Domestic air traffic rises 7.4%; records the second highest growth rate globally

NEW DELHI: Reflecting "solid" growth over the past two months, India’s domestic passenger traffic rose 7.4% in August, recording the second highest growth rate globally after Russia’s 10%, latest IATA data shows.

"Indian domestic demand climbed 7.4%. Results for the last two months have been solid, perhaps an early sign of improvement as a result of the new business-supportive government regime," the analysis of the data by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) said. India’s domestic Revenue Passenger Kilometers (RPK), which measures actual passenger traffic, grew 7.4% over August last year, almost matching the 7.6% rise in Available Seat Kilometres (ASK) that indicates available passenger capacity or the number of aircraft seats available.

The overall average domestic demand rose 4.5% in August compared to August 2013 with all markets reporting growth, led by Russia and India, the analysis said. Like India, Russia’s high growth rate of 10.1% showed that the airlines there "have been able to stimulate domestic demand through significant fare reductions", it said. The international air traffic results showed a "slight pick-up in demand" in August over the previous month.