Top News
Festive season, discounts lift India’s August air passenger traffic (Lead)
New Delhi, Sep 24 (IANS) The start of the festive season and discount offers lifted India’s domestic air passenger traffic by 17.17 per cent in August, official data showed on Monday.
According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 1.13 crore passengers were ferried by domestic airlines during the month, up from 96.90 lakh reported in the corresponding month of 2017.
As per the data, passenger traffic during the January-August 2018 period grew by 21 per cent.
“Passengers carried by domestic airlines during January-August 2018 were 913.95 lakh as against 754.11 lakh during the corresponding period of previous year, registering a growth of 21.20 per cent,” the DGCA said in its monthly domestic traffic report.
The data disclosed that low-cost carrier SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) — a measure of capacity utilisation of the airline — at 93.6 per cent during August.
“I am delighted with SpiceJet’s exceptional operational performance that has seen us emerge as the country’s most punctual airline clocking industry’s best on-time performance of 87.4 per cent and the highest passenger load factor of 93.6 per cent,” said Ajay Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, SpiceJet.
SpiceJet was followed by GoAir with a PLF of 84.6 per cent and IndiGo at 82.8 per cent and Vistara at 81.5 per cent.
“The passenger load factor in August has shown increasing trend compared to previous month due to beginning of festive season,” the monthly statistical analysis statement said.
The data noted that SpiceJet led the industry with 87.4 per cent punctuality rate (on-time performance) at the four major airports of Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It was followed by IndiGo (87.2) and GoAir (87.2).
Besides, the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for August stood at 2.27 per cent.
In addition, a total of 668 passenger-related complaints were received last month.
IndiGo led the industry with the highest market share of 42 per cent, followed by Jet Airways (13.7), Air India (12.5), SpiceJet (12.4) and GoAir (8.9).
AirAsia India had a market share of 4.8 per cent, followed by Vistara (3.8), JetLite (1.5) and Trujet (0.4).
“The growth of 17.2 per cent in August shows a continuing positive momentum in the domestic air market even in a traditionally lean travel period,” said Sharat Dhall, COO (B2C), Yatra.com.
“The year to date growth for 2018 is still very robust at over 21 per cent and we are optimistic that this strong growth will continue in the coming months, driven by economical ticket prices, a number of long weekends and the beginning of festive season which is a peak travel period for Indians.”
According to ixigo CEO and Co-founder Aloke Bajpai: “With the festive season just around the corner, flight bookings have been on the rise despite a slight hike in fares. Most major airlines will be announcing their festive sales soon, which should lead to further growth in bookings and passenger traffic for September-October.”
–IANS
rv-ravi/mr
Top News
Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.