Indian airlines lead in capacity addition this winter

IndiGo leads with 42% more weekly flights; others follow

Indian airlines expect this winter to be good for business and they have added capacity like never before, beating their peers across the globe.

According to data collected from air travel intelligence, domestic market leader IndiGo leads the charts in capacity addition this winter. It added 285,660 seats in November to the capacity it had in the same month a year ago.

A ROSY WINTER

• According to DGCA, there will be a 20.8 per cent increase in the number of flights in winter 2016 at 16,600 a week, compared to 13,744 a week last winter
• IndiGo, which plans to induct 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft in 2016-17, has proposed to operate 6,276 weekly flights
• This is 42 per cent higher than its operations in the winter of 2015

This makes it the fastest growing airline, ahead of global low-cost majors like Ryanair, which has increased capacity by 13.7 per cent or 260,064 seats. Gulf majors Qatar Airways and Emirates have increased capacity by 128,408 seats or 17.2 per cent, and 122,469 seats or 9.2 per cent, respectively. Another low-cost carrier from India, SpiceJet, will fly 73,565 seats or 29.9 per cent more than it did in the same period last year.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there will be a 20.8 per cent increase in the number of flights in winter 2016 at 16,600 a week, compared to 13,744 a week last winter.

IndiGo, which plans to induct 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft in 2016-17, has proposed to operate 6,276 weekly flights. This is 42 per cent higher than its operations in the winter of 2015. The airline has proposed new flights from Bengaluru, Chennai and Kolkata.

Full-service carrier Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, will have 13 aircraft by the end of this month and operate nearly 50 per cent more flights this winter at a proposed 490 a week. The airline has proposed a new flight between Delhi and Amritsar and will expand capacity on some of its existing routes.

GoAir is increasing its flights by 25 per cent to 1,209 a week. It will launch new services from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The airline is adding seven aircraft this year and will increase its fleet to 27 by March 2017.

Low crude oil prices, leading to lower fares, have significantly increased the number of Indian fliers. Airlines are now flying bigger planes in response. IndiGo has decided to convert 20 aircraft of its order of 430 A320neos to A321neos. The former accommodates 189 passengers and the A321neo carries 240. Full-service carrier Jet Airways introduced the A330 on October 30 on the Mumbai-Delhi and Delhi-Kolkata routes. The airline said the Airbus A330 would double its capacity on the Delhi-Kolkata route.