Massive 100 daily flights by SpiceJet to bridge market gap created by IndiGo chaos

In a big turn of events for the Indian aviation sector, SpiceJet declared that it would be accelerating its plans for expansion—up to 100 the day flights will have been incorporated in the winter schedule. This happened at a juncture when India’s largest carrier, IndiGo, is working overtime dealing with one of the most massive-to-date, partially self-inflicted operational crises.

This decision which is waiting for an approval from DGCA, is a direct reflection of the huge surge in demand and the sudden void IndiGo created with widespread cancellations. According to an Economic Times report, SpiceJet is priming itself to gain more market presence while a winded India is seeking alternatives all through the country.

SpiceJet's Crashing Share Prices

Initially, market investors were excited.

Instantly, the shares of SpiceJet skyrocketed by 5 percent on December 10, reaching a high of ₹36 intraday. Over the last trading sessions, the shares are up by almost 19%, an indication that investor confidence is strong. Late afternoon on December 10, the stock was, and still tradevg at ₹34 on the BSE, up by 1.5%.

This consitent increase signals a market view that SpiceJet is greatly poised to benefit from IndiGo's accidental creation of a capacity crunch.

How IndiGo's disorder created a unique chance.

IndiGo, which typically gets nearly two-thirds of India's domestic flyers, has run into dire problems with the acute shortage of pilots in the company resulting in:

Over 5,000 flight cancellations

An alarming punctuality rate of merely 8.5%.

Massive disturbances of even main cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore

DGCA investigation dug up the fact that The Indigo could not operate its 15,014 weekly departures for the winter schedule resulting in the Directorate's order for mandatory cut down giving away almost 110 flights a day to other airlines.

This little patch of clear blue skies has given way to huge inroads by the likes of SpiceJet into it.

What Does This Situation Mean for Passengers and the Aviation Sector?

SpiceJet's expansion is surely a welcome relief and a real push in the right direction (for travellers and the relevant employees stuck in a jam-packed airport with an imminent change of plans) especially for the busy and much sought-after services, where prices had shot up due to the limited availability.

In the flight business, this is a fleeting power shift: the troubles of IndiGo have meant some significant rejigging in market distribution, stricter regulatory scrutiny on airline preparedness, and carriers scrabbling to get quickly enough into spaces vacated by IndiGo.

Residents in India are now also entering the high-traffic holiday season, leaving us to ponder on the kind of impact these developments would have in respect of departing and arriving passengers and, perhaps, airlines' strategies in the weeks to come.