In May, domestic airlines carried 1.32 crore passengers, a substantial 36 per cent rise over the same month last year. In the meantime, IndiGo has surpassed Go First in market share with 6.4% following the suspension of Go First’s operations. According to DGCA data, the latter’s market share increased from 57.5% in April to 61.4% in May. May saw a modest 2.5% increase in domestic aviation traffic compared to April’s 1.29 crore passengers. In May, domestic airlines carried 1.32 crore passengers, a substantial 36 per cent rise over the same month last year. In the meantime, IndiGo has surpassed Go First in market share with 6.4% following the suspension of Go First’s operations. Out of the 1.32 crore domestic fliers in May, IndiGo served 81.10 lakh passengers, which was the most. The three Tata Airlines carried 34.80 lakh passengers, compared to 7.20 lakh and 6.29 lakh passengers, respectively, on SpiceJet and Akasa Air. In May, India’s domestic passenger traffic increased overall by 15.2% compared to the previous year, resuming pre-pandemic levels.
The combination of increased travel demand and Go First’s suspension led to improved passenger load factors for major Indian carriers. IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, AIX Connect, SpiceJet, and Akasa Air achieved load factors of over 90 per cent in May, with only SpiceJet, Vistara and Go First surpassing this threshold in April. IndiGo’s load factor rose to 91.5 per cent in May from 87.4 per cent in April, while Air India’s increased to 90.1 per cent from 87.9 per cent. Akasa Air experienced a jump in load factor to 91.1 per cent in May (84.9 per cent). AIX Connect saw its load factor rise to 92.8 per cent (89.4 per cent). SpiceJet’s load factor improved to 94.8 per cent ( 92.2 per cent), and Vistara’s load factor rose to 93.2 per cent (92.1 per cent). Meanwhile, on multiple routes, including destinations like Srinagar and Leh, fares rose due to Go First’s cancellations. The Civil Aviation Ministry has issued an advisory asking airlines to monitor airfares.
Source : The Business Line
