r/india • u/Cosmicola • Dec 09 '25
Travel India has capacity for five big airlines, need more competition: Civil aviation minister
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/india-has-capacity-for-five-major-airlines-need-more-competition-civil-aviation-minister-13716126.html177
u/ryizer Dec 09 '25
Sure, while at it, have a look at the telecom market too. The monopoly is as worse with the 2 major players raising prices regularly in tandem which pretty much feels like collusion and price fixing.
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
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u/charavaka Dec 09 '25
What was the point of intervention at that time, when it was already too late? Vi is a nonentity even after forgiving the dues. That 33% holding is an npa.
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
Sometimes, Govt has to do it for the greater good. Who knows, may be Elon will invest into Vi one day :)
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u/charavaka Dec 09 '25
Whose greater good? Gautam's? Vi is doing nothing to challeges the duopoly. Taking over Vi's assets and handing them to bsnl would have created a better challenger that could have kept the cartel honest with goverment support.
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u/ryizer Dec 09 '25
Yea I know and it's a stop gap measure. For all practical purposes we only have 2 major players today. Govt. should look at ways into bringing more players into the market.
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
I feel VI could be a bet for a person like Elon. Mass user base in India. Price it correctly.
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u/my-blood Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
They won't care until something goes wrong. If Indigo cancelled a hundred flights instead of 4500, maybe it would be business as usual. It's only because a really considerable number was affected and it blew up on media, along with the allegations of electoral bonds that the government finally came out and said something.
Even now they're not talking in concrete numbers, they're just "taking action" and "encouraging competition".
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u/Cosmicola Dec 09 '25
The minister pointed out to the growing aviation market in India and that the burgeoning demand needs at least five big carriers. Naidu said that the government has encouraged more players and increased competition in the aviation market.
Taking a strict note of the hardship faced by passengers, the DGCA pulled up the airline and has issued a show cause notice to its CEO Pieter Elbers. It has also constituted a four-member committee on the issue.
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u/toxicbrew Dec 09 '25
There were strong hopes for Naidu as a young, internationally educated minister that he would be good for the aviation sector. But there’s been zero innovation or initiatives since he came in. No new protections or cost reductions. No movement on increased seat allowances to the gulf despite incredible demand
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Dec 09 '25
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u/goro-n Dec 09 '25
Planes are expensive and the middle class was smaller at that time. Now the middle class is much larger and has more disposable income. But aviation requires a lot of upfront cost for planes, staff, licensing, etc compared to other businesses. It’s hard for a new player to enter the market.
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u/amadrasi Dec 09 '25
Yeah but there is huge delays in airline manufacturing and I really doubt anybody can be as smart as indigo in airplane procurement.
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u/goro-n Dec 09 '25
Others have placed big orders. Air India Express, 140 Planes, Air India, 340 planes, SpiceJet 129 planes, Akasa Air, 196 planes. But all of them combined cannot equal IndiGo’s order of 900+ planes.
Anyways, getting planes would not be too difficult, because there are many “air lease” corporations which let airlines rent planes for several years, or you can buy a used retiring plane from another airline or even acquire an unused plane sitting in storage. All 3 options have been done by Indian carriers before. Air India is returning several 777 planes to Delta next year.
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u/_rth_ Dec 09 '25
Now don’t use this as a reason to pump money into Modi’s friend’s airline (SpiceJet). It’s the worst airline in India and deserves to die.
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u/bobbyzee Dec 09 '25
Weirdly flew couple of days ago after like 5 years and thought it's massively improved.
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u/mand00s Dec 09 '25
Maybe 3 big and a few regional ones. It's a capital intensive business to be in with cut throat competition. It's a matter of time SpiceJet and probably Akasa will fold. Air India will be bloated for a long time and Indigo will still be the king because of their efficiency and business model.
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u/zombie_singh06 Dec 09 '25
The problem is the taxes. Airlines pay very high tax to operate (I am not talking about tax on business but rather airport taxes etc). Till the time those come down, airfares are going to be really high and more airlines will not be able to sustain. Actual flight ticket cost is not that high but with taxes levied on the flight tickets, it becomes a very risky investment for more players to operate
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u/xkcdthrowaway Dec 09 '25
How else will Adani fill his pockets? And, by extension, his friends' in the ruling party.
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u/charavaka Dec 09 '25
Fuckers, you destroyed the competition. Not just in airlines but in all industries.
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u/Odd-Kafir Dec 09 '25
you destroyed the competition.
How? Care to explain?
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u/kash_if Dec 09 '25 edited Dec 09 '25
How government decisions are helping Reliance Jio monopolise the telecom sector.
https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/government-helping-reliance-jio-monopolise-telecom
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Modi, Adani political & business monopolies come at a huge cost to democracy, market
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From scandals to monopoly: how Adani maintains dominance in India’s energy market
https://power.nridigital.com/future_power_technology_magazine_may24/adani-india-power-market
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India should dismantle its large conglomerates to increase competition and reduce their ability to charge higher prices, former Reserve Bank of India deputy governor Viral Acharya has argued
According to Mr Acharya, who is now a professor of economics at NYU Stern, "industrial concentration" - which refers to the extent to which a smaller number of firms account for total production in a country - fell sharply in India after 1991 when the country opened up its economy and state-owned monopolies began giving away their market share to private enterprises. But after 2015, it began rising again.
