When GoFirst quickly filed for voluntary bankruptcy in May of last year, it threw the domestic travel market into chaos. This was especially true for tours, which left people stuck in places like Srinagar and customers who had already booked their trips in a tough spot. Even though airlines have added more planes, the number of daily flights in Indian skies has not changed much after almost a year.
This is mostly because IndiGo now has more landings, which takes away more capacity from the market. An aircraft analytics business called Ciricum shared data with this magazine that no one else did. The data shows that the market has changed a lot on several routes. One important change in the market is that all planes have moved from Old Rajkot Airport to Hirasar Airport, and Goa Dabolim has had its capacity cut to make room for the new Mopa Airport.
If you haven't booked your summer vacation, here are the sectors with increased and decreased capacity.
Top 5 industries for capacity growth
Bengaluru-Kolkata-Bengaluru service increased by 57 weekly frequencies in May 2024. Go FIRST was absent from this sector, and Vistara (thrice daily), Akasa Air (13 weekly), IndiGo, AIX Connect, and SpiceJet are adding daily flights.
The Mumbai-Delhi route will add 46 departures and the return 39. After this, 38 weekly trips between Mumbai and Ahmedabad (36 from Ahmedabad to Mumbai) follow. Bengaluru-Trivandrum flights increased by 35 weekly, driven by Air India Express and Vistara adding double-daily flights and IndiGo adding one.
The Kolkata-Baghdogra-Kolkata route has 32 more weekly flights than last year. SpiceJet and AIX Connect, who are stronger in Bagdogra, are leading this versus IndiGo.
Two airports give Goa a lot of power.
Due to its hot and muggy weather, Goa has not usually been a summer vacation spot. With two airports, the state, on the other hand, is seeing a huge rise in trips. There will be 306 flights a week between MIA, Mopa, and North Goa. Last year, there were only 194. 418 flights will leave from Dabolim Airport each week, less than the 441 flights that left in May of last year. However, since both runways serve the same area, there will be an extra 89 flights each week.
Between Delhi and Goa (both airports), there are more than 32,000 seats available each week. On the short route between Mumbai and Goa, there are 30,000 seats available each way. Most of the flights from Mumbai to Goa have moved from Dabolim to Mopa.
Where did Go FIRST's tracks go?
In the markets between Delhi and Leh, Delhi and Srinagar, Mumbai and Goa, Delhi and Pune, and Delhi and Mumbai, Go FIRST was very strong. These were the top 5 areas that Go FIRST flew to most often in the month before the airline shut down.
When it comes to the route between Delhi and Leh, IndiGo has helped make up for the lost capacity. On the route between Delhi and Srinagar, both IndiGo and Air India Express have added flights, making the market more full than it was last year. More flights have come on all other lines.
End Note
Interestingly, the capacity loss is in the south, where Go FIRST wasn't very strong. The lost ability has now been made up for. However, there are still a lot of tourists this year. Most likely, there will be more traffic in 2024 than in 2023. Since the busy summer months are coming up, you need to book your tickets quickly to avoid having to pay more at the last minute.
(Inputs HT/Ameya Joshi)