Air India reported an on-time performance of 90.8% last month compared with 87.1% in September.
The Tata Group acquired Air India and Air India Express in January this year under a government-led strategic divestment programme. The other airlines from Tata Group umbrella Vistara, a 51:49 joint venture with Singapore Airlines, and Air India’s subsidiary AirAsia India have also performed well in the punctuality meter.
Vistara stood at the second spot with an on-time performance of 89.1% in October compared with 91% in September, and AirAsia India recorded a punctuality of 89.1% versus 89.8% in September.
IndiGo continued to be on the fourth position and recorded an 87.5% on-time performance. The largest airline by market share has been unable to beat its rivals in punctuality over the past seven months, monthly data released by the DGCA shows. IndiGo was the most punctual airline for domestic flights in February and March, with 95.4% and 93.9% of flights reaching destinations on time, respectively. Since then, however, the Tata group airlines AirAsia India and Vistara have soared ahead in time-keeping.
In October, IndiGo was followed by government-run Alliance Air with an on-time performance of 74.5%, followed by SpiceJet at 68.9%, and Go FIRST airline continued to be the least punctual for the second month in a row with a 60.7% on-time performance.
India’s air passenger traffic in October rose 10.2% on month and 27% on year to 114.07 lakh air passengers. IndiGo was the largest airline with a market share of 56.7% in October compared with 57.7% in September.
The latest entrant Akasa Air recorded a market share of 1.4% in October, up from 0.9% in September. The market share of AirAsia India rose to 7.6% from 5.9% in September. Air India and Vistara recorded a slight dip in market share to 9.1% and 9.2% in October from 9.2% and 9.6%, respectively, in September.
Low-cost carrier SpiceJet retained its market share at 7.3% whereas Go FIRST recorded a fall to 7% in October from 7.9% in September.
In passenger load factor (PLF) or capacity utilisation, almost all major airlines recorded an increase except Akasa Air. The passenger load factor for IndiGo rose to 82.1% from 81.4% in September. SpiceJet also witnessed an increase in capacity utilisation to 88.1% from 85.8%. For Tata group airlines, the PLF rose to 82.7% from 79.6% for Air India and to 84.2% from 77% for AirAsia India. Vistara witnessed a marginal increase to 85.5% from 85.4% in September. Akasa Air recorded a dip in capacity utilisation to 77.5% in October from 81.2% in September.
