Air carriers flying high as traffic surges

New Delhi: The airlines sector is on course to report its busiest ever quarter, indicating a clear revival for the beleaguered industry in a recovering economy.
Passenger traffic for the three months to end-December is expected to surpass the previous best recorded in October-December 2007 and airline executives say that flights to metro cities have seen a surge in traffic, with leisure travel to destinations such as Goa and Kerala providing an added bonus.
This marks a strong comeback for the industry after air travel fell sharply since early 2008 because of the economic slowdown and deteriorated further in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks in November last year.
According to data available with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)an estimated 40 lakh passengers travelled in November 2009 compared with 30.48 lakh in the same month last year. In October too, some 40 lakh passengers travelled on airlines compared with 32 lakh in the year-earlier period.
During January to November 2009, some 400 lakh passengers travelled on airlines, up 5.45% over the same period in 2008.
Airline companies attribute the sharp pick-up in air travel in the last two months to an increase in both business and leisure travel, and officials say this along with the fact that fuel costs have not swung too sharply during the last quarter will help them improve their financial performance.
28/12/09 Meenakshi Verma Ambwani/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Dec 2009