Domestic air traffic rises 20.9% in January-March

The number of passengers carried by domestic carriers rose 20.9% in January-March to 14.3 million, with Jet Airways recording the highest market share amongst domestic airlines, government data showed on Thursday.

Jet Airways and its budget arm, JetLite, recorded a combined market share of 25.4% in March, with Kingfisher Airlines coming in second place with 19.9% share. Budget carrier IndiGo ranked third with 19.5%.                                           

Seat factors for March, typically a lean season for carriers, dipped for all six major carriers. Jet Airways saw its seat factor in March declining to 69.2% from 76.5% in February, while JetLite saw it fall to 76.7% from 80.2%. Seat factor for Kingfisher Airlines fell sequentially to 80.4% from 83.6%, while SpiceJet saw loads falling to 75.4% from 81%.