Airline capacity in India falls 4.5% despite festive season approach
India's overall airline seat capacity fell 4.5% year-on-year to 22.7 million in September, with Air India down 8.8% and SpiceJet cutting the fastest at 45.2%, despite the approaching festive season.
Airline capacity in India fell 4.5% year-on-year in September, dropping to 22.7 million seats despite the festive season drawing closer.
Air India’s seat count fell 8.8%, a reduction of about 309,000 seats, bringing its September total to 3.2 million seats.
SpiceJet posted the sharpest cuts among major carriers, down 45.2%, or roughly 215,000 seats, linked to reported payment troubles with aircraft lessors.
IndiGo, India’s largest airline with about half the market, reduced capacity by 4.5% to 11.3 million seats.
Akasa Air and Emirates were the exceptions, growing capacity by 5% and 0.3% respectively compared with last year.
Akasa Air and Emirates were the only carriers to add capacity in the period, growing by 5% and 0.3% respectively compared with September 2025.
Domestic capacity overall fell 5.6% year-on-year, while international capacity declined by a smaller 2.1% over the same period.
Low-cost carriers continued to dominate the market, accounting for 69% of total capacity at 15.7 million seats, even as that figure itself declined 4% year-on-year.
The reductions come despite expectations that airlines would ramp up capacity ahead of India’s festive season, a period that typically sees a seasonal spike in air travel demand.
Industry watchers have cited geopolitical tensions in West Asia, elevated fuel prices and softer demand as the combined drivers behind the sector-wide pullback in scheduled seats.
IndiGo remains India’s largest carrier by far, with 11.3 million seats in September, or roughly 50% of the total market, even after a 4.5% year-on-year reduction of 525,600 seats.
Air India’s September capacity stood at 3.2 million seats, a 14% market share, down 8.8% from a year earlier, a reduction of around 309,000 seats.
Air India Express also trimmed capacity by 2.6%, cutting around 68,000 seats compared with September last year.
SpiceJet posted the steepest cuts of any carrier, reducing capacity by 45.2%, or roughly 215,000 seats, amid reported payment difficulties with aircraft lessors.
Photo of an IndiGo Airbus A320, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
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