Domestic air traffic up 17 per cent in Nov, SpiceJet beats Indigo on punctuality

Domestic carriers flew a total of 10.48 million passengers in November, compared to 8.96 million in November 2016, thereby registering a growth of 16.99 pc, the DGCA monthly traffic data shows. The passenger load factor, a measure of how full the plane flies, has shown an increasing trend in November compared to previous month primarily due to the ongoing tourist season, it said. November is also the month when airlines’ winter schedule comes into full effect, during which carriers announce new flights and routes besides adding frequencies. 

Market leader IndiGo, which accounted for a little over 39 pc (4.13 million) of the total domestic traffic in Nov, slipped to second position in on-time performance (OTP) with rival SpiceJet delivering the highest OTP at 81.9 pc from four major metro airports, as per the data. Besides, SpiceJet also clocked a seat factor of over 90 pc for the 32nd consecutive month at 95.5 pc last month. 

“Our on-time performance at 81.9 pc was the best of all airlines in India. SpiceJet recorded the highest load factor for the 32nd month in a row. Load factor at 95.5 pc is also the highest in SpiceJet’s history,” SpiceJet CMD Ajay Singh said. 

OTP of an airline is measured from the time an aircraft gets detached from an aerobridge or step ladder for the push back at the departing airport to the time it gets attached to an aerobridge or step ladder at the arriving airport. DGCA publishes monthly on-time performance of domestic airlines from four metro airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.