Domestic airlines registered about 18.95% growth in passengers flown during September compared to that a year ago, data released by the aviation regulator showed. As per the data, released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Wednesday, Indian carriers carried 11.5 million passengers during the month, up from 9.6 million in September 2017.
Gurgaon-based SpiceJet continued to maintain its pole position in terms of load factor by flying its planes 93.2% full, followed by GoAir, which flew its planes with 90.6%. Vistara and Jet Airways shared the third spot third by flying its planes with 84.9% seats full.
“SpiceJet has yet again flown with the industry’s highest load factor of 93.2% making September the 42nd month on the trot that we have recorded the highest occupancy in India. We are thankful to our passengers who have month on month confirmed their faith in us and have proven that we are India’s favourite airline,” Shilpa Bhatia, Chief Sales and Revenue Officer, SpiceJet, was quoted in a statement by the airline.
In terms of operating flights on time, GoAir topped the list by operating 90.4% of its flights on time closely followed by SpiceJet that operated 89.1% flights on time and IndiGo that operated 87.6% of its flight on time. The national carrier Air India operated the least number of lights (74.3%) of its flights on time during the month.
IndiGo further increased its dominance in the market in terms of passenger carriage by flying 43.2% of the total passengers during the month of September. Jet Airways followed IndiGo in terms of market share, by flying 15.8% of the passengers flown during the month. SpiceJet was the third largest carrier in terms of market share, accounting for 12% of the passengers flown during the month.
