IndiGo Tops Market Share And Punctuality, FlyBig Sees Most Cancellations

IndiGo airlines has the largest market share in the country's civil aviation sector at 64.2 per cent, followed by Air India at 27.3 per cent, a report by the regulator DGCA said.

However, IndiGo's domestic market share fell in August compared to July, from  65.2 per cent to 64.2 per cent. Air India group, comprising Air India and Air India Express, saw its market share rise to 27.3 per cent from 26.2 per cent during the same period.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation's (DGCA) latest data shows the Air India group reported the highest number of cases of boarding being denied to 382 passengers in August, while SpiceJet during the same period reported it did not allow 258 passengers to board.

IndiGo, despite its scale, reported 34 cases of boarding being denied.

Flight delays were most often due to reactionary reasons (57 per cent), followed by air-traffic controller issues (11 per cent) and technical problems (8 per cent).

Market Share

Akasa Air maintained 5.4 per cent market share while SpiceJet's share shrunk to just 2 per cent. Small carriers like FlyBig, Fly91, and Star Air remained below 1 per cent.

FlyBig performed the worst with nearly 60 per cent flight cancellations, and the highest number of complaints from passengers, highlighting the widening gap in reliability among Indian carriers.

Passenger Growth And Traffic Trends

Between January and August 2025, domestic airlines carried 1,107.26 lakh passengers, marking a 4.99 per cent increase since last year. On a month-to-month basis, however, air travel in August fell slightly by 1.4 per cent compared to July.

Passenger Complaints

A total of 1,407 passenger complaints were filed in August, averaging 1.09 complaints per 10,000 flyers.

IndiGo reported the lowest at 0.2 complaints per 10,000 passengers, Akasa Air 0.6, and Air India group 1.6.

FlyBig reported the highest number of complaints at 90.9 per 10,000 passengers, followed by Alliance Air at 67.5. The main reasons were flight problems (45 per cent), refunds (19 per cent), and baggage issues (15 per cent).

Cancellation Rate

The overall flight cancellation rate for scheduled airlines in August stood at 1.09 per cent. IndiGo (0.51 per cent) and Akasa Air reported the lowest cancellations. FlyBig, however, cancelled a staggering 59.7 per cent of its flights, followed by IndiaOne Air (10.9 per cent). Technical issues, weather and operational reasons accounted for most cancellations.

Premium Pricing

Data from 20 key routes shows Air India group earned the most revenue from selling seats in the highest fare buckets (up to 8.6 per cent of seats), reflecting its premium positioning. Low-cost carriers like IndiGo reported negligible sales in this category, consistent with their business model.

Load Factor

Passenger load factor, which measures seat occupancy, showed sharp contrasts. Akasa Air recorded the highest load factor at 91 per cent, followed by SpiceJet at 87 per cent, and IndiGo at 84.6 per cent.

At the other end, FlyBig (26.8 per cent) and IndiaOne Air (69.4 per cent) struggled to fill seats, pointing to demand and network challenges for regional players.

On-Time Performance

Bengaluru airport reported the best punctuality among metros at 93 per cent, while Mumbai trailed at 80.7 per cent. Punctuality at six major metro airports showed IndiGo leading with 90.6 per cent on-time flights, followed by Akasa Air at 87 per cent and Air India Group at 84.5 per cent.

Alliance Air was the worst performer with just 55.2 per cent on-time performance, while SpiceJet also fared poorly at 68.2 per cent.