IndiGo dominates Indian sky, Vistara tops punctuality as domestic aviation grows 33%

India's domestic aviation sector showcased remarkable resilience and growth in June 2023, posting a substantial year-on-year increase in passenger traffic. Despite the grounding of Go First, the aviation industry experienced a remarkable 32.92% annual growth, with June alone recording an impressive 18.78% surge in passenger traffic.

Traffic data of Domestic Airlines for the month of June 2023 has been uploaded on DGCA website and is available at https://t.co/XoBgIKYXnU

— DGCA (@DGCAIndia) July 14, 2023

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) monthly report for June 2023, market leader, IndiGo continued its dominance, carrying the majority of passengers with a 63.2% market share.

Here are the key highlights from the DGCA report:

Domestic air traffic growth

• In the first half of 2023 (January-June), over 76 million passengers travelled on domestic flights in India, an increase from the previous year's figure of 57 million during the same period.
• This notable 33% year-on-year growth showcased the resilience and recovery of the domestic aviation industry.

IndiGo retains top spot

• IndiGo continued to be the preferred choice for travellers, maintaining its stronghold on the market with an impressive 63.2% market share.
• The carrier's widespread presence and deployment on numerous monopoly routes contributed to its dominance.
• Following IndiGo, Tata's Air India held the second-largest market share at 9.7%.
• Vistara and AirAsia India secured 8.1% and 8% shares, respectively.
• Notably, Akasa Air achieved a 4.9% market share in June, surpassing SpiceJet, which recorded 4.4% whose fleet and operations are impacted by financial and operational challenges for most of 2023.

ALSO READ: SpiceJet losses are soaring. Blame air incidents, rising expenses, pandemic

Akasa Air grows

• Akasa Air launched less than a year back, has been making inroads in the industry.
• The airline's market share rose steadily from 4% in April to 4.9% in June 2023.
• With over 3.5 million revenue passengers and 900 weekly flights since August 2022, Akasa Air is poised for further expansion as it adds more jets to its fleet.

EXCLUSIVE | VIDEO: "We are going to have 76 aircraft in our fleet by end of March or April 2027," says Akasa Air CEO Vinay Dube. pic.twitter.com/IZiBoJFXNb

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 13, 2023

• During the months of April, May, and June 2023, Akasa Air's market share showed a consistent increase, reaching 4%, 4.8%, and 4.9%, respectively.
• In contrast, SpiceJet experienced a decline in its market share, recording figures of 5.8%, 5.4%, and 4.4% for April, May, and June 2023, respectively.

ALSO READ: Akasa Air is now second Indian airline, after Air India, to allow pets to fly with passengers

On-Time Performance (OTP)

• Vistara topped the charts in terms of punctuality with an OTP of 88.3% in June.
• IndiGo and Akasa Air followed closely with OTPs of 87.6% each.
• However, both SpiceJet and Air India fell behind in this aspect, recording OTPs of 59.5% and 69.4%, respectively, at the four major metro airports (Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai).

Load carrying

• In June 2023, all the airlines jointly carried approximately 1% higher than June 2022, but it remained 4.8% below pre-Covid levels of June 2019.
• Despite this, the domestic aviation industry achieved an impressive passenger load factor (PLF) of around 93%, surpassing both June 2022 (79%) and June 2019 (89%).

IndiGo's continued dominance, Akasa Air's rising market share, and Vistara's punctuality performance were among the highlights of the report. As the industry recovers further, airlines are expected to face new opportunities and challenges, contributing to the ongoing transformation of the Indian aviation landscape.