India’s booming passenger airline industry: the facts

New Delhi, India | AFP | 

India has the world’s fastest growing passenger airline industry, expanding at an annual rate of around 20 percent. Here are some facts and figures:

– How many Indians fly –

Nearly 90 million people in the financial year that ended in March 31 2016, according to industry analysts CAPA — up from fewer than 20 million in 2004, when the sector first opened up. But the country of 1.2 billion remains one of the world’s most under-penetrated markets with huge potential for growth.

– Main players –

The market leader is Indigo, with 400 planes and a 42-percent market share.

Next are Jet Airways with 17 percent of the market; Air India with 12.9 percent and SpiceJet with 12.8 percent.

– Biggest deals –

SpiceJet’s announcement on Friday that it is buying up to 205 planes worth $22 billion is one of India’s biggest ever deals — but not the biggest.

In 2015 Indigo ordered 250 planes from Airbus valued at $26.5 billion.

Those figures, however, represent the list price of the aircraft. Analysts say airlines buying in bulk generally secure hefty discounts.

– Profits and losses –

India’s airlines posted a combined profit of $122 million for the financial year ending March 2016 after a decade of losses, according to estimates by industry analyst CAPA, thanks mainly to lower fuel prices.