Aviation sector saw a surge of 18.6% in passenger traffic for August

04 Oct 2011 Evaluate
Despite the surge in the Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices, the Indian aviation sector registered healthy growth in passenger traffic, it increased by 18.6% compare to last month.

As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation data, the airlines carried 4.8 million passengers in August 2011 from 3.989 million passengers in the same period of last year. During the first eight months of current calendar year, the passenger traffic grew by 20% to 39.7 million passengers compare to the period of last calendar year.

However, the surge in the passenger load factors was in sharp contract with seat factor of the aviation industry, which decline on the month on month basis. The seat factor calculates the capacity utilization and refers to number of occupied seats.

As per the DGCA data, the top airlines experienced sharp decline in the seat factors. The Kingfisher and Jet seat factors declined to 76% and 73% respectively which is decline of 4 and 3 % respectively on a month-on-month basis. The DGCA data also showed the increase in the available seat Kilometers (ASKM) compare to the Required Sear Kilometers (RSKM), this numbers shows the arability of seats against the demand.

During August 2010, the ASKM was just around 8% compare to the RSKM of more than 10%. In August 2011, the situation has been reversed, for August 2011 the ASKM stood at 17% against the requirement of barely 15%, which shows the excess capacity in the aviation industry.


Despite the surge in passenger traffic, the sector is going through hard time, as the increasing cost of ATF and deprecation in the Indian rupee, have prompted, domestic carriers to increase in the air fares. The average price of ATF is presently around Rs 60,000 per kilo litre. The surge in the ATF prices and depreciation in the rupee have made, Aviation Ministry to exert pressure on the state governments to reduce the sales taxes on aviation fuel. The except for Chhattisgarh, which chares only 4% sale duty of aviation fuel, rest of the states are not ready to reduce the sales taxes, which is around 15%

Sector experts have to view that the aviation firms will be under financial pressure in the immediate future, unless the fuel prices are not reduced, which account for 40% of an airlines operation expenditure. Followed by the cost of services lease rentals, as the most of the airlines are operating either on leased aircraft or with fleet acquired on foreign loans. The depreciation in rupee has increased the cost of foreign loans.

However, firms which are also operating on overseas routes would be able to absorb the exchange rate depreciation, as foreign current earning act as natural hedge from currency volatility.    

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