Rivals might be manipulating OTP numbers: IndiGo

Upping the ante on 'on-time performance', IndiGo today alleged some of its rivals might be manipulating the numbers as they follow a system, which is not in line with global practices, to record the data.
The latest salvo from IndiGo chief Aditya Ghosh comes against the backdrop of the airline's On Time Performance (OTP) declining sharply in the last few months while rival SpiceJet has been topping the charts in this regard.
Till recently, IndiGo had been harping on its top OTP ranking -- generated on the existing system -- to market itself and woo passengers amid stiff competition.
"We suspect that the OTP reporting of some of our competitors is not quite correct. We have already submitted evidence to the DGCA that certain airlines are manipulating the OTP data and have asked for a detailed investigation," Ghosh said during an analysts call after announcing third quarter results.

OTP is one of the several measures to determine an airline's operational efficiency. It indicates whether an airline is operating its flights on time or not.
A Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) panel has started looking into the OTP monitoring mechanism of domestic carriers at four airports of Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bengaluru. The committee was set up after IndiGo complained about alleged irregularities in recording OTP data.

In defence of the recent fall in numbers, Ghosh said for three months to December, the airline's OTP was 71.7 per cent as it was impacted by "a number of issues including adverse weather conditions, ATC congestions at key airports and our A320 neo issues".

Without spelling out specifics, the IndiGo President and Whole Time Director expressed confidence that it would back to its "historical operational performance".
At IndiGo, Ghosh said an automatic system is used to record arrival and departure timings of aircraft which is a practice worldover.
"However, most carriers in India do not use automatic system to capture arrival and departure of aircraft and instead use a manual system to report the OTP, which has the potential of being manipulated," he added.
On Monday, SpiceJet Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh called for applying same rules for all players and making the system more efficient with regard to OTP.

In an apparent dig at IndiGo, which used the same data for almost a decade to sell its flights to customers, Singh had also said, "I think it is little awkward for somebody to be challenging the same data based on which they said they were No 1.