Air traffic vaults 26% in April

NEW DELHI: The new fiscal has started on an upbeat note for domestic airlines. Passenger numbers increased 26% in April, with carriers taking 41.88 lakh passengers to the skies, government data showed. Most domestic carriers saw flight occupancy of 70-80% as demand improved in April. Domestic carriers have maintained double digit growth for the past many months on the back of a robust economy.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, domestic airlines carried 162.82 lakh passengers in January-April this year, up 22% over 133.41 lakh in the corresponding period last year. “Airfare has also been on the lower side. In spite of the market’s ability to absorb higher fares, airlines have been reluctant to raise tariffs,” Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation India CEO Kapil Kaul said.

Domestic air traffic has shifted towards low-cost airlines, benefiting budget carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet. This has forced full-service carriers to keep tariffs competitive. “The lowest bucket fare offered by full-service carriers are generally comparable with budget airline fares. At times, full-service fare is cheaper than low-cost airlines’,” Amadeus India MD Ankur Bhatia said.