Domestic air traffic posted a 15 percent increase last month as airlines carried 6.67 million passengers when compared with 5.82 million in September 2014, according to an official statement. Still, the passenger load factor (PLF) at 77 per cent, in September, was lower than the 79 per cent seen in August, when domestic carriers transported 6.76 million passengers.
Only four carriers – Indigo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Air Costa – reported growth in PLF, while the remaining seven carriers registered declines. SpiceJet continued to top occupancy charts, registering a load factor of 93 per cent, up from 92.1 per cent in August. It also reported an improvement in its market share at 12.3 per cent, up from 11.6 per cent in June quarter and 9.4 per cent in March quarter.
When it comes to on-time performance of domestic carriers at four metro airports (Bangalore, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai) in September, Vistara topped the table with 94.2 per cent, followed by Indigo (91.2 per cent), Air Costa (90.4 per cent) and Jet Airways and JetLite (87.9 per cent). But, Air Costa operates only out of Bangalore and Hyderabad.
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Indigo stayed as the leader in the domestic carrier segment with about 36 per cent market share, down from 38 per cent in the June quarter. Jet Airways and JetLite together garnered a share of 22.5 per cent , up from 21.9 per cent in June quarter. Air India managed to improve its share to 16.2 per cent in September quarter from 15.8 per cent in June quarter.
During January-September 2015, domestic airlines carried 59 million passengers as against 49 million passengers in a year-ago period, an increase of 20 per cent.