SpiceJet flies fuller in Aug, market share dips

It might be facing serious financial problems but last month, SpiceJet claimed it had become the second largest airline, based on market share data of the government, beating Jet Airways, including Jet Lite. This month, Spicejet said it was on top of the charts in passenger load. SpiceJet had the highest passenger load in August but its market share declined from 20.9 per cent in July to 19.5 per cent in August. Jet Airways, which had a market share of 19.6 per cent in July, clawed back to 20.1 per cent in August, retaining its number two slot. Analysts said SpiceJet lost market share despite carrying more passengers in August because the airline was continuously offering highly discounted fares.

SpiceJet also dropped in on-time performance, which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation calculates in four metro airports at Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore. SpiceJet dropped in punctuality from third position in July to fourth in August. The airline's on-time performance in August was 81 per cent, compared with 88.7 per cent for IndiGo, 88 per cent for Jet Airways and 84 per cent for GoAir. Only Air India fared worse at 74 per cent.

The slippage is in striking contrast to SpiceJet's performance in the first half of the year. Between December 2013 and February 2014, SpiceJet topped in punctuality and came second in April and May after IndiGo. Passenger complaints against the airline also rose in August from July. The majority of the complaints related to refunds. Air India and Jet Airways had more passenger complaints in August.

"Other airlines improved their loads from 60-odd per cent in July to 70-odd per cent in August. SpiceJet was already at 80 per cent in July and this increased to 82.5 per cent in August. We deployed less capacity in August as aircraft were in maintenance," said a SpiceJet spokesperson. Responding to question on flight delays, SpiceJet said this was because of operational issues in Mumbai and Delhi that were being addressed. "Complaints are correlated to on-time performance. The complaints will reduce as we fix on-time performance in Mumbai and Delhi," he added.