Jan-Feb-Mar-2018

Indian aviation segment
which was dominated by
the national carrier for
long has seen whirlwinds
in the past 25 years. On one
hand, it saw the emergence
of private airlines and at the
same time it also witnessed
bankruptcies, sell offs and
consolidation. Around 30
airlines ceased their operation
in the country which
includes East West Airlines,
Damania Airways, NEPC,
Paramount, ModiLuft, Kingfisher,
Gujarat Airways to
name a few. And airlines like
Indian Airlines, Deccan Aviation
and Sahara Airlines took
the merger route.
The four airlines, national
carrier Air India and private
carriers like Jet Airways,
Indigo and SpiceJet put together
command 80 percent
of the civil aviation market in
the country. The passenger
segment in the country had
grown substantially over the
last decade. According to the
data from India Brand Equity
Foundation (IBEF), the domestic
passenger traffic expanded
at a compound annual
growth rate (CAGR) of 11.46
percent between financial
year (FY) 2006 and FY 2017.
Owing to two major challenges
the crippling infrastructure
constraints at major
airports, and an uptick in
fuel prices the rating agency
Crisil Research predicts a
decline in the
air passenger growth over
the next five years. A latest
report from Crisil Research
says, “Growth decelerating
~800 basis points (bps) to
13-15 percent annually in
the five fiscals through 2022,
compared with a blistering
22 percent seen in fiscals
2016 and 2017. This fiscal, it is
seen slowing 300-500 bps to
17-19 percent.”
Indian air cargo operations
started by folding the seatings
in the passenger cabins
in the 1950s on airlines. Now
the segment has grown to be
one of the key and promising
markets globally.
According to an analysis
by Crisil Research, over all the
trade has picked up in a big
way in the cargo segment.
The report puts a higher
potential for both exports
and imports. They keep the
big bet in the international
cargo segment for
the medium and long term.
Binaifer F Jehani, Director,
Crisil Research commented, “If
you look at this year, the exports
have grown by around
15 percent or so and imports
have grown about 20 percent.
For long term, we expect the
cargo movement to grow
between 9 to 10 percent over
the next 5 years. So clearly we
expect a healthy growth."
As per the data available
from Statista.com, an
international online statistics,
market research and
business intelligence portal,
Indira Gandhi International
Airport, New Delhi handled
the maximum cargo in the FY
2016-17. While Delhi handled
8,57,000 tonnes, Chhatrapati
Shivaji international Airport
Mumbai stood second with
7,82,000 tonnes, followed by
Chennai International Airport
handling 3,59,000 tonnes and
Kempegowda International
Airport in Benga-
JAN - MAR 2018| www.acaainews.com 5