Air India, IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia India and Vistara flew about 82.30 lakh (8.2 million) passengers during the month of September, an increase of 23.17 percent over the same month last year.
According to the data released by India's civil aviation regulator, domestic carriers had flown 66.66 lakh (6.6 million) passengers in September 2015.
Market Share
IndiGo continued to lead as the largest carrier with a market share of 40 percent, up 0.1 percent over August. State-run carrier Air India's market share increased 0.1 percent and the airline clocked 14.7 percent in September as against 14.6 percent in the previous month (August).
Full service carrier Jet Airways witnessed a marginal dip in its market share, the carrier had 16.2 percent market share in September when compared to 16.4 percent in August. Similarly, SpiceJet also witnessed a 0.1 percent decrease in its market share to 12.5 percent from 12.6 percent in August.
GoAir's market share rose 0.3 percent to clock at 8.3 percent in September as against 8 percent market share in the month before (August).
Small carriers AirAsia India and Vistara (both owned by Tata Sons) also witnessed a rise in their market share by 0.1 percent. AirAsia India's share was 2.3 percent in September, whereas Vistara's share was 2.5 percent, according to the data compiled by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Passenger Load Factor (PLF)
SpiceJet continued to record the highest passenger load factor (PLF) for the second consecutive month. The carrier's load factor was recorded at 93.5 percent for September as against 93.2 percent in August. This was followed by GoAir at 89.4 percent, up from 86 percent in August.
Similarly, state-run carrier Air India also witnessed a 1.3 percent rise in PLF to 79 percent for September. Jet Airways' PLF also stood at 79 percent. On the other hand, IndiGo's load factor remained flat at 82.1 percent over August.
AirAsia India and Vistara both saw a fall in their passenger load factor at 82.8 percent and 72.7 percent, respectively, the DGCA data revealed.
Aviation stock
InterGlobe Aviation stock closed at Rs 946 on Wednesday, up 0.96 percent from its previous close. Similarly, SpiceJet and Jet Airways shares closed at Rs 69.35 and Rs 468 apiece, up 6.77 percent and 1.43 percent, respectively, on the Bombay Stock Exchange.