Air India and Vistara Enter Interline Partnership

51% of fall in passenger compared to last year, 63.54 Lakh domestic air passengers in November: DGCA

A total of 63.54 lakh domestic passengers traveled by air in November, a 51 percent decrease than the corresponding period final yr, the nation’s aviation regulator DGCA mentioned on Friday. As per the DGCA, 39.43 lakh and 52.71 lakh people traveled by air domestically in September and October, respectively. While IndiGo carried 34.23 lakh passengers in November, a 53.9 percent share of the full home market, SpiceJet flew 8.4 lakh passengers, which is a 13.2 percent share of the market, based on knowledge shared by the DGCA.

Air India, GoAir, AirAsia India, and Vistara carried 6.56 lakh, 5.77 lakh, 4.21 lakh, and 3.97 lakh passengers respectively in November, the data confirmed. The occupancy rate or load factor of six main Indian airlines was between 66.3 and 77.7 percent in November, it said. “The passenger load issue in the month of Nov 2020 has proven some recovery due to elevated demand after the opening of Lockdown and onset of the festive season” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) mentioned.

The occupancy rate at SpiceJet was 77.7 percent in November, the regulator noted. Meanwhile, the occupancy rate for other main airlines IndiGo, Vistara, GoAir, Air India, and AirAsia India was 74 percent, 70. 8 percent, 70. 8 percent, 69.6 percent, and 66.3 percent respectively, based on the DGCA. India resumed home passenger flights on May 25 after a gap of two months as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Indian airways are allowed to function a most of 80 percent of their pre-COVID-19 domestic flights. The DGCA data talked about that in November, IndiGo had the best on-time performance of 97.5 percent at 4 metro airports — Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. In an announcement, IndiGo mentioned, “As we chart a restoration path, we’re happy to be the chief in On-Time Performance, one of our core service values. We hope to continue with this lead and provide the perfect OTP to our customers.”

AirAsia India and Vistara were at number two and three at these 4 airports in November with 95.6 percent and 94.8 percent on-time performance, respectively, the DGCA mentioned. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the journey restrictions imposed in India and different countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, depart without pay, and firing of workers in order to tide over the crisis.