Domestic air passenger traffic rises 19% to 114 lakh in September

Domestic air passenger traffic grew nearly 19 per cent to 113.98 lakh in September, as fares continued to remain low amid stiff competition.

During the month, no-frills carrier GoAir recorded the highest On Time Performance (OTP) at 90.4 per cent across four key airports while market leader and rival IndiGo slipped to the third position, as per data released by aviation regulator DGCA on Wednesday.

The number of passengers carried by domestic airlines stood at 113.98 lakh in September this year, against 95.83 lakh in the same month last year, registering a growth of 18.95 per cent, the data showed.

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IndiGo maintained its leadership position, carrying 49.20 lakh passengers and grabbing a market share of 43.20 per cent in September. It was followed by Jet Airways, which flew 16.13 lakh people and cornered a market share of 14.2 per cent.

SpiceJet carried 13.63 lakh passengers and its market share stood at 12 per cent. National carrier Air India flew 13.45 lakh passengers, accounting for 11.8 per cent of the market.

Despite spiralling fuel costs and rupee depreciation hurting profitability, airlines offered low fares amid intense competition in the market.

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The passenger load factor in September has shown increasing trend compared to the previous month due to beginning of the festive season, the DGCA said.

According to the data, SpiceJet recorded the highest load factor during September at 93.2 per cent, followed by GoAir with 90.6 per cent.

“SpiceJet has yet again flown with the industry’s highest load factor of 93.2 per cent making September the 42^nd month on the trot that we have recorded the highest occupancy in India,” the airline’s Chief Sales and Revenue Officer Shilpa Bhatia said.