Engine trouble knocks Indigo off performance charts

Spicejet moves to top slot in on-time performance for domestic airlines

March 19, 2018 10:31 pm | Updated December 01, 2021 12:31 pm IST - MUMBAI:

 A row of Indigo aircraft at the IGI airport in New Delhi.

A row of Indigo aircraft at the IGI airport in New Delhi.

Crippled by engine trouble with its A320neo fleet, budget carrier Indigo has slipped from the top slot in the on-time performance (OTP) charts at four metro airports and has been replaced by Spicejet. Jet Airways recorded the lowest OTP in February, even as the number of passengers went up 21.80% between January and February.

Passenger traffic up

Domestic air passenger traffic in the country rose to 1.07 crore in February this year, up 24.14% from 86.55 lakh passengers flown in February 2017, according to official data released on Monday by aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

Data showed a 21.8% rise in passenger traffic during the January-February 2018 period, which the DGCA said was due to ongoing tourist traffic.

The OTP of scheduled domestic airlines was computed for four metro airports — Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

While Spicejet clocked an OTP of 78%, Indigo was down to 74% down from 75.4% in January. Vistara came in third at 73.8%, Air India fourth at 68.8%, followed by GoAir with 64.3% and finally Jet Airways+Jetlite, which clocked an OTP of just 62.2%.

Vistara on song

Spicejet and Vistara topped in carrying the highest passenger load factor for February. While Spicejet had a 96.3% occupancy, Vistara managed to fill all three categories of seats — business, premium economy and economy — with an overall 91.2% ocupancy. GoAir and Jet Airways both registered a load factor of 90.4% each, with Air India (86.7%) and Air Asia (88%) coming next.

The February report found that at 61%, a majority of flight delays have been attributed to ‘Reactionary,’ which refers to the late arrival of the incoming aircraft (or connecting flight/crew/cargo). This was followed by Air Traffic Control (ATC) issues (21%).

Highest load factor

Ajay Singh, CMD, SpiceJet said, “This is our highest ever load factor and comes in the traditionally lean travel month of February. For 35 months in a row our loads have been in excess of 90% — a feat unparalleled in the aviation industry.”

A Vistara spokesperson said its performance was phenomenal for a carrier with three cabin classes, with more than 95% occupancy in its economy class during the month.

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