There is a severe shortage of planes in the country, which is holding back growth. The effective fleet is much less than the 800 aircraft that are registered with commercial airlines in the country.
Ameya Joshi
Published16 Jul 2024, 09:17 PM IST
Planes are parked at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas/File Photo(REUTERS)
Indian aviation reported the best-ever half-year traffic this year, recording 7.93 crore passengers between January and June this year, compared to 7.60 crore passengers during the same period last year. Thus far, 2023 has been the best-ever year for domestic aviation in India, when it surpassed the pre-COVID numbers by 5.77 per cent. The current numbers are 12.3 per cent higher than those of 2019, the last full year before the pandemic. India is one of the few countries which was fast to bounce back and record higher than pre-pandemic numbers last year. This year is only reinforcing its growth story, though the challenges continue.
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While June saw a drop in passengers compared to May, this was the best-ever June for domestic air traffic in India with 1.36 crore passengers flying as compared to 1.24 crore in June 2023. Last May saw the collapse of Go FIRST, which had led to a small portion of capacity being pulled out of the market.
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What does it mean?
IndiGo, one of the two listed airlines in India, flew in record profits last financial year. There is a severe shortage of planes in the country, which is holding back growth. While IndiGo has a fleet of over 350 aircraft, anywhere between 70 and 80 are grounded due to faulty engines. SpiceJet has not been able to resolve issues with lessors or shore up funds to repair its aircraft and make them flyworthy. Akasa Air has not had an induction since February this year. The effective fleet in the country is much less than the 800 aircraft which are registered with commercial airlines in the country.
This has led to an increase in fares with many complaining of having to pay double or more of what pre-COVID fares used to be. Departures are up only 2.5 per cent, lower than the traffic increase. Capacity by ASK is up 3.7 per cent. All of this indicates load factor being firmed up and higher load factors on the back of higher fares.