GURUGRAM- Data published by the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on March 15 revealed that in February 2024, Air India Express (IX) outperformed Akasa Air (QP) to become the most punctual airline in operation in India.
Air India Express and Air Asia Merged carrier, known as AIX Connect, achieved an on-time performance of 73.5 percent across the four metro airports of Delhi (DEL), Bengaluru (BLR), Hyderabad (HYD), and Mumbai (BOM).
Air India Express Top Punctuality
IndiGo (6E) and Akasa Air secured the second and third positions, respectively, followed by Vistara (UK). Airlines’ on-time performance saw an increase in February following flight delays caused by heavy fog in December and January. Punctuality improved by 2-5 percent compared to January.
According to data released by the DGCA on February 15, domestic air traffic witnessed a 4.8 percent year-on-year growth, totaling 12.65 million passengers. February saw a slight decrease in passenger numbers compared to January, which recorded 13.13 million passengers.
Cancellation factor
In February 2024, most domestic flights ran smoothly, but some were canceled. Flybig (S9), a regional airline from Gurugram, had the second-highest cancellation rate at 7.41%. Alliance Air (9I) came third with a rate of 3.83%, and Indiaone Air (I7) followed with 3.18%.
SpiceJet (SG) experienced a cancellation rate of 1.54 percent, while IndiGo and AIX Connect (IX) had rates of 0.84 percent and 0.64 percent, respectively.
The primary cause of cancellations was weather, accounting for 58.6 percent. Technical issues, operational challenges, and commercial factors comprised 19.7 percent, 6.8 percent, and 1.5 percent, respectively.
According to data from the DGCA, approximately 13.4 percent of flights in February were canceled for ‘miscellaneous’ reasons.
Complaints
In February 2024, scheduled domestic airlines received a total of 791 passenger-related complaints. The complaint rate per 10,000 passengers carried for February was approximately 0.63.
The primary reasons for complaints are flight-related issues. Out of the total 791 complaints received, airlines have addressed approximately 97 percent, resolving 769 of them.
Indian Aviation Sector Outlook
India’s largest airline, IndiGo, saw its market share decrease by 10 basis points in February, following a drop of 160 basis points in January 2024. The airline’s current market share stands at 60.1 percent, having flown 76.02 lakh passengers during February.
One basis point is equivalent to one-hundredth of a percentage point.
IndiGo’s market share decline in January was attributed to its On-Time Performance falling to 43.7 percent on January 17, the lowest in the industry. The airline faced operational challenges for two weeks due to fog-related disruptions in northern India, resulting in nearly 500 flight cancellations.
On January 18, IndiGo Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer Pieter Elbers announced plans to improve its On-Time Performance to previous standards within a week, following the airline’s worst performance due to dense fog causing flight delays.
Air India retained its position as the second-largest domestic carrier in February, capturing a market share of 12.8 percent and flying 16.17 lakh passengers during the month.
Vistara maintained its market share at 9.9 percent in February, transporting 12.55 lakh passengers.
AIX Connect, another Tata-affiliated carrier, also held its market share at 6.1 percent, serving 7.68 lakh passengers in February.
SpiceJet’s market share decreased to 5.2 percent in February, down by 40 basis points from January. The airline flew 6.59 lakh passengers, experiencing a decline from its peak market share of 10.7 percent in February 2022.
Akasa Air, facing challenges with pilot shortages and grounded aircraft, remained behind SpiceJet. The airline carried 5.68 lakh passengers in February, holding a market share of 4.5 percent, unchanged from January.
Load Factor
The passenger load factors for SpiceJet, Vistara, IndiGo, Air India, and AIX Connect in February were 94.5 percent, 94.6 percent, 88.1 percent, 87.1 percent, and 87.6 percent, respectively.
Akasa Air’s passenger load factor decreased to 92.4 percent from 92.4 percent in February. The airline marked one full year of operations on August 7, 2023.
Flight Delays and Compensation
According to DGCA data, delayed boarding affected a total of 917 passengers, resulting in airlines spending Rs 78.19 lakhs on compensation and facilities.
In the cancellations category, airlines impacted 29,143 passengers, spending Rs 99.96 lakhs on compensation and facilities.
During January 2024, flight delays affected approximately 155,387 passengers, who received compensation totaling Rs 222.11 lakhs.
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