Domestic airlines registered a decline of over 12 per cent in the number of passengers during September this year, as compared to the same period last year.
Latest data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation show that domestic airlines flew 40.18 lakh passengers in September, as compared with 45.87 lakh passengers flown previously.
Analysts say the decline in passenger demand was largely due to the fare hike by airlines . To spur demand, the full service airlines, including Jet Airways and Air India, have dropped fares by 40 per cent if passengers book in advance.
The data indicate that for the fourth successive month, demand was lower than the available capacity.
In September, airlines dropped capacity by 1.3 per cent, while passenger demand dropped by 7.7 per cent on a year-on-year basis. Almost the same trend has continued since June.
IndiGo leads
During September, Delhi-based low-cost airline IndiGo was the market leader with a market share of 27.2 per cent, followed by Air India (19.3 per cent) and SpiceJet (18.5 per cent).
Jet Airways, along with its low-cost subsidiary, JetLite, enjoyed a market share of 23.8 per cent, although on a stand-alone basis Jet Airways enjoyed a market share of 18.1 per cent, while JetLite had a market share of 5.7 per cent.