The lure of foreign skies

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

Related Articles

Jet for new flights to Patna, Chennai, RaipurJet, Kingfisher hike fuel surchargeForeign airlines may pick 49% in Indian carriersAI pilots stick to strike threat

: works out to about Rs 20,000-25,000 per passenger.”

In an environment, where domestic full-service carriers have been competing for market share with budget carriers, it makes ample sense for them to go international then. As Hitesh Patel, executive vice-president, Kingfisher Airlines, says, “It was always part of our vision to fly international. We've been saying it from day one.” A vast Indian Diaspora wanting to use an Indian carrier as well as local travellers increasingly flying abroad make it compelling enough for domestic full-service carriers to target them as budget carriers dominate the local space with a strong value-for-money proposition. Says a Mumbai-based aviation analyst, “Preference for a home-country airline will always be there among travellers belonging to a certain region. It's a matter of pride for them. If an airline can step in and fill the gap, it works wonders.”

Jet, for instance, has seen this sentiment of pride for its London flights, which take off from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Amritsar. They are preferred over archrival British Airways. What has worked for Jet on this route is not only the feeling of brotherhood shared by Indian travellers for the airline, but also superior service, which has attracted one and all, both Indian and foreign travelers.

An interesting fallout of a ready global market is that it allows local carriers to optimise their fleets, deploying them on routes that can fetch good rates. Says Patel of Kingfisher, “To a certain extent going international can help offset the excess capacity that exists in the domestic marketplace.” Adds Vishwas Udgirkar, executive director, PricewaterhouseCoopers, “Not only can you optimise your fleet, but also your personnel.”

Narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737-800, which are used by operators in India, can be easily deployed on short-haul flights to neighbouring countries. That's precisely what the three aviation combines-Air India-Indian (now simply called Air India), Jet-Jet Lite and Kingfisher-Deccan-are doing, keeping wide-body aircraft for medium to long haul operations and narrow-body aircraft for short-haul operations. This way, things are streamlined and segregated.

Says Ravi Menon, India director of aircraft maintenance & repair facility, Air Works, “Operators at one point realised that there was no point having too many verticals, which is why the consolidation is taking place. Horizontals, in my opinion, are key.” Says Kaul of CAPA, “I see the combines making their presence felt in all segments of the business.”