Domestic airlines to add 50 planes in FY17

Buoyed by strong passenger growth, domestic air carriers are set to add close to 50 planes to their fleets in 2016-17, from 34 additions a year before.

Market-leader IndiGo will induct 24 Airbus A320neo aircraft till next March, nearly double the 13 it inducted last year. GoAir is expected to receive eight of these, its highest-ever addition in a single year. The additions would enable expanding of plying frequency and new routes (such as Chennai to Guwahati and Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram).

AirAsia India, Vistara and SpiceJet are also inducting planes. Jet Airways says its focus remains on ¨higher fleet utilisation to increase capacity on domestic routes.¨

A Jet Airways spokesperson said that in the first nine months of FY16, it raised capacity utilisation by 23 per cent, without adding any aircraft.