Low Ticket Prices Help Boost Domestic Air Passenger Numbers In May

New Delhi: Domestic air travel witnessed an increase of around 22 per cent in number of passengers this May as compared to the corresponding period last year as the airlines kept the ticket prices low.

According to passenger traffic data for the month of May 2016, released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday, 11 Indian carriers together carried 85.69 lakh passengers during the month, as against 71.27 lakh in May 2015 - registering a growth of 21.63 per cent.

Budget carrier IndiGo ferried the highest number of passengers - 33.37 lakh - during this period, followed by private full service carrier Jet Airways (13.94 lakh) and national carrier Air India (13.34 lakh).

The number of passengers flown by SpiceJet and GoAir stood at 10.98 lakh and 7.91 lakh, respectively, the data showed.

The passenger load factor in the month of May has slightly increased compared to previous month primarily due to the onset of tourist season, with almost all carriers clocking between 80 per cent and 93 per cent seat factor during April.

SpiceJet logged the highest seat factor at 93.5 per cent in May, according to the data.

During the month, Air India and Jet Airways saw a marginal improvement in their market share while IndiGo and SpiceJet witnessed a marginal decline in their market pie.