SpiceJet and Jet Airways saw a marginal decline in their market share in domestic air traffic in December 2015 as compared to November 2015, while GoAir, IndiGo and national carrier Air India saw modest gains, according to statistics released by the ministry of civil aviation on Monday.
SpiceJet's market share declined to 12.7% in December 2015 from 13.3% in November, while Jet Airways saw its share go down to 18.2% from 18.6% in November 2015 and 18.8% in October 2015.
Air India's share has gone up consistently, from 15.5% in October 2015, to 16.2% in November and 16.7% in December 2015. The national carrier has sought about Rs 4,270 crore from the Central government for its turnaround plan.
GoAir's share was 8.3%, up from 8.2% in November 2015. IndiGo, continued to have the largest market share at 35.6%, up from 35.5% in November 2015.
AirAsia India, Vistara and Air Costa also gained modestly in December 2015.
Overall, domestic carriers flew 77.09 lakh passengers in December 2015, up 19.70% from 64.40 lakh in December 2014, and 73.22 lakh in November 2015.
The passenger load factor (PLF) in December 2015 was the highest for SpiceJet, at 92%, followed by IndiGo at 88.5%. Most of the carriers saw an increase in their PLF in December 2015.
Full-year growth
For the 12-month period ended December 2015, domestic airlines carried 810.91 lakh passengers, a growth of 20.34% over 673.83 lakh passengers in calendar year 2014.
The aviation sector has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of fall in global crude oil prices, with aviation turbine fuel prices declining sharply. After the 10% price cut announced on 1 January, jet fuel price stood at Rs 39,892 a kilolitre in Delhi, the lowest since June 2010.
India is the ninth-largest civil aviation market in the world, with a market size of around $16 billion.
