IndiGo soars to record 67.4% share as India’s air traffic loses altitude
Airlines carried around 12 million passengers in July, down 5% from a year earlier and 11% from June, when traffic stood at 13.5 million. The sequential decline followed a more than 12% year-on-year drop in June, pointing to a sustained slowdown in domestic air travel demand.
India's largest airline, IndiGo, reported a record market share of 67.4% in July, while Akasa Air and SpiceJet experienced a decline in their respectively shares, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Air India Group, the second-largest aviation company in the country, maintained its position at around 24%.
Akasa Air's share dropped from 6.4% in June to 5.5% in July, while SpiceJet's share decreased from 1.9% to 1.6%. Nearly two out of every three domestic passengers flew on IndiGo in July, while nearly one in four travelled on Air India Group airlines. Together, these two airlines control nearly 92% of the market share.
IndiGo's growth in market share comes at a time when the domestic aviation market contracted, with airlines cutting capacity due to a surge in jet fuel prices caused by the West Asia war. Air India Group and IndiGo's capacity cuts led to a year-on-year decline in overall passenger traffic during the April-June period.
Aviation analyst Jainam Shah attributes the shift in market share to capacity or network-driven factors rather than a structural acceleration in domestic aviation. The weaker domestic air travel demand is primarily due to higher fuel costs, muted demand, and airlines reducing capacity by cutting or pausing unviable routes.
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