Airlines register 15% growth in January

After registering a 32% growth in 2007, India’s domestic carriers have started 2008 on a positive note. Although the January to March is the lean travel season with both family and business travel down due to exams and financial year closing, the first month of the year witnessed 14.8% more domestic passengers flying with the figure at 39.34 lakh as opposed to 34.28 lakh same period last year.
Of the nine domestic carriers, four - Indian Airlines, Deccan, JetLite and Paramount - carried less passengers this January than last year. Three of these companies, except Paramount, are now in the process of being merged with bigger players like Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher because of which their services are getting streamlined to avoid duplication.
Indian Airlines, merged with Air India over four months ago, has been witnessing a constant fall in market share since last July when 20.3% of domestic passengers flew on it. While officials of the merged airline point out that private carriers are adding capacity at a faster pace, the trouble in merger process seems to be taking it toll.
18/02/08 Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2008