Low cost airlines fly to India
Budget airlines to dot
Indian skies
A fierce battle for market share is set to unfold in the
Indian sky as a number of budget airlines spread their wings in the months ahead
to cash in on increasing air traffic and raising income levels. At least four
new low-cost air-lines will take off in the Indian domestic aviation sector over
the next six months and half a dozen more are likely to be added in two or three
years, triggering a severe price war. After the commercial launch of Kingfisher
Airlines today, the rank of budget airlines will have other new entrants like
Magic air, Spice Jet, Go Air and Air One in the coming months. “The Indian
aviation sector has really entered into a very exciting phase after years of
overregulation,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an
international research organization, “The potential for budget airlines is huge
for a country like India with over a one billion population. Even after the
launch of the new airlines this year, there will be room for many more players
in the year ahead.” According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, the new
low-cost airlines will help add at least five million new passengers every year
taking the total number of air travelers to 50 million by 2010. Currently, the
four main domestic airlines – state run Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Sahara
and low-cost Air Deccan – carry some 19 million passengers among themselves
every year. In comparison, a staggering 14 million people travel by trains every
day. Most of the budget airlines are betting on growth by encouraging railway
passenger to fly at fares that are, at times, cheaper than train tickets.
Although Kingfisher Airlines – the aviation arm of
Bangalore-based liquor giant UB Group – is being positioned as a ‘full service’
airline, it will have just one class for the all passengers. The tickets for
King fisher Airlines will be sold in three different slabs on the
first-come-first-serve basis and the lowest level will be cheaper than the fares
of other full-service airlines. “it’s
to the new India that we offer Kingfisher Airlines,” said Vijay Mallya, chairman
of the UB Group that makes the largest-selling Kingfisher beer, “We will make
our mark in the domestic aviation market by offering extremely good value
proposition to the customers’ needs and aspiration.” Mallya says his airlines is
betting on the 150 million ‘consuming class people’ who are being added to the
Indian economy every year, for grabbing a larger share of the Indian sky. Air
Deccan, the pioneer of the budget airlines market in India, is not worried by
the impending competition. “The launch of many new budget airlines is good for
all of us. The new players will help grow the market size and as the market
size grows so will the revenue of all airlines,” said GR Gopinath, CEO of Air
Deccan, said. “I think the aviation sector has all the ingredients to replicate
the success of the booming mobile telephone business in India. As the
competition heats up and prices come down, more or more people will prefer to
fly.” “India’s aviation sector is very small as compared to its population. The
country handles some 600 flights a day whereas the Singapore airport alone
handles 3,200 flights. Air travel in India should be as fundamental as
breathing.
The Himalayan Times, May 10,
2005
keyterms: Cosmic Air, Nepal, Fokker 100,
aircraft, airplane, aviation, budget airines
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Sky beds - flat bed
Vliegtuigongelukken Nepal
verzekeringen /
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(goedkope) vliegticket /
creditcards
18-10-2011
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