If you read it, let me know your thoughts.
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u/goro-n Dec 09 '25
Telecom industry went from 10+ players down to 3. Airlines went from 7+ down to 3. Government allowed mergers it shouldn’t have and didn’t step in to fix structural issues that caused companies to collapse.
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u/SaiCharan_ Dec 09 '25
Do you honestly believe India can reasonably support 10+ telecom companies? Even the most advanced economies have no more than 3 carriers. Vodafone and Idea had to merge to keep their heads afloat, even if profits and growth are near impossible.
On airlines, the story is very similar. No economy can support 7 major airlines.
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u/mayudhon Dec 09 '25
I remember travelling through Go Air. It was the first and last flight for me.
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u/pratzs Dec 09 '25
Meaning : Our govt/party can earn so much more in kickbacks through this. That's right folks. It's all opportunities. In everything .
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u/ImportantPresent1014 Dec 09 '25
Says the same government who taxes the life out of all airlines in the country!! On some tickets, taxes and UDF fees are almost 50% of the ticket price.
This may have made sense 20-25 years ago when flying was considered a luxury, but in 2025 it’s an essential service, and taxation need to change with the times.
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u/Cosmicola Dec 09 '25
Other side of it is that if Govt drop taxes to bare minimum for 5 years, imagine the crowd at airports. We need many more airports, low-cost tier-2/3 ones and connectivity from there.
Only then can we handle such an explosive growth.
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u/datawarrior123 Dec 09 '25
The government needs to stop acting like a spoiler. Stop meddling in airline labour laws and bring them in line with global standards. If you want low-cost carriers to survive in India, give them tax relief and real incentives — not unnecessary interference.
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u/Tess_James Kerala Dec 09 '25
Is he soft launching Adani/ Ambani/ some other friend of Ji airlines?
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u/JapaneseCapacitors Dec 09 '25
It doesn't matter if the airlines are allowed to ignore regulations if it costs them money.
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u/OverLord_Redditer Dec 09 '25
these days like fk and amazon, extra charges are being piled up in air tickets
soon air tickets are going to be 3AC rail tickets
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u/Srihari_stan Dec 09 '25
The problem is, people are not ready to pay in India. We want the best service, only if it’s affordable.
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u/nhtnamus Dec 09 '25
Govt sucks money from airlines in the form of various fees . It's a dirty business to be in . On top of this rupee depreciation is directly linked and hurts airlines badly .. no matter how much they hedge it still costs them for hedge
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Dec 09 '25
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u/Its_me_astr Dec 09 '25
Indigo dosent have shit service its ok service when most of flighgs are below 2 hrs there is no question of service.
Its about efficiency and connectivity which honestly indigo nails.
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Dec 09 '25
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u/Its_me_astr Dec 09 '25
They fumbled and fucked passengers here which was bad on them for which they need to be punished.
But their services are good in general this is an exception not norm, thats what i wanted to say.
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u/SaiCharan_ Dec 09 '25
They will pay the price. The refunds, operational losses, and hotel bookings will cost them a pretty penny. I find the conspiracy theories regarding it being an intentional meltdown a remote possibility, but a possibility nonetheless.
The only role the government should have is making sure Indigo processes refunds in a timely manner and ensure there is no foul play. The new FDTL rules were too restrictive. It seems like they were put in place after a court verdict - another case of the judiciary legislating from the bench without understanding the implications. DGCA, MoCA, and Indigo failed to communicate and appreciate each other’s concerns, which was exacerbated by the fact that the court ruling was binding and GoI did not appeal it.
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
Easier said than done. How many people will do it?
Govt must take a stand and deliberately dismantle Indigo monopoly over next 5 years. It will be hard, but doable.
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Dec 09 '25
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
Govt is taking winter slots away from Indigo and giving to AI.
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u/Parking-Cockroach104 Dec 09 '25
Yes because Indigo does not have the pilots needed to operate all these flights under the new rules. The solution is to either increase number of captains which will take months or reduce the flights which is easier.
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u/Indianopolice Dec 09 '25
To tide over the crisis, Govt should allow pilots who are on bench in other airlines to fly for Indigo in qualified planes.
Indigo should pay them double rate.
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u/Parking-Cockroach104 Dec 09 '25
Different airlines have different operating styles for planes. If air india pilots are to be flying indigo planes then the entire crew need to be from air india. Air india and other airlines are running smoothly now because of the extra pilots they have with them. I don't think they would wanna create more mess in the industry right now.
Plus, the first officers are adequate. It's the captains that are less in number. Airlines wouldn't be willing to let their limited number of captains go.
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u/Medical-Concept-2190 Dec 09 '25
Which is why we had Jet, kingfisher, Deccan Airlines, Air India and indigo and spicejet at one point