MUMBAI- In May 2024, Indian Airlines collectively transported 13.796 million (roughly 138 lakh) passengers, as reported by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
This represents a 4.40% increase compared to the previous month when 13.214 million passengers traveled within India. Compared to May 2023, passenger numbers have risen by 3.99%.
IndiGo, Air India, and Others May Performance
IndiGo Airlines (6E) has been the leader in this segment for years and has improved its share this month. With a market share of 61.6%, the largest airline transported 8.504 million passengers.
Tata-owned Air India (AI), holding the second position with a market share of 13.7%, carried 1.893 million passengers. Vistara (UK) had a market share of 9.2%, transporting 1.271 million passengers.
AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India (I5), carried 0.703 million passengers, with a market share of 5.1%.
Akasa Air (QP), the youngest and most eco-friendly airline in India, carried 0.664 million passengers, with a market share of 4.8%.
Akasa Air has once again beaten SpiceJet (SG), which carried 0.554 million passengers, holding a 4% market share.
Other carriers include Alliance Air (9I) with a 1% market share pretty similar to last month, carrying 0.135 million passengers, and Star Air (S5) with a 0.4% market share, transporting 0.058 million passengers.
May 2024: OTP
Talking about the On-Time Performance (OTP), which DGCA provides for the four big metro cities: Bengaluru (BLR), Delhi (DEL), Hyderabad (HYD), and Mumbai (BOM).
Akasa Air, the newest major airline in India, has maintained its lead in On-Time Performance (OTP).
In May, 85.9% of Akasa Air’s flights from these airports were on time. Despite a 4% reduction, the airline remains in the lead, continuing its dominance for the past three months.
IndiGo is struggling to top this list nowadays. Once a consistent leader, its OTP has now dropped to 72.8%. Considering its size and scale, this is not too bad, but there is still significant room for improvement.
Vistara (UK) has also improved its OTP, with 81.9% of its flights being on time. While AIX Connect had 7.9% of its flights on time.
Air India’s performance was more disappointing, with only 68.4% of its flights being on time in May.
SpiceJet and Alliance Air continue to lag, with OTPs of 60.7% and 58.7%, respectively.
Finally, let’s delve into the passenger load factors. SpiceJet had the highest Passenger Load Factor (PLF) at 94.1%, followed by Vistara at 93.4% and Akasa Air at 90.3%.
IndiGo held the fourth position with a PLF of 88.4%, which is impressive given the airline’s size. Both Air India and AIX Connect had a PLF of 86.9%.
Bottom Line and Key Highlights
The market share of TATA Group Airlines (Air India, Vistara, and AIX Connect) decreased from 28.8% in April to 28% in May, while IndiGo’s improved.
Three airlines—SpiceJet, Akasa Air, and Vistara—achieved a PLF above 90%.
In May, the flight cancellation rate was 1.70%, with FlyBig (S9) canceling 30% of its flights due to operational disruptions caused by the fire in the Kumaon region.
Feature Image: Sandeep (@atc.spotter)
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