Low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet has moved ahead of rival Jet Airways to become the second-largest domestic carrier in the country last month.

SpiceJet's market share in July was 20.9 per cent, while the combined shares of Jet Airways-JetLite sttod at 19.6 per cent.

The Indian carriers are facing tough competition from each other and the frequent discount offers given by SpiceJet has affected the strategies of other LCCs too.

The effect of these discount offers on the Indian carriers can be understood by analyzing the results of other companies. The market share of IndiGo, which is currently the market leader, went down to 30.7 per cent in July from 31.6 per cent the previous month. The share of GoAir, another LCC, plunged from 10.1 per cent to 9.2 per cent in the last one month.

In terms of occupancy, SpiceJet's 79.4 per cent was around 10 percentage points higher than those of GoAir and IndiGo. In July, IndiGo's passenger load factor stood at 67 per cent, fell six percentage points less than the same month in 2013.

In July, SpiceJet was the only domestic carrier to register a rise in market share as the share of the airline in domestic market increased from 18.3 per cent the previous month.

It is to be noted that GoAir and IndiGo had registered a steady monthly increase in market share from January to June and their share had dropped for the first time in July. The share of national carrier Air India went down from 18.5 per cent in June to 18 per cent in July. New entrant Air Asia, which operates only eight flights daily, grabbed 0.5 per cent of domestic traffic in the month.

"Our increase in loads and share is the result of our new network, improved branding and product and, most importantly, our dynamic pricing and revenue management approach, where we believe flying empty seats is a waste, especially for budget airlines," said SpiceJet Chief Operating Officer Sanjiv Kapoor in a statement.