According to OAG's (Official Airline Guide) March 2009 report, the world's airlines have scheduled 4.9% fewer flights for March 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 3.3% drop in capacity, according to the latest statistics from OAG, the world's leading aviation data business.

This is the eighth successive month of declines, and represents a reduction of more than 122,000 flights and 9.8 million seats year on year. The total number of flights scheduled to operate worldwide this month is 2.38 million, offering 289.8 million seats to travellers around the globe.

Within this global figure of all scheduled passenger flight operations, the low cost sector accounts for 419,000 flights (18%) and 61.9 million seats (21%). Frequencies and capacity in the low cost sector are both showing a marginal 0.8% decline for March 2009 compared to March 2008.

Global airline schedules for the first quarter 2009 have dropped by 6.7%, or 491,000 fewer flights, the first since the double impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the burst of the dot.com bubble. Capacity for this quarter also has fallen by 4.4%, representing a reduction of 38.6 million seats.

Download the full report here.

The crash of FedEx MD-11 freighter registration number N526FE performing flight 80, from Guangzhou, China at the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita has caused major disruptions in flight schedules.

The crash has shut down the 4,000 meter (13,123 ft) long main runway 16R/34L.

Map should not be used for navigation

The airport is forced to rely on the secondary Runway 16L/34R which, at 2,180 meters (7,152 ft) is just about half the the length of the main runway.

Narita is the main gateway to Japan's capital Tokyo, and home to all of Tokyo's intercontinental flights, many of which are operated by the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet. Unfortunately Boeing B747 and Airbus A380 operations are not permitted on the secondary runway. Even wide bodies like the Boeing 777, 767, MD-11, Airbus A340 and A330, will not be able to carry a full complement of passengers, baggage and fuel.


Air travel to and from Tokyo is going to be hard today.

Please use these links for real-time information from Narita airport on international flight arrivals and international flight departures.

Do contact your airline and determine what is their situation, what arrangements are being made or alternatives they suggest. Here is a list of all the airlines operating at Narita airport.

See two videos of the crash.

Driven by the whopping discounts offered by airlines, domestic passenger traffic in India, increased very marginally, to 3.336 million in February 2009, up from 3.326 million in January.

Kingfisher Airlines retained the top spot as India's largest domestic carrier for the month with 904,000 passengers representing a 27% market share. Jet group which includes the low cost subsidiary Jet Lite had a combined traffic of 846,000 or 25% market share.


IndiGo jumped to the top spot with passenger load factors of 82 per cent.


Airlines are expecting better results in March, the fiscal year end, and in April-May-June, the traditional summer holiday travel period. The massive fare discounts offered in February have also resulted in sales for travel during the holiday period.

David Learmount at FlightGlobal has done an excellent analysis of the Global airline accidents. In the last ten years, 2008 is the second lowest, after 2004, in terms of fatalities.

Simple figures paint the picture: in 2003 there were 27 fatal airline accidents causing 702 deaths, and in 2008 there were 34 fatal accidents and 583 deaths. In the interim years the figures show that the trend for fatal accident numbers and the fatalities total are tracking the horizontal almost precisely. Although the number of deaths last year was relatively low at 583, the best result in the past decade was 466 in 2004.

One particular section regarding a breakdown in trust between pilots and their airlines is disconcerting.

The pilots at American Airlines and US Airways have both, independently, suspended their participation in their respective carrier's aviation safety action programme (ASAP), a voluntary incident reporting scheme intended to encourage the reporting of mishaps of all kinds that might otherwise have gone unnoticed.

FlightGlobal's complete list of all accident for 2008, in PDF format, can be downloaded here.

2008 was a torrid year for domestic airlines in India, as recently released figures by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) show.

Domestic passenger traffic for the year 2008 fell 5% from 42.58 million to 40.77 million (Fig. 1), driven by the increase in fuel costs, and the massive hikes in air fares, which are yet to fully retreat, and capacity reductions by the airlines.


The Low Cost Carriers (LCCs) Indigo, SpiceJet, and JetLite, improved their market shares at the expense of Full Service Carriers (FCCs) Air India, Jet Airways, and Kingfisher Airlines. IndiGo is the big winner this year with a four per cent market share gain. Air India (the former Indian Airlines), gave up a big three per cent share. (Fig. 2)

The notable exception is Go Air (now called No Go Air due to its numerous flight cancellations), and the former Air Deccan, now christened Kingfisher Red after their acquisition. Kingfisher Red lost five per cent market share, while Kingfisher Airlines gained only three per cent, resulting in an overall loss of two per cent market share to competitors. Clearly the strategy at Kingfisher is not working.


While most airlines and airline groups lost in actual passenger numbers, LCCs IndiGo, SpiceJet, JetLite (the former Air Sahara now a subsidiary of Jet Airways), and Paramount, gained passengers. (Fig. 3).

