Capacity is truly measured by ASK or Available Seat Kilometers. While this is a standard term, it is a term which is difficult to understand and hence the more popular ones are always frequencies or seats on offers. After looking at Top 20 international routes from India by seats, it is time to look at the top 20 by frequencies.
One of the reasons for the difference in the list between “by seats” and “frequency” is that there are many routes to the Gulf which are dominated by Indian carriers who deploy the narrowbody aircraft. So the total seats available might be lower but there are multiple flights per day on these sectors.
Data for this blog post has been exclusively obtained from Cirium – an aviation analytics company.
Read: Routes & Network: In conversation with IndiGo’s head of Network Planning
First TEN
The first two routes are the same by both seats and frequencies. The Mumbai – Dubai route sees 108 frequencies each way each week and is the only international route to see more than 100 frequencies a week. The Delhi – Dubai route follows with 90 weekly frequencies each way. Mumbai – Abu Dhabi at 63 frequencies and Delhi – Bangkok at 57 frequencies comprise the top four. There is a tie for the fifth spot with both Delhi – London and Chennai – Colombo having 56 frequencies each.
There also is a tie for eighth spot with Mumbai – Jeddah, Kochi – Abu Dhabi and Delhi – Kathmandu having 53 frequencies each.
Amongst the top 10, Delhi is point of origin for four routes, followed by Mumbai for three and Chennai for two with Kochi being present with one route. On the international side, the list is more scattered with Dubai and Abu Dhabi having two each such routes, while Bangkok, London Heathrow, Colombo, Singapore, Jeddah and Kathmandu having one each. The list is remarkably different from the list by seats on offer.
Next TEN
On the eleventh spot is Mumbai – London Heathrow with 48 weekly flights, with the next being Kochi – Dubai, Mumbai – Doha, Mumbai – Singapore, Delhi – Singapore, Hyderabad – Dubai, Mumbai – Muscat, Mumbai – Bangkok, Mumbai – Kuwait and Chennai – Abu Dhabi.
Overall, Mumbai leads this listing with nine routes originating, followed by Delhi at five, Chennai at three, Kochi and two and Hyderabad at one. There are no routes from Bengaluru and Kolkata, the other two metro’s in this list. On the international side, the dominance of the UAE continues with four routes to Dubai and three to Abu Dhabi. Singapore also has three listings in this list, with Bangkok – Suvarnabhumi and London Heathrow having two each.
Network Thoughts
The frequency wise listing makes it even more heavier from Mumbai and Delhi, which is understandably so. The traffic from tier II cities is more seasonal in nature and airlines tend to focus on strength rather than spread. With Mumbai, being a traditional feeder to traffic from surrounding cities as well as parts of South and Central India, its dominance shows up effectively.
With its sheer volumes, the top two metro’s allow flexibility in pricing – which is the primary driver for any airline.
Special Note
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