It is well known that IndiGo remains the top airline in the country by capacity and market share owing to its massive fleet of 200+ aircrafts. The IndiGo fleet is majorly comprised of Airbus A320s and A320neos. Up until now, the airline was growing its capacity at the rate of 25% by adding a new aircraft every week. However, recently IndiGo has told analysts that it will cut its capacity addition down by a few points to 23-22% due to the engine woes being faced in some of its A320 aircrafts. As a result of this cut in incremental capacity, the second largest carrier in the country, SpiceJet might benefit.
SpiceJet to Induct Boeing 737 Max
If the analysts are to be believed, then SpiceJet might induct new Boeing 737 Max aircrafts in the coming months to benefit from last minute ticket bookings which have a higher yield. It is also worth noting that the Boeing 737 Max has a higher capacity as compared to Boeing 737 NG and is also more fuel efficient. The space for this increase in capacity by SpiceJet will be created by the cut in IndiGo’s capacity increase plans.
IndiGo Engine Woes Cause Stagnant Capacity
To recall, IndiGo has been facing some issues with the Pratt & Whitney engines on its A320 aircrafts with many flights having mid-engine failures. This was followed by the DGCA order of grounding a few aircrafts from IndiGo. Not only this, but DGCA had ordered that IndiGo would have to ground a aircraft with every new addition, thus leading to stagnant capacity in the IndiGo fleet. This is bound to benefit SpiceJet. Also, the exit of Jet Airways from the Indian aviation industry has also led to SpiceJet’s increase in capacity, with the carrier grabbing some slots from Jet Airways. In the past few quarters, SpiceJet’s market share has increased by 3%.
