The potential effects of the emerging IndiGo-Tata airlines duopoly on customers

While it might be good news for IndiGo and the Tata airlines, a duopoly is certainly a cause of concern for consumers already contending with high airfares. We explain why.

For all intents and purposes, India’s domestic aviation market structure appears to have changed into a duopoly of market leader IndiGo and Tata group airlines – Air India, Vistara, and AIX Connect (Air Asia India) – for the foreseeable future. Go First has been grounded, and hopes for Jet Airways’ revival have all but vanished. SpiceJet, which is dealing with its own fleet-related and financial issues, and the newly established Akasa Air don’t seem to be in a position to pose a serious threat right now.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently released monthly domestic air traffic data, which revealed that IndiGo has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of Go First’s operations being halted, with the former’s domestic market share with respect to passengers carried rising to 61.4 percent in May from 57.5 percent in April.