Indian regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation updated the civil aviation registry details for 2023 which shows 179 aircraft being registered in India in 2023. A total of 52 aircraft were de-registered in the same year. This includes aircraft meant for both scheduled and non-scheduled airlines along with those for the flying schools. The details throw up some interesting numbers.
Registrations
The country saw an addition of 179 aircraft in 2023 and the maximum or 52 of those were by IndiGo, which were a mix of A320ceo, A320neo, A321neo, ATR 72-600 and A321F. This was followed by 19 aircraft each by Air India and Vistara. For Vistara, they were a mix of A320neo, A321neo and 787-9 dreamliner while for Air India it was a mix of A320neo, A321neo, B777s and A350.
Akasa Air added 10 planes, all of which were the MAX including one which is India’s first and only 737-8-200, the high density aircraft. Air India Express started accepting deliveries of its MAX8 aircraft in the second half of last year, adding eight aircraft to its fleet. Regional carrier Star Air added three E175s, while India one and Go FIRST added one each. Flybig, which saw its ATR fleet being deregistered, added two DHC-6 to its fleet.
All others, including private jets, government registrations, stood at 44 planes. Interestingly, the Flight Training Organisations (FTO) added 18 planes last year.
In terms of split, 47 aircraft were the A320neo, followed by 29 MAX8s and 25 A321neos. Seven ATR 72-600 were added in 2023, while one each of A320ceo, A321F, A350 and Cessna Caravan was added. There was good news on the wide body side with three 787-9 dreamliners and five B777s making their way to India. The regional jet market also strengthened with three E175s being added.
De-registration
A total of 52 aircraft were de-registered in 2023, fourteen of which were either private jets, owned by the state government or para military forces like BSF but had civil registration. Amongst scheduled carriers, SpiceJet saw the maximum de-registrations at 14 aircraft, which included a mix of B737-800, DHC-8 and MAX8 aircraft. These were largely due to payment issues and settlements with lessors.
This was followed by Air India, which saw de-registration of seven aircraft, comprising the A319s, six of which were taken off the civil registry and one A321. Market leader IndiGo followed with re-registration of six aircraft, a mix of A320ceo and one A320neo.
Few smart lessors pre-empted the situation and Go FIRST saw five of its aircraft de-registered in April, just days before the airline filed for bankruptcy in May 2023. Vistara’s three B737-800s which earlier operated for Jet Airways were de-registered last year, when the airline became an all Airbus narrowbody operator. It also operates an all “NEO” fleet of Airbus. Three ATRs from flybig made its way out of the civil register, two of which have found a new home with fly91.
Tail Note
The Indian aircraft registry might have seen a healthy growth but the industry is marred by groundings led by issues with Pratt & Whitney powered aircraft for IndiGo and financial challenges for SpiceJet. When would the aircraft be available for IndiGo is anybody’s guess and while SpiceJet has seen capital being raised, it’s not out of the woods yet.
This year (2024) could well be the best ever year yet for Indian aviation in terms of fleet growth. Will the industry keep up with the demand, capacity and profitability matrix? It’s too early to tell and all eyes would be on a bumper summer.
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it will be very interesting to see how the airlines deploy the huge incoming capacity. Can the market absorb the flood which is coming in