India has become the third largest domestic airline market globally, up from number five position a decade ago, according to analysis based on data by OAG, the leading data platform for the global travel industry.

As per the data, India’s domestic airline capacity has doubled in a decade to 15.5 million in April 2024 from 7.9 million in April 2014.

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India has replaced Brazil, pushed to fourth place with 9.7 million, and Indonesia, relegated to fifth in the rankings with 9.2 million.

However, the top two — the US at 86.1 million and China at 67.8 million — are still far ahead in the game holding the top two positions.

The Official Airline Guide (OAG) data said India’s capacity growth rate of seats over a 10-year average is the highest amongst the top five countries, growing at 6.9 per cent annually, followed by China at 6.3 per cent, the US at 2.4 per cent, Indonesia by 1.1 per cent and Brazil experiencing an annual decline of 0.8 per cent.

India’s transition to low cost carriers (LCCs) has been the sharpest among the top five. In April 2024, LCCs accounted for 78.4 per cent of Indian domestic capacity, followed by Indonesia at 68.4 per cent , Brazil at 62.4 per cent , the US at 36.7 per cent, and China at 13.2 per cent.

The LCC growth has been fueled by IndiGo; in the last decade, its market share has nearly doubled from 32 per cent to 62 per cent.

While the rest of the market has seen its seat growth averaging 0.7 per cent annually in the decade, IndiGo has seen a domestic capacity growth of 13.9 per cent annually.

IndiGo and Air India are now looking at aggressively moving internationally, OAG says it is inevitable that the substantial narrow-bodied aircraft ordered by the two will also be used to expand domestic capacity.