LCC share hits air pocket

MUMBAI: With ATF prices almost doubling in the past one year, marketshare of low-cost airlines���SpiceJet, IndiGo, Go Air and JetLite���is likely to dip compared to full-service carriers��� share of 51%.

Brokerage analysts believe that balance-sheets of many low carriers have come under pressure and the marketshare of LCCs, which has touched 49%, will drop drastically in the next quarter.

���India���s low-cost aviation industry has seen a transformation over the last few years from 25% marketshare two years ago to 49% last month,��� Angel Broking research head Hitesh Agrawal told ET.

���Marketshare of low-cost carriers may drop to 20% in the next few months if ATF prices maintain its pressure,��� said an analyst with a local brokerage. Recently, IndiGo���s marketshare grew 85% whereas SpiceJet, JetLite and GoAir grew their share by 40%, 28% and 8%, respectively.

SpiceJet is reducing the number of flights from 117 to 97 from July.