Cheap fares, costly fuel send India’s airlines into a tailspin

• Sarwar Alam
• 29 August, 2018

By: Sarwar Alam

Bargain-basement fares, high oil prices and a tumbling rupee are causing turbulence in India’s hyper-competitive aviation market, virtually wiping out airlines’ profits and leaving them scrambling to cut costs to survive. India’s aviation sector is expected to become the world’s third-largest by 2025, with passenger numbers increasing six-fold over the past decade as a growing middle class take advantage of better connectivity and inexpensive flights. But experts warn cheap tickets and an over-reliance on favourable fuel pricing is unsustainable. India’s top two airlines by market share, IndiGo and Jet Airways, and debt-laden state carrier Air India are all suffering financial woes, while SpiceJet’s…

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