Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has allowed domestic carriers to beef up their fleet by wet leasing aircraft to meet the festival season rush of travellers. A total of 20 aircraft will be wet leased by carriers, mainly IndiGo and SpiceJet. According to sources, IndiGo will be wet leasing 11 Airbus A320 aircraft from SmartLynx Airlines. Similarly, SpiceJet will induct 9 Boeing 737Max aircraft from Corendon Airlines, Turkey.
Under wet leasing of aircraft, carriers get the plane alongwith the crew.
Since this year the festival season coincides with Cricket World Cup, DGCA feels that air traffic will rise much more than previous festival seasons and if carriers do not beef up their fleet, fares may rise.
When contacted, an IndiGo spokesperson said, “With the continuous rise in travel demand, we keep evaluating all possible measures to cater to our customers’ needs”.
At present, IndiGo has a fleet of over 320 aircraft. It operates over 1,900 daily flights.
“This year, unlike the previous year when we had an early Diwali, the festive season aligns perfectly for the airline industry. Significant festivals span across all three months of the upcoming quarter, commencing with Durga Puja and Dusshera in October, followed by Diwali in November, and culminating with Christmas in December,” a SpiceJet official told Fe.
Industry estimates have pegged an expected rise of over 30% in air fares from October to November in comparison to the year ago period.
While, fares in the same period when compared to the summer season (May-June) are expected to rise by around 20%.
“Consecutive events and festivals falling in October and November, including the Gandhi Jayanti long weekend, Navratri,and Diwali, have fueled travel demand. There is also a rising appetite for cricket tourism seen this year with the upcoming ICC World Cup 2023,” said Aloke Bajpai, co-founder & group CEO, ixigo.