According to data provided by aviation analytics firm OAG, airlines like IndiGo and flying India have extended its fleet size to respond to the surge in flying passengers, making India the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world behind the United States and China.
India’s domestic airline capacity has doubled in the last ten years, from 7.9 million seats in April 2014 to 15.5 million seats in April 2024, according to the data, moving the country up from fifth place and past Brazil and Indonesia.
Brazil, which was ranked fourth with 9.7 million airline tickets, has been replaced by India, which is now ranked fifth with 9.2 million seats.
Among the top five countries, India has also had the highest annual average capacity growth rate—6.9% over the past ten years, followed by China at 6.3% and the US at 2.4%.
Together, IndiGo and Air India have over 1,000 aircraft on order, and they handle nine out of ten domestic flights in the nation.
Out of the top five, OAG claims that India’s shift to low-cost airlines (LCCs) has been the fastest.
LCCs made up 78.4% of India’s domestic capacity in April 2024, with Indonesia coming in second at 68.4%, Brazil at 62.4%, the US at 36.7%, and China at 13.2%.
