|
: The gravitation to the low-cost model has never been this apparent. Full-service carriers are deploying capacity and launching flights in the low-cost segment in right earnest. Take Jet Airways, for instance. The airline has close to 125 flights of the all-economy Jet Konnect—a new service launched by the full-service airline on select routes this May. According to Saroj K Datta, executive director, Jet Airways, the plan is to take the number up to almost 180 flights per day in the near term. For that the company proposes to take its fleet of aircraft used for the service to 16 Boeing 737-800s and 10 turbo-prop ATR-500s. At the moment, the airline has less than ten Boeing 737-800s and ATR-500s respectively for the service.
Since May, Jet has been rapidly expanding its Konnect services, taking the number of flights from 62 to 92 to 125, respectively. But Jet is not the only one to be doing this. Rival Kingfisher is already reported to have deployed almost 70% of its capacity on Kingfisher Red—its economy-class brand. Then there is the other full-service carrier Air India, which recently announced that its budget airline Air India Express, which flies to the Gulf, South-East Asian and allied regions, would be pressed into service in the domestic low-cost space as well. “There was a gap there,” says Jitendra Bhargava, executive director, Air India. “We needed to fill it. For those who want the services of a legacy carrier, there is Air India. For those who want a budget carrier, there is Air India Express,” he says.
The great rush
The impending launch of operations of Air India Express in the domestic low-cost space, however, draws attention to a moot point: the segment is likely to get choc-a-bloc soon enough. It already is pretty crowded with four serious players—SpiceJet, IndiGo, GoAir and Jet’s subsidiary Jet Lite. Then there are smaller regional carriers such as MDLR Airlines, which operates flights on the Uttaranchal-Delhi-Goa-Kolkata routes. But even if MDLR is set aside, there are enough players at the moment in the space. Then why are the full-service carriers deploying capacity there?
By some accounts, capacity in the full-service and low-cost segments at the moment is neck and neck—at 50% a piece. With the build-up though, the balance is likely to tip in favour of the latter in the near term. Says Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer, Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA), India, “We expect...
More from india inc
| Single Page Format | 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - Next |
Discuss this story on expressindia forums
|
|
 |
 |
 |
About Us | Contact Us | Advertisers | Site Map | Make us your homepage | Work for Us | RSS | Subscribe | Electronic Edition | Privacy Policy© 2010: The Indian Express Limited. All rights reserved throughout the world
