The competitive Indian Civil Aviation Market

India has become the focal point of the aviation industry, with Air India on the verge of ordering about 300 aircraft. Jet Airways 2.0 is about to order 50 A320neos, and the newly launched Akasa Air has ordered about 72, 737s. At the rate at which the Indian market is expanding, Boeing predicted that Indian operators will need over 2,000 commercial aircraft in the next couple of decades.
As per the DGCA records, India’s passenger numbers recently crossed the 4 lakh mark in a single day, achieving the highest-ever numbers since pre-Covid 19. The ministry predicts this number will rise to 400 million in the next four years. Currently, Indigo rules the roost in India, with stiff competition among the other carriers to be a close second. There are obvious signs of aviation recovery in India. Airlines have begun hiring aggressively, passenger footfall in many airports is approaching or even crossing the pre-pandemic mark, and even the aviation regulator is planning to hire more staff to keep up with the growing fleet. As per the data revealed by the DGCA, in August 2022, over 10 million passengers took to the skies, filling an average of 75% of airplane seats, while in September 2022, airlines deployed almost 27% higher capacity than in the same period last year. The load factors for most airlines are also hovering around 80%. The ministry revealed that the aviation industry supports almost 3.5 trillion dollars, or almost 1.4% of the world's GDP. Although the aviation industry suffered heavily during the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic recovery across the world is now improving. In India, the aviation industry has reached almost 95% of pre-covid passenger traffic and very soon will surpass the pandemic levels in terms of passenger traffic and aftermarket recovery. In a proud moment for Indian Aviation, Dr. Shefali Juneja was named chairperson of the Air Transport Committee (ATC) of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) after a huge gap of 28 years. This appointment also clearly reflects India’s steady advancement to become one of the fastest-growing aviation sectors in the world.
With people indulging in revenge traveling post-pandemic passenger numbers are expected to rise steadily with the approaching winter holidays. However, the current air travel trend in the Indian aviation industry is tilted in favour of the charter industry, and the reason is more than apparent. With the pandemic restrictions, passengers are unwilling to compromise on factors like safety and hygiene, coupled with privacy and luxury. Due to this, the nascent charter industry in India grew by leaps and bounds in the last two years (2021–22).