Air Deccan posts 32% rise in traffic

Air Deccan, India's largest low-cost airline, has said that it had recorded 32 per cent increase in the number of passengers it flew in May 2007 against May 2006.

The airline carried 7, 04,043 passengers in May 2007 compared with 5, 33,376 in May 2006. The average load factor in May 2007 remained high at 85 per cent and also witnessed an increase over May 2006 where the loads averaged around 82 per cent.

Last week, Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher Airlines had picked up 26 per cent stake in Air Deccan and is about to start the open offer for further acquisition of 20 per cent stake. 
 

FLYING HIGH Comparative traffic statistics
	May-06	May-07	% change
Passengers flown	5, 33,376	7, 04,043	32
Load factor (%)	82	85	4
Seat capacity per day	20,500	27,500	34
Flights	250	350	40
Destinations	55	65	18

Air Deccan, promoted by Capt G R Gopinath, is operating 350 flights a day against 250 flights last year, registering a 40 per cent growth.

The airline provides the widest connectivity in India connecting 65 destinations against 55 cities last May. Air Deccan has flown over 11 million passengers since its inception in the year 2003.

Samyukth Sridharan, chief revenue officer and head marketing, Air Deccan, said, "This growth in passenger traffic has largely been driven by rapid route and capacity expansion by Air Deccan. We have added 100 new flights and 10 new destinations to our network map since May last year increasing the daily seat capacity by 34 per cent. Our on-time performance is amongst the best in the industry, and in May, the figure stood at 99.48 per cent.

"Our new reservation system, introduced in February 07, has now been successfully integrated and all the teething problems that had cropped up due to the migration have been ironed out. With efficient systems and a strong workforce we shall strive to maintain healthy loads all the year round."