The air traffic in India improved by 33.67% month-over-month (MoM) basis in October 2020 as compared to the previous month. During September 2020, air traffic in India stood at 39.43 lakh fliers. But this stat improved quite drastically in October. During the month, the air traffic grew to 52.7 lakh fliers which is 13.27 lakh more fliers taking to the skies. This is certainly good news for the Indian aviation industry as a whole. But things are still not where the airlines would want them to be. More details on the story ahead.
Air Traffic in India Grows on MoM Basis, But at the Same Time Dips 57.2% YoY Basis
Even though the air traffic in India grew on an MoM basis, it dipped quite significantly when looked at year-over-year (YoY) growth. As per a release from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 57.2 lakh passengers flew in October 2020. When compared to the number of passengers who flew in October 2019, it is 57.2% less.
According to the same report from DGCA, the passenger load factor (PLF) for the industry stood at 61-74% in October 2020. For the unaware, PLF is a measure of the number of seats that an airline is filling on each of its flights. During September 2020, the PLF stood at 57-73%. When compared with the last year’s PLF during the same month( 76-90%), it is very low.
Amongst all the airlines, SpiceJet had the highest PLF of 74% in October 2020, which was an increase of 1% from the previous month’s 73%. The airline had a market share of 13.4%. IndiGo was right behind SpiceJet with PLF of 68.2% against 65.4% in September. Even though at second, IndiGo had the biggest market share of 55%.
Vistara had a PLF of 65.2% with a market share of 6.4%. AirAsia India recorded a PLF of 63% with a market share of 7.1%. The state-run airline, Air India had a PLF of 62.1% and a market share of 9.4%. At the bottom was GoAir with 61.8% PLF and market share of 7.5%.
While the air traffic is growing every month in the country, it is still not at the place where it can be considered good. Much recently the DGCA increased the cap from 60% to 70% on the number of flights an airline can operate. This should further help increase air traffic in India.
