November aviation data: Akasa Air most punctual; domestic traffic dips below pre-pandemic level

Domestic air traffic rose 9 percent year on year to 12.7 million passengers, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation

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Akasa Air, India’s newest airline, was the most punctual in November, overtaking market leader IndiGo, while domestic traffic fell below pre-pandemic levels for the first time this calendar year, the aviation regulator said.

Akasa Air turned in an on-time performance of 78.2 percent at the four metro airports – New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Mumbai. IndiGo and Vistara were second and third, followed by AIX Connect. On-time performance of airlines fell in November after heavy rainfall forced flight delays. Punctuality dropped by 4-7 percent from October.

Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia nudged airlines earlier this week to enhance their on-time performance. He also asked IndiGo, Air India, Vistara, Air India Express, SpiceJet and Akasa to submit their aircraft induction and deployment plans for the next six months.

Domestic air traffic rose 9 percent year on year to 12.7 million passengers, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on December 15. More people flew in November than in October, when passenger traffic stood at 12.6 million.

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Domestic airlines carried 138.2 million passengers during the January-November period, up 25 percent from 110.5 million in the year-ago period, the civil aviation regulator said.

However, passenger traffic in November fell below the pre-COVID levels for the first time in 2023. Domestic airlines flew 12.9 million passengers in November 2019.

Aviation pie

IndiGo's market share in November shrank to 61.8 percent from 62.6 percent in October and 63.4 percent in September. The airline carried 7.87 million passengers in November. IndiGo’s market share had risen for three straight months. GoFirst stopped flying on May 2.

Air India retained its position as the second-largest domestic carrier with a market share of 10.5 percent after flying 1.33 million passengers. The Tata Group airline’s market share has risen from 8.6 percent in April.

Vistara was steady in third position, garnering 9.4 percent of the market, having flown 1.19 million passengers. Its market share fell from 9.7 percent in October.

AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India and also a part of the Tata stable, stayed in fourth spot with a 6.6 percent share and 836,000 passengers carried.

SpiceJet's market share was 6.2 percent. The airline carried 785,000 passengers. It had a peak market share of 10.7 percent in February 2022.

Akasa Air remained behind SpiceJet after struggling with pilot shortages and grounded aircraft. Akasa Air had overtaken SpiceJet in June and widened the gap with SpiceJet in July.

Akasa Air carried 537,000 passengers in November for a market share of 4.2 percent, unchanged from October, September and August.

The passenger load factor, or the occupancy rate, of SpiceJet, Vistara, IndiGo, Air India, and AirAsia India stood at 90.8 percent, 89.4 percent, 85.6 percent, 84.8 percent, and 85.3 percent, respectively, in November.

Akasa Air’s passenger load factor rose to 89.2 percent from 86.6 percent in October. The airline completed one full year of operations on August 7, 2023.

As many as 601 passenger complaints were received in November, the data showed. The number of complaints per 10,000 passengers carried was about 0.47.

As many as 1,231 passengers were denied boarding by airlines in November. A total of 39,486 passengers were affected by flight cancellations and 269,011 passengers were impacted due to flight delays last month.