The capacity swapping at Kingfisher group is clearly visible, and when performance of both Kingfisher Airlines and Kingfisher Red is combined, actual passenger numbers went down 10.5 per cent, from 12.56 million to 11.25 million.


The first two quarters of 2008, provided no clue to the excess capacity in the Indian airline industry. The "perfect storm" of increased fuel prices and reduced economic activity started rearing its ugly head towards the end of Q2 (April, May, June), and kicked the industry in it's teeth in Q3, with a mind numbing 25 per cent drop in traffic. (Fig. 4). Q4 has provided some seasonal relief, but Q1 of 2009 will see numbers dropping back again.


With the exception of Paramount, which has a small niche regional market, all the airlines saw massive drops in passengers in Q3. (Fig. 5). Most airlines staged a recovery in Q4, but the surprise is Jet Airways. It's passenger numbers tanked almost 20 per cent in Q3 and continued the downfall by another 15 per cent in Q4.


The market share of LCCs followed the increase in air fares, as passengers shifted from the FSCs. SpiceJet share in Q3 reflected its financial problems, prior to the Ross bailout. (Fig. 6)

It is an ignominious performance that the pioneer in the air travel bubble, Air Deccan (now Kingfisher Red) has lost over six per cent market share over the year. Clearly many of the "first time flier" passengers have chosen not to repeat, either returning back to trains and buses, or moving to other carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet.


The data highlights the price sensitive nature of the Indian traveller. IndiGo appears to have a winning formula with its low prices and efficient service. Fancy gimmicks do not work. At a time of economic slowdown, the FSCs have to get their act together quickly. By holding fuel surcharges to unjustifiably high levels, they are surrendering ground to the LCCs and surface transport.

The current slowing economy needs an extra large dose of stimulus to bring it back on track. Unlike previous slowdowns, this time a 360 degree effort is required to prime the pump and beat the "FUD" factor (Fear Uncertainty Doubt).

The government has to do it's part and focus on areas like infrastructure and other plan expenditure, the companies have to do their share, improve efficiency and reduce prices, and this time around, we the consumers are also going to have to do our bit, spending a bit more than we are comfortable with, even though we face FUD.

In the aviation sector the government has done a little bit like extending credit periods and partially reducing some taxes on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) , but it needs to bite the bullet of populism, and place ATF in the declared list, to ensure a uniform 4% tax across the nation. Government has to resist the political need to distribute populist largess, in the face of elections that are looming around the corner.

I doubt, the airline companies have fully appreciated the fact, that survival, and only then, growth, will be realized, if there is more revenue and with it, potentially greater profits. Selling more products or services is a challenge in the best of times, but in the current economic environment, regardless of business segment, it is a monumental challenge, most especially if one imagines maintaining current price points.

As consumers, all around us, we are seeing prices falling. Be it cars, trucks, two-wheelers, electronics, industrial goods, clothing, even consumer consumables like toiletries, cosmetics, and higher-end restaurants. The exceptions being the two major "F"s - fuel and food, and airline ticket prices, at least in India.

Following the lead of the private counterparts in the car, two-wheeler, who have begun announcing price cutting deals, and have even passed on the savings of the 4% reduction in Central VAT (Cenvat) to customers, the airline companies too have to pitch in and bring down their fares drastically, if they are to return passengers and cargo to the skies, until now, lost to road and rail.

Instead of learning from the global airline industry, the Indian airline industry seems to be playing the same goodwill loosing strategy as that of the Indian real estate industry, who continues to blame high interest rates as the reason for their lot in life, just as airlines continue to whip the fuel demon.

We keep hearing from airlines that fuel represents about 40%~50% of their total operating costs, and that taxation on ATF must be reduced. Most passengers agree on both statements. But, when fuel prices have retreated by almost 50% from a high of Rs. 71 per litre to Rs. 38 per litre, and yet the fuel surcharge levied by airlines is brought down by a paltry 13%, that too at the behest of government "suggestions", the airlines will have to face the cynicism and a complete lack of sympathy of the general populace, and may be, even some of the ministers.

In any organisation, may be with the exception of government, and some of most the iconic luxury brands, the first response to any slowdown is to cut costs, improve efficiencies, and offer customers a better price . The cost cutting could be anything from nominal to extreme, but the more the better.

India, and Indians, are renowned as one the most cost-conscious buyers on the planet. Give them a good deal, and they will flock to you. Keep prices high, and, you better have a big wad of cash sitting in the safe for your fixed costs, for you are going to be one very lonely organisation; and that is the downward spiral to bankruptcy.

The deepening economic crises are forcing the hands of the private airlines in India.

Manisha Singhal of the Business Standard reports that airlines have sought a bailout of almost $1 billion (Rs. 4,700 Crore) amidst losses expected to reach $2 billion this year. Take a cue from the recent $440 million (Rs. 2,000 Crore) bailout of NACIL, the national