The international cargo operations of the two major airlines, Indigo and Air India Group (Air India and Vistara), are showing contrasting trends, even as both airlines have significantly expanded their international flight offerings over the past year.
According to data from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Indigo’s international non-passenger cargo business declined to 6,848 tonnes in the fourth quarter of 2023-24. There has been a decline of 18.2 percent compared to last year.
An IndiGo official said that the demand is there but narrow-body aircraft lack much space for cargo after carrying all the passengers’ luggage.
An airline official said, ‘During the fourth quarter of 2023-24, we carried about 30 lakh international passengers, which was about 25 percent more than the same period last year. Our overall wet load factor has also increased, showing that our space utilization is improving. But this also means that we do not have much space left for non-passenger cargo.
Weight load factor is the ratio of the actual weight to the maximum capacity on an aircraft.
This strong demand is highlighted in Airports Authority of India (AAI) data, which shows that a total of 5,71,895 tonnes of air cargo was moved from India in the fourth quarter of 2023-24, compared to the previous year. Shows an increase of 25 percent.
Aviation industry sources said Air India and Vistara provide better service and their flights fly to far-flung destinations like the US and Europe. Cargo business is increasing in these areas. An industry source said, ‘Besides, Air India and Vistara have wide-body aircraft, which have plenty of space to carry large consignments.’
Air India’s international cargo business grew to 37,569 tonnes during the fourth quarter, registering a substantial growth of 34.8 per cent. Even Vistara’s international cargo business grew to 9,602 tonnes during the same period, a huge growth of 101 per cent.
The decline in IndiGo’s international cargo business coincides with a significant increase in international passenger flights for IndiGo as well as Air India and Vistara.
According to aviation analytics firm Cerium, IndiGo operated about 1,402 international flights per week in April, an increase of 19 percent compared to last year.
Air India operated about 956 international flights per week in April, an increase of 15.7 percent. Vistara operated 354 international flights per week, a significant growth of 47.5 percent.
An IndiGo spokesperson said, “We have had a strong year for IndiGo cargo with a significant increase in gross weight during the fourth quarter (compared to last year), even as international cargo business has remained stagnant. We are confident of continuing the strong growth path.
