Government-owned airlines dominated Indian aviation industry until the mid-1990s, when the country adopted an open-sky policy allowing air-taxi operators to fly on charter and non-charter basis for cargo and passenger traffic. This paved the way for ending the monopoly of Indian Airlines and Air India. By 1995, several private airlines entered the fray and accounted for more than 10 per cent of domestic air traffic.
Indian aviation industry has undergone a transformation over the past 15 years. Between 2000 and 2010, the sector grew nearly 160 per cent in traffic terms, and India now ranks among the top-10 civil aviation markets. Government-owned Air India Ltd is still the big daddy and under its wings are the erstwhile operations of Air India, Air India Express, Indian Airlines and its subsidiary Alliance Air.
Over 50 per cent of the market is now shared between Jet Airways — the carrier which made a complete difference to the Indian traveller, and Indigo — the recent challenger to Jet’s numero uno position. During calendar year 2012, however, traffic dipped with domestic airlines carrying 588 lakh passengers, compared with 607 lakh in 2011.
11/02/13 Business Line
