The worst in the aviation sector seems to be far behind with domestic air traffic continuing the double-digit growth. Domestic airlines
flew 39.76 lakh passengers during March this year, up 23% over the corresponding month last year.
As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) data, most of the airlines filled over 70% of their seats during this period. The flight occupancy, however, dipped marginally compared with February this year.
“It indicates that airlines have added capacity in March. There is also the seasonality issue,” said airline ticketing service provider InterGlobe Technology Quotient (ITQ) CEO JB Singh.
Most of the carriers are expanding their operations, as the growth in the sector has stabilised on the back of strong economy and improved market sentiment.
While full-service carriers such as Air India and Kingfisher Airlines are cautiously adding flights, the no-frill airlines such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have indicated aggressive fleet induction plans.
“We expect robust growth, as we have seen in the past few months. An average growth of 15-17% during the current financial year can reasonably be expected,” said SpiceJet chief operating officer Samyukta Sridharan.
The domestic airline industry has been in turbulance in the past two financial years, as weak demand, excess capacity and spiralling fuel price had hit it hard. The industry is estimated to have lost about Rs 10,000 crore in 2009-10.
In a bid to improve their revenue and reduce losses, the two private full-service carriers Kingfisher Airlines and SpiceJet have converted their aircraft into all-economy class doing away with the business class. This helped the carriers increase seats in the market, while keeping the operating cost same
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