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Foreign airlines plan more flights to India

Rumi Dutta

Leading international airlines are planning more flights to India. At least six major international airlines - Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa and Alitalia - have asked their governments to negotiate with India's civil aviation ministry for more bilateral rights. In other words, they want to increase the frequency of their flights to and from India.

Officials with these airlines say that with growth stagnating in other mature markets, developing countries like India and China are their best bets.

This is in sharp contrast to the state of the market in India just a few months back. About half a dozen international airlines pulled out of India or scaled down their operations, leading to a sudden reduction in capacity by 9,000 seats.

There are seats for 17 million people to fly to India and around 12 million do. According to sources, the industry normally operates at 70 per cent load factor. Hence, there is substantial room for an increased frequency of flights, they add.

Alan Briggs, general manager (South Asia), British Airways, said: "We are using our bilaterals to the fullest extent. British Airways is keen on additional services from Delhi and Chennai to London. We have made our views known to the British government."

International airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines are now offering premium products and services.

During the peak seasons, November-January and April-June, it's tough to book a seat on an outbound flight. Also, senior executives at Air-India said: "With several international tourism boards offering fantastic schemes, the number of Indians going abroad has increased. The tourist inflow has, however, not increased proportionately. This is evident from the poor room occupancy rates at hotels."

Adds Ashwini Kakkar, chief executive officer and managing director, Thomas Cook: "An increase in disposable income, coupled with novel and innovative tourism schemes, has led to an increase in the number of Indians travelling abroad."

According to airline industry sources, some airlines pulled out of India because their operations were unprofitable or unviable. Others did so because India didn't figure in their long-term plans.

A United Airlines spokesperson said: "We are not an Asia-centric airline. Our key focus markets are the US and the Far West. Reducing services to and from India was a strategic decision."

A senior official at another leading international airline said: "Most airlines pulled out not because of a drop in demand but because their presence in the Indian market too small to make their operations viable."

But the reduction in supply was to a great extent neutralised by the fall in demand following the terrorist attacks in the US on September 11. This led to the existing airlines gaining ground and sharpening their focus on India.

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