Low fares help passenger traffic on domestic flights grow by 26% in July
While 67.62 lakh people took flights within India in the same month last year, it grew to 85.08 lakh in 2016.
Domestic carriers reported a 26% growth in passenger traffic in July, when compared with the same month last year, The Indian Express reported. Low-cost carriers were behind the increase, offering cheap fares that encouraged more people to fly. Of the 85.08 lakh passengers recorded in July, 33.84 lakh flew Indigo, which subsequently grew its market share by more than 5.01% last month. Last year, 67.62 lakh people took domestic flights in July.
Airlines offering full services, such as Air India and Vistara, however lost out. Air India’s market share dropped by 7.14% and Vistara’s by 4.51%. SpiceJet too declined in market share by 7.87%, though it recorded the highest passenger load factor – the metric for how a transport operator utilises its capacity – at 90%. Passenger traffic has been rising for the past 24 months in the industry, IANS reported.