Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet share prices crash up to 6% after passenger growth hit 7-month low

Shares of Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet tanked up to 6 per cent after domestic air passenger traffic recorded lowest growth in last seven months in May on account of rising fare due to a hike in crude oil prices. 

InterGlobe Aviation, which runs the low-cost airline IndiGo, slipped as much as 5.87  per cent to Rs 1,156, Jet Airways dipped 2.60 per cent to Rs 378.10, while SpiceJet tanked 1.71 per cent to Rs 109.15 on the BSE.

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), 1.18 crore (118.56 lakh) passengers were ferried by domestic airlines in May from 1.01 crore (101.74 lakh) reported during the corresponding month of 2017.

On a sequential basis, the traffic grew by around three per cent. It had risen to 115.13 lakh in April 2018, while in March it had grown to 115.80 lakh. 

As per the data furnished by the DGCA, the passenger traffic during the January-May 2018 period grew by over 22 per cent.

The data disclosed that low-cost carrier SpiceJet had the highest passenger load factor (PLF) -- a measure of capacity utilisation of the airline -- at 94.8 per cent during May.

SpiceJet was followed by IndiGo with a PLF of 91 per cent, AirAsia India at 89.7 per cent and GoAir at 89.2 per cent.

"The passenger load factor in the month of May 2018 has shown increasing trend

compared to previous month primarily due to onset of tourist season," the monthly statistical analysis statement said.

The data noted that IndiGo led the industry with 80.9 per cent punctuality rate (on-time performance) at the four major airports of Bengaluru, New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. It was followed by SpiceJet (80) and Vistara (76.7).

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Besides, overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines for May 2018 stood at 0.70 per cent.

The data revealed that IndiGo led the industry with the highest market share of 40.9 per cent, followed by Jet Airways (13.7), Air India (12.8), SpiceJet (12.3), and GoAir (8.7).

AirAsia India had a market share of 5.5 per cent, followed by Vistara (4), JetLite (1.5) and Trujet (0.5).