Air India is planning to ramp up capacity on the domestic sector by inducting one B747, one B777-200LR and one B777-300ER to clear the holiday rush. In addition, it is also planning to induct one additional B787 on the domestic route. Air India is also planning to induct five new A320 aircraft on lease in its fleet from February 2015 onwards. Air India has also issued a tender for taking 14 A320 CEOS/NEOS (current engine option/new engine option) in an all economy configuration to be inducted in 2015 onwards in the domestic market.
Air India’s uplift in domestic market has gone up by 15 per cent from 30,313 passengers a day in December 2013 to 35,100 passengers a day in the first half of December 2014. Similarly on a network basis its uplift has gone up by nearly 12 per cent from 45,100 passengers a day to 50,500 passengers a day. Along with its subsidiary Air India Express, Air India carried 58,160 passengers in first half of December 2014 as against 53,720 last year, a growth of eight per cent. Its average passenger revenue was INR52.70 cr. a day inclusive of Air India Express during the first half of December 2014. The average passenger load factor on its domestic network was 85.2 per cent and on the entire network was 75 per cent and in line with the Turnaround Plan. Its yield on the domestic network was INR6.92 per ton pkm. (passenger km). The subsidiary Air India Express also averaged passenger load factor of 81.5 per cent. Air India also operated 403 flights a day out of which 267 were on the domestic network.
Certain international routes operated with the B787 aircraft had passenger load factors of over 80 per cent including London, Australia, Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai etc. On domestic sectors Kolkata and Bengaluru showed high load factors ranging from 86 to 92 per cent.