Jet Airways crisis likely to help Indigo, SpiceJet get more slots at Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airports in summer

Major airports like Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru have set slot distribution between airlines for summer vacation. This means that airports place a list of airlines which will be available to departure and arrival during summer. However, data compiled by ICICI Securities revealed that, total number of slots in summer this year is only 3% higher compared to that in 2018. While growth is mostly in line for all airlines, the big drop is led by Jet Airways. Shortage of planes for Jet Airways comes as a good news to other airlines, especially Indigo and also SpiceJet. Jet’s rivals will be able to carry more passengers and hence will see an increase in market share. 

Jet has submitted its schedule only for April as of now. Ansuman Deb analysts at ICICI Securities said, “Such a sharp fall in Jet’s capacity will likely be accompanied with some moderation of capacity by MAX operators (SJet) and gradual lease retirals of old A320ceo fleet of IndiGo and Go Air.”

“As of now, it seems there are significant slots of Jet which remain unused. There has been no major change in slots in Delhi and Mumbai barring Jet. However, post April, when Jet has to re-submit its schedule plan; the private airport operators will be increasingly hesitant to keep such a high share of slots unused. As such, some slots may be up for grabs for other airlines," he added.

Deb believes with the ensuing delay in Jet’s debt resolution, private airport operators in Delhi/Mumbai/ Bengaluru will increasingly have to reallocate some Jet slots to other airlines. IndiGo and SpiceJet (SJet) remain major beneficiaries.

On Indigo, Deb sees A-321 fleet with 222 seats to be an added advantage for the airline. Deb said, “This will help IndiGo gain incremental passenger market share. The capacity market share for IndiGo has already touched ~45% in Feb’19.”

If you are planning to travel by Jet through Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru airport, then remember to check the availability of service from the airline’s chart. Also, other airlines will be available for the services as normal.