In a single day, Indian aviation registers five lakh passengers, making history.
This month, five lakh passengers the average number of flights deployed per day has been at 3161. There are roughly eight more flights every day.
On November 17, 2024, Indian airlines carried more than 5 lakh domestic passengers in a single day for the first time in the history of the industry. 3173
Domestic departures and 5,05,412 domestic passengers were handled by all airlines combined. The past two weeks have shown a consistent increase in air traffic,
With November 8 and November 9 seeing high of 4.9 lakh and 4.96 lakh passengers, respectively. Subsequently, November 14 and November 15 recorded 4.97 lakh, 4.99 lakh, and 4.98 lakh passengers, respectively, till the final target was reached.
IndiGo announced its Q2-FY25 results shortly before Diwali
IndiGo announced its Q2-FY25 results shortly before Diwali and reported a loss after seven straight quarters of profit. This comes despite a comparatively quiet October leading up to Diwali. Subsequently, IndiGo stated that yields had returned to their previous high level. With the wedding season beginning and a notable change from traffic focused on school holidays to traffic focused on celebrations, this also shows that traffic is shifting after Diwali rather than during it.
High fares, High load factors, but not so many flights
This month, the average number of flights deployed per day has been at 3161. Although this is less than what airlines were able to offer during the busiest Diwali days, it is still roughly 8 flights per day more than the previous month.
Following Vistara and Air India’s merger on November 12, the combined company upgraded some flights connecting metro areas to Dreamliners, temporarily increasing capacity. At the same time, the airline has canceled a few overseas flights.
Even with the same number of flights, the equipment modification results in a greater seat deployment.
While SpiceJet has added a few flights due to a few aircraft being rendered airworthy after receiving INR 3000 crores and reaching agreements with lessors and vendors, Akasa Air and Air India Express have been unable to add planes since the Boeing strike began. However, the average daily increase in flights from the beginning of this year to the present has been less than 100 flights.
