The paper makes a humble effort to analyse the comparative relationship between CAMEL ratios and traditional financial with a focus on Indian aviation sector in pre-COVID period. CAMEL is a multi-dimensional framework which was widely applied in banking sector. In this research an attempt has been made to extend the scope of the framework in capital intensive aviation sector for evaluating its Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Management Efficiency, Earnings, and Liquidity. The research further enhanced its scope by integrating CAMEL ratio with traditional measures of profitability, operational efficiency, solvency, and liquidity ratios to estimate the financial performance of three key airline companies of India: Jet Airways, Air India, and SpiceJet. Mean values and Coefficient of Variation (CV%) is utilised as the tool to determine absolute performance and consistency of select airline companies during 2004-05 to 2018-19. The current approach creates a meaningful linkage between CAMEL ratios and conventional financial ratios through correlation analysis, offering a robust framework which can assess the financial health of airlines as well as can also determine their resilience and stability. The results of the analysis will significantly help the investors, policymakers, and managers in evaluating financial performance, risk, and sustainability in the airline sector of India.