I’ve been seeing this coming for a while now, but it finally happened. Indigo, the low-fare carrier which started up in 2006 to serve the Indian skies, inched ahead of the Jet Airways combine as of the July 2012 data which was reported last night.
I’m not too much into reporting marketshare data on my blog, but this one does deserve a mention. As per the newest numbers published by the DGCA on 17th August 2012, here is the marketshare split amongst all the operators in India:
- IndiGo – 27%
- Jet Airways – 19.4%; JetLite – 7.2% (Combined 26.6%)
- Air India – 18.2%
- Spicejet – 17.8%
- Go Air – 7%
- Kingfisher – 3.4%
I’ve loved Indigo’s no nonsense approach from the word go, and their impeccable on-time record is something I’ve come to adore. Nevermind that they don’t have a business class or IFE or a loyalty program or lounges, I love the on-time performance and I see myself sacrificing my love for a full-service carrier very often in the interest of being at my destination on time. I’m sure others have come to the same conclusion.
Being the only profitable carrier in India helps their agenda. These guys have been expanding capacity over the past 9 months while others have been trying to get a grip on their business. And opening flights to newer destinations means new airports to service, where they could be an option to Air India or a legacy carrier, or the first carrier altogether. On the other hand, 9W is juggling with a new brand strategy and not inducting too many new planes, and IT has slashed capacity by a huge margin.
Good going Indigo, now time to see how does Jet Airways react.
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Well this had to happen. Indigo has been consistently trying to go up the ladder while Jet has been sliding down for quite sometime. What I like the best about Indigo is its hospitality.
I’ve been meaning to write a mini trip report and email it to you, in thanks for your help of a few weeks ago. In brief, my family (2 adults, 2 kids 10 & 5) flew three domestic India segments on three different carriers: BOM-DEL on AI, DEL-BLR on 6E and BLR-BOM on 9W. Unanimously, we voted the IndiGo flight the best of the three, despite no hot lunch and pay-for-drinks/snacks. Boarding was efficient and cheerful, despite the bus-to-hard stand, I like the back or front boarding depending on row number, plane was well-furnished and clean, and flight crew was friendly and enthusiastic. The other Indian carriers could learn a lot from IndiGo, as could many European and North American carriers. Cheers to IndiGo!
@mspswede, thank you , will look forward to it. And yes, I love 6E for being an efficient airline too!