Aviation market share shift: IndiGo’s domestic lead narrows in November as Air India Group, SpiceJet gain ground

IndiGo’s dominance of India’s domestic aviation market weakened in November after operational disruptions earlier in the month, with the carrier’s market share sliding to 63.6 per cent, according to official data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), PTI reported. Despite remaining the country’s largest domestic airline, IndiGo’s share declined from 65.6 per cent in October. The drop followed large-scale disruptions, after which the regulator directed the airline to cut its winter schedule by 10 per cent. Rival carriers gained ground during the month. The Air India Group — comprising Air India and Air India Express — increased its combined domestic market share to 26.7 per cent in November from 25.7 per cent in October, while SpiceJet’s share rose to 3.7 per cent from 2.6 per cent, DGCA data showed. Akasa Air also saw a decline in its domestic footprint, with its market share easing to 4.7 per cent in November from 5.2 per cent a month earlier. Overall domestic air travel continued to grow. According to the DGCA, passengers carried by domestic airlines during January–November 2025 stood at 1,526.35 lakh, compared with 1,464.02 lakh in the same period last year, registering an annual growth of 4.26 per cent and a monthly growth of 6.92 per cent. Passenger service issues remained a concern. Airlines received 1,196 passenger-related complaints in November, with flight-related problems accounting for 50.6 per cent of the total, followed by baggage issues at 17.9 per cent and refund-related complaints at 12.5 per cent. The data also showed that the overall cancellation rate of scheduled domestic airlines stood at 1.33 per cent in November, reflecting relatively stable operations across the sector despite airline-specific disruptions.