Air pocket: Airline traffic growth in January slowest in four years

AIR Passenger traffic in January grew at its slowest in 52 months even as the market share of Jet Airways slipped to below that of Air India.

Domestic passenger traffic in January grew in single digits at 9.1% year-on-year. Industry watchers attributed the slowdown to higher fares and weaker demand, surprisingly in a traditionally strong month.

The market share for cash-strapped Jet continued to decline – it was recorded at 11.9%, below national carrier Air India’s 12.2% – for January. This happened last in October 2014 when Jet’s market share had stood at 16.4% against 19.5% of Air India.