Head — Corporate Ratings, Icra Limited said.
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