WORLD NEWS | India is becoming a major aviation market: IATA report

Author: Li Jiahui

SINGAPORE, 1 May (ANI): India is fast becoming a key aviation market globally, according to the latest market analysis report from the International Air Transport Association (ATA).

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India’s domestic air travel continues to grow strongly, and as of February was just 2.2% below pre-pandemic levels, as measured in passenger revenue kilometers (PRK).

The Passenger Load Factor (PLF) indicator of the Indian domestic passenger market also outperformed other domestic markets in the report, including the domestic markets of the US, China and Japan. It has been the largest domestic market measured by PLF over the past four months, with PLF at 81.6% in February, 85.2% in January, 88.9% in December 2022 and 87.9% in November 2022.

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Globally, footfall is now at 84.9% of February 2019 levels. Compared to February 2022, the total traffic (based on RPK) in February 2023 increased by 55.5%.

The report added, “Asia-Pacific airlines’ February 2023 passenger traffic increased by 378.7% compared to February 2022, maintaining the very positive momentum seen in the past few months since travel restrictions were lifted in the region. Capacity increased by 176.4% , load factor rose 34.9 percentage points to 82.5 percent, the second-highest among regions.”

Domestic air passenger traffic across all markets was up 25.2% in February compared with a year ago. Total domestic traffic in February 2023 is 97.2% of the February 2019 level.

Currently, it is estimated that only about 35-40 million Indians travel by air every year. Although World Bank figures show that pre-COVID there were about 168 million air transport passengers in India, many of them were repeat flyers. That’s far lower than China, which has a similar population and transported 660 million passengers by air during the same period in 2019. Chinese airlines also have about five times as many planes.

With a burgeoning middle class and rising incomes, coupled with appropriate incentives including lower airfares, many, including airlines, expect India to be the fastest-growing aviation market in the coming years.

Swiss airline intelligence agency ch-aviation reported in March that French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said IndiGo airlines could announce an order for “hundreds” at the Paris Air Show in Paris’s Le Bourget airport in June. Airbus aircraft.

IndiGo is India’s largest airline with a fleet of more than 300 aircraft and currently serves more than 35% of all available seat kilometers on flights to and from Indian airports. Measured by flight frequency, IndiGo serves nearly 48% of all flights in India’s international and domestic markets.

Just in February, rival Air India announced a world-record order for 470 planes, 250 from European manufacturer Airbus and 220 from its US rival Boeing. The deal tops IndiGo’s order for 420 planes in 2017 and American Airlines’ order for 460 planes in 2011.

In addition to aircraft manufacturers, foreign airlines are also eyeing the Indian aviation market.

Singapore Airlines is one of them. After Tata Sons bought Air India, it announced a $267 million investment in the revamped airline, giving it a 25.1% stake in the new Air India Group. This adds to the money it has already invested in Vistara Airlines, which will merge with Air India.

SIA issued a statement in the announcement saying, “Compared to Vistara, the combined entity will be four to five times larger in size and have a strong presence in all major airline segments in India. The proposed merger will strengthen SIA’s presence in India.” strengthens its multi-hub strategy and enables it to continue to participate directly in this large and fast-growing aviation market.”

Etihad Airways, led by new CEO Antonoaldo Neves, is another airline planning to expand its presence in the Indian aviation market.

In an interview with Reuters published on April 27, the former chief executive of TAP Portugal’s airline Portugal said: “Etihad Airways has India as a priority.” He added that the country was one of its top three markets, But declined to name the other two markets.

Etihad Airways, which flies to places like Delhi and Mumbai, has identified six other Indian cities that it does not serve but would like to fly to, he said.

He also announced plans for Etihad Airways to double its fleet to 150 aircraft and triple the number of passengers to 30 million a year by the end of the decade.

The Middle Eastern carrier’s expansion plans will focus on medium- and long-haul destinations, and the airline will avoid operating ultra-long-haul flights, which can be difficult to make money on. Neves explained that the goal is to connect places such as China, Southeast Asia, India and the Gulf countries with Europe and the East Coast of the United States.

Neves said he expected Etihad’s growth to be organic, relying on more codeshare and interline agreements. It won’t look at mergers or equity partnerships the way it has in the past. It once held a stake in the now-defunct Jet Airways.

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund ADQ took full control of Etihad Airways last October and appointed Neves, who had led Portugal’s TAP turnaround.

In the past, Etihad seemed willing to do whatever it takes to grow, but that’s about to change. Neves stressed that growth can only happen if it is profitable, especially since the airline is now owned by ADQ. As he explained, “Our mission is very clear, we don’t fly where we don’t make money.” (Arney)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)