Indian aviation went from strength to strength in 2015, attracting many new players. Three new airlines — Vistara, Air Pegasus and Trujet — took off last year. With this, five new players now compete for passenger patronage in the domestic skies. These players have taken off, but they have a long way to reach cruising altitude and challenge the well-entrenched larger carriers.
For regional player Air Costa, which started flying in late 2013, traffic grew a robust 30 per cent plus year-on-year in the January-November 2015 period. AirAsia India, which began operations in June 2014, flew nearly thrice the number of passengers between June and November 2015 than it did a year ago.
From just 15,000 passengers in January 2015 when it was launched, Vistara — the Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture — increased traffic nearly nine-fold to 1.36 lakh in November.
The newest carriers in the air, regional players Air Pegasus and Trujet, which started flying in mid-2015, have also notched up good passenger growth in the first few months of their operations. Impressive as it is, the growth of the new airlines comes primarily on the back of a low base. And despite the scorching pace, they remain minor players in a market dominated by the old boys — IndiGo, Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir, in that order.
Sure, many of the new players, such as Air Asia and Vistara, have increased their market share. Even so, the combined market share of all the five new players in November 2015 was just 5.4 per cent. This was less than the 8.2 per cent share of GoAir, the smallest among the older players.
17/01/16 Anand Kalyanaraman/Sethuraman R/Business Line
To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline
For regional player Air Costa, which started flying in late 2013, traffic grew a robust 30 per cent plus year-on-year in the January-November 2015 period. AirAsia India, which began operations in June 2014, flew nearly thrice the number of passengers between June and November 2015 than it did a year ago.
From just 15,000 passengers in January 2015 when it was launched, Vistara — the Tata-Singapore Airlines joint venture — increased traffic nearly nine-fold to 1.36 lakh in November.
The newest carriers in the air, regional players Air Pegasus and Trujet, which started flying in mid-2015, have also notched up good passenger growth in the first few months of their operations. Impressive as it is, the growth of the new airlines comes primarily on the back of a low base. And despite the scorching pace, they remain minor players in a market dominated by the old boys — IndiGo, Jet Airways, Air India, SpiceJet and GoAir, in that order.
Sure, many of the new players, such as Air Asia and Vistara, have increased their market share. Even so, the combined market share of all the five new players in November 2015 was just 5.4 per cent. This was less than the 8.2 per cent share of GoAir, the smallest among the older players.
17/01/16 Anand Kalyanaraman/Sethuraman R/Business Line
