High fliers add tailwind to airlines

Vistara performed the best in terms of on-time operations

Indian airline companies’ honeymoon period has continued in 2016, mainly on the back of low fuel prices, with passenger traffic in January growing 23 per cent over the same month the previous year. Airlines’ passenger load factor — a measure of their utilisation of aircraft capacity — however, declined from that in December, when traffic was higher amid a tourist season.

According to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indian airlines carried 7.66 million passengers in January this year, compared with 6.25 million in the same month last year. Of the total passengers carried in January this year, 6.43 million (84 per cent) were carried by private airlines, and 1.22 million (16 per cent) by state-owned Air India.

Low-cost carrier IndiGo, which carried 36.7 per cent o the passengers, continued to be the leader among domestic airlines. It was followed by Jet Airways (including Jet Lite), which flew 21.4 per cent and Air India (16 per cent).

In terms of capacity utilisation, the Ajay Singh-led budget carrier SpiceJet remained at the top of the heap, with 92.1 per cent. It was followed by GoAir and IndiGo, at 84.9 per cent and 84.7 per cent, respectively.

SpiceJet maintained a load factor of over 90 per cent January, for a ninth straight month. Ajay Singh was appointed the airline’s managing director in May, after a phase of financial crisis for the no-frills airline.

Vistara, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, performed the best in terms of timely operations, with an on-time performance (OTP) of 86.6 per cent. The airline, though, fell from a high of 90.6 per cent the previous month.

According to the estimates of consultancy firm CAPA, India’s aviation sector benefitted immensely from a decline in global crude oil prices. CAPA revised its estimate for domestic growth to 20 per cent from 10-12 per cent earlier.

Growth has prompted airlines to deploy huge capacities on domestic routes for expansion. Business Standard had recently reported that Air India was looking to cash in on this growth by deploying more aircraft on domestic routes and was also planning to fly Dreamliners on metro routes. IndiGo is slated to receive 430 additional Airbus A320 Neos, and GoAir 72 or those; SpiceJet is likely to place a significant order shortly.