AirAsia India managed to cross the 10 million seat count in 2019. The airline started operating back in 2014 and since then it hasn’t had a very jolly time in the Indian aerospace. The target of the airline was to fly in the underserved routes of India. Yet when it started its operations, the first few routes by the airline were Bangalore to Goa, Chennai, and Kochi. Point to note is that these routes weren’t underserved at the time. Instead, these routes had 2 to 3 established budget carriers. In 2014, when AirAsia India started flying, the low-cost carriers (LCCs) already had 64% of the market. There was very less room for a new budget airline to make its way into the market. It took many years for the airline to just cross the 10 million seat mark.
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AirAsia India Operated at Lowest Seat Volume and Saw Least Growth
AirAsia India added 2.2 million new seats last year which signified a growth of 27% YoY. The airline added a few new routes from Delhi and other metro cities. Even though it is decent growth, compared to all the other airlines growth rate, it is not significant. Other LCCs such as IndiGo added 28 million new seats YoY, SpiceJet added 7 million, and GoAir 3.6 million. On the percentage basis, it was only GoAir (up by 24%) which didn’t grow enough to beat AirAsia India. But it still added more seats than AirAsia India.
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Potential Sell-off Awaits
Things are not good for the aviation industry with travel rate being at an all-time low. Pandemic has ruined everything for the airline industry not only in India but in the world. Many airlines are on the verge of mixing into the sand. AirAsia India might also be looking at a potential sell-off. Tata Sons, an Indian conglomerate which owns the majority of the airline doesn’t want to focus on it anymore. It is looking for a sell-out of the airline. But Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia India believes that the airline is far from being done. They will shortly look to raise money from the market so that they can turn their losses into profits.
