Airlines not in a position to increase capacity to 45%

Indian airlines are unlikely to scale up their domestic capacity anytime soon to match the 45% cap set by the government, as they continue to be bogged down by sluggish demand, various restrictions, reduced slots at airports, and tough quarantine and lockdown rules imposed by states.

"It's hard for airlines to increase their capacity to 45% in the near future, as most airlines are currently operating at 20%-25% of their capacity amidst muted passenger demand due to the ongoing pandemic," said a senior airline official, requesting anonymity.

Indian airlines resumed domestic operations from 25 May, after being grounded for two months during a nationwide lockdown to contain the covid-19 pandemic. The government, however, set a 33% cap on the capacity while allowing them to restart operations, which was increased to 45% during June.

"Scaling up capacity to 45% is welcome given that economic resumption needs more deeper connectivity but demand remains very soft with continuing increase in infections especially in metropolitan cities," said Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer, Indian subcontinent and middle east at aviation advisory and consultancy firm CAPA India.

"It will be very challenging for the airlines," Kaul added.

India's largest airline InterGlobe Aviation Limited-operated IndiGo, which flies nearly one out of every two domestic passengers, hopes to be at an 85% operational capacity by June 2021, the airline's chief executive Ronojoy Dutta had told Mint last week.

"We believe that it may take anywhere between 18 -24 months to recover from the current situation to come back to the pre-covid levels of travel demand, also depending upon how other countries resume their international operations," Dutta had said.

Indian airlines have been currently operating just under 800 flights a day, from about 3000 flights a day before the pandemic-induced lockdown. However, airlines continue to cancel tickets on a daily basis, which have caused major disruptions to passengers.

Airlines cancelled as many as 10% to 12% of their flights everyday during the last week of June, said Nishant Pitti, chief executive and co-founder of online travel company EaseMyTrip.com.

The number of cancellations declined during the last week of June, Pitti added.

Cancelations are mainly due to three reasons, said a second airline executive.

"These include capacity cap from the regulatory authorities of 33% (now 45%), some airports still maintaining reduced slots (as against the 45% capacity cap and muted commercial demand or varying state government laws," said the official who didn't want to be quoted.

When contacted, airlines like Air India, IndiGo, SpiceJet, AirAsia India and GoAir didn't comment on the time frame they would require to increase capacity to 45% and the reasons for the high number of cancellations in June.

"Though the government has allowed airlines to increase capacity to 45%, there are still restrictions at various airports. Moreover, demand for air travel remains sluggish, especially with states imposing their respective rules," said a Vistara spokesperson.

Vistara currently operates about 40 daily flights up from 20 daily flights from 25 March.

"Unfortunately, we are having to implement a few ad-hoc cancellations regularly and there are also some frequent, planned capacity cuts, given low demand at present or because of varying state government rules," the Vistara spokesperson added.

Source: https://www.livemint.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vistara Domestic Premium Economy vs. Economy – Is The Upgrade Worth It?

Economy on Vistara As one of only two  full-service carriers  in India, Vistara offers a high-quality economy product. On its A320, which used on most domestic routes, it offers 18-inch wide seats with a pitch of 29-30 inches. While this does sound standard, the well-padded seats and adjustable headrest make for a much more comfortable offering than its low-cost competitors. The seats also offer an acceptable 3″ recline. In terms of service, Vistara is one of the few airlines offering hot meals on domestic routes (minus short routes under an hour). All economy passengers, except those booked on Economy Lite fares, receive a meal along with hot or cold beverages. From personal experience, the meals are good and enough for domestic hops. For those traveling on Lite fares, only complimentary hot beverages are available. Vistara also has a small buy-on-board menu, which features packaged snacks and drinks, along with some hot instant meals. Originally, the airline served all passenger’s me
Read more

Why the Airbus A340 Has A Middle Landing Gear

Image
The  Airbus A340  was specially designed for long haul flying and had something not seen with other widebody aircraft flying today. It was a unique middle landing gear that allowed the plane to take off with heavier loads and carry more fuel for its four hungry engines. What is the middle landing gear? If you have ever looked carefully at a picture of an A340 (or if you are lucky, in real life), you might have noticed an extra landing gear on the belly in the middle of the plane. Here it is on a Virgin Atlantic  Airbus A340-600  to the rear of the aircraft. Looking at the bottom of an A340 you’ll see that there are already two other sets of landing gears under the wings, why would an aircraft need a third in the middle? Why some A340s have the middle landing gear Plain and simple, the extra landing gear allows the A340 aircraft to have a higher MTOW (maximum take-off weight). This means more passengers and cargo, plus more fuel to go a longer distance. Perfect for t
Read more

Preparing To Start Domestic Flight Operations Within A Week: Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri

The domestic flight operations are likely to resume within a week, says Union Civil Aviation Minister  Hardeep Singh Puri . The commercial flight operations remain suspended since March 24 after the announcement of nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus. In an interview with  Outlook ’s  Preetha Nair , the Union Minister also talks about the government’s massive plan to evacuate stranded Indians and the logistical challenges involved. He also says a decision on operating flights between green zones of the country will soon be taken. You have hinted that the commercial flight operations are set to begin after May 15 in a calibrated way. Can you elaborate? We are preparing to start domestic flight operations even before May 15. My effort will be to try and move in the direction of starting it very soon. I can’t put a date on it because when you are planning evacuation operations, you need the co-operation of the state governments. In order to open up domestic civil avia
Read more