Connectivity to new destinations, including Mopa (Goa) and Nashik, helped market leader IndiGo push its market share to a six-month high in March. However, low-cost carrier Akasa Air topped the On-Time Performance (OTP) chart.

IndiGo’s market share jumped to 56.8% in March, according to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). However, its domestic load factor (PLF) of 84% is the lowest among the big three airlines, including Air India and Vistara.

Launched in August 2022, Akasa Air had an OTP of 94.2% in March, beating IndiGo to the top spot. The Mumbai-based carrier, which has 19 planes, including the Boeing 737 Max, also had a market share of 3.3%, its highest since its debut. DGCA measures OTP at four Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad metro airports. IndiGo slipped to second place with 92%, maintaining its second position since November 2022 in the OTP rankings.

Vistara followed with 83.7%, followed by Air India with 82.1%. Wadia Group-controlled Go First exited March with 6.9%, its lowest market share in months. Its operations continue to be affected by the grounding of planes awaiting engine replacements. Its OTP continued to languish at the bottom of the table at 49.2%, below government-controlled Alliance Air. Passenger ridership rose 21% year-on-year to 1.28 million in March and 52% year-on-year to 3.75 million in the January-March quarter, according to data shared Tuesday.