Year Ender 2023: From Go First collapse to urinegate, 10 things that defined aviation in India this year

The country will close the year with the highest ever domestic traffic in history, but comes in a year when it lost one airline Go First.

2023 was a roller-coaster year for Indian aviation but then which year has not been filled with twists and turns for the sector? The country will close the year with the highest ever domestic traffic in history, but comes in a year when it lost one airline Go First – which started even before IndiGo did but never really managed to grow the way IndiGo did.

Here is a look at the top 10 things which defined Indian aviation in 2023.

1. Traffic recovery

Right from January, Indian aviation was set for a great year. It felt like the industry had finally overcome the pandemic with no new scares for waves of COVID. The fall of Go First remained a blip even as traffic was quick to recover.

2. Mega orders

If there is one thing which stood out at the global level, it was the mega order and what is better than one mega order? Two mega orders! At the Paris Air Show, IndiGo signed up for 500 A320neo family aircraft and a day later, Air India formalised its order for 470 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing which was announced in February. IndiGo now has around 900 aircraft yet to be delivered from now until 2035.

3. IndiGo at 300

In early January, IndiGo became the first carrier in India to cross the fleet count of 300. The groundings meant that its active fleet always remained below 300, but what a journey it has been for an airline that started when the entire commercial fleet of India was below 300!

4. Go First’s demise

It came as a surprise and within days of the country recording its highest single-day domestic traffic. What was more surprising was that the airline, backed by the Wadia group, declared bankruptcy and approached the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code mechanism on its own. Squarely blaming Pratt & Whitney for the mess, the war of words remained short outside the courtroom but created a huge impact for the employees, who remained sans salary.

5. Urinegate, alcohol and emergency exits

At periodic intervals, the instances of attempting to open emergency exits made news this year. This was after the infamous Urinegate incident on Air India for which even the regulator had to take note and instances of passengers being drunk. The “no-fly” list probably needs more advertising.

6. Profitability is back, albeit partially

IndiGo has clocked a profit of Rs 4,197 crore from January until September this year. Profitability may not be back for everyone, but it is for the largest carrier in the country and if that is an indication, times are not bad for others, especially Air India Express and Vistara.
Akasa Air is too new to clock profits and SpiceJet is in its own spiral while Air India battles legacy costs and investments in the new product line.

7. ‘We may close down’

While Go First shut down, not one but two other airlines said that they could shut down. These were Akasa Air and SpiceJet who said this in the court. For Akasa Air, it was in response to the case against pilots for joining rivals without serving notice period. In the case of SpiceJet this was when the court directed it to pay money in one of the multiple cases it is fighting.

8. The order which never came

Since the time Akasa Air was hit with turbulence from the pilots, the management team led by the CEO kept harping upon a three-digit order by the end of the year. All eyes were on the Dubai Air Show, where Akasa Air had placed its first order in 2021 but there was no order. If rumours are to be believed, the order will now be placed at Wings India in January. One can believe it only when you see it.

9. Regional aviation - a mixed bag

The government has invested a lot in schemes like RCS-UDAN but regional airlines have struggled to survive in India. Star Air, the Bengaluru-based carrier of the Ghodawat group, inducted E175s to its fleet.

10. Airbus and Boeing investments in India

There was a clamour for a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in India from either Airbus or Boeing after the mega orders by Indian carriers and while that may not happen, Boeing this year opened its largest facility outside the US at Bengaluru, built with Rs 1,600 crore investment. Boeing India has set a Rs 10,000 crore/yearly target for increasing sourcing from India, from the current Rs 8,000 crore.

Airbus has also signed tie-ups with multiple organisations in India and procures components and services worth $750 million each year, which is set to increase.