Aviation industry this year saw some turbulent times, especially after Jet Airways was forced to shut its operations in April. But the Jet debacle did help two listed Indian aviation companies gain market share and expand the fleet of aircraft.

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According to a report by brokerage Prabhudas Lilladher, SpiceJet’s market share improved 170 basis points month-on-month to a 5-year high of 14.8 percent between April-May while that of IndiGo rose to 49.2 percent.

One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.

SpiceJet’s market share was at 13.6 percent in March 2019 while that of IndiGo’s stood at 46.9 percent.

Both Spicejet and Indigo expanded their fleet by inducting 25 and 15 ex-Jet aircraft in the April-May period.

In a column on CNBCTV18.com, aviation writer Ameya Joshi said that going by the induction, it looks like Spicejet gained the most on the back of the rules set by the slot co-ordination committee.

“SpiceJet and IndiGo have accelerated their aircraft induction plans in a bid to gain from Jet’s suspended operations. IndiGo continuing with its aggressive capacity addition, reported 26 percent YoY increase in ASK (Available seat per kilometer). While, SpiceJet, benefitting from induction of ex-Jet aircrafts, reported 32% YoY growth in ASK”, said the brokerage in its report.

The brokerage also said that the aviation load factors were at a 16-month high in May, with SpiceJet PLF (Passenger Load Factor) at 90 percent and that of IndiGo’s at 91 percent.

“Given the current environment of high yield, strong PLFs ensuing from Jet’s downfall & favorable ATF prices, we expect IndiGo & SpiceJet to sustain margin expansion and improved profitability," the report said.

But the road looks choppy for the country's largest airline IndiGo, which has come under the intense regulatory scanner and there are indications of multiple violations of Sebi norms.

Bringing into public the differences between long-time friends and promoters of IndiGo into the open, Rakesh Gangwal has sought Sebi's intervention into alleged corporate governance lapses at the company and even said that 'paan ki dukaan' (betel shop) would have managed things with more grace.

"If the feud between Indigo promoters results in any adverse regulatory outcome, it can impact the growth rates and consequently valuations. Retain ‘buy’ on IndiGo and SpiceJet with a target price of Rs 1,948 and Rs 211 respectively,” said Prabhudas Lilladher in its report.

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