Explained: Hit by Covid-19, which airlines are reducing capacity, offering waivers?

On Sunday, the country’s largest airline IndiGo announced the withdrawal of 20 per cent of its scheduled flights due to reduced demand. Full-service carrier Vistara also said it is adjusting capacity in sync with the changing demand. And, an Air India official said some flights on routes with multiple daily services are being merged based on the load factor. Other low-cost airlines are also learnt to be considering reducing capacity in line with the falling demand.

How is the demand for air travel holding up?

According to data from the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, domestic air passenger numbers have been witnessing a fall since the last two weeks as Covid-19 cases continue to rise, leading to imposition of various restriction by the states.

On January 8, the Ministry logged 2.41 lakh air passengers, down from 3.85 lakh recorded on December 26. This number fell further to 2.37 lakh on January 9. In terms of load factor, which is representative of demand, IndiGo reported 65.8 per cent on January 8, which means an average of 34 out of its every 100 seats went unsold. Its low-cost rivals SpiceJet and GoFirst reported load factors of 68.5 per cent and 62.8 per cent, respectively. Air India’s load factor on Saturday was 67.4 per cent, while those of Vistara and AirAsia India were 53.6 per cent and 59.6 per cent, respectively.

What are airlines offering to passengers against these cancellations?

IndiGo said that owing to the increasing number of Omicron infections, large numbers of customers are changing their travel plans. In response to customers’ needs, the airline waived change fees and is offering free changes for all new and existing bookings made up to 31st January, for flights up to March 31, 2022.

A Vistara spokesperson said: “We are also trying to minimise the inconvenience to our customers by offering them various options such as rescheduling or refund etc as applicable”. Air India said in a tweet: “In view of recent uncertainties due to surge in COVID cases, Air India is offering one free change of date or flight number or sector for all domestic tickets with confirmed travel on/before 31.03.22”.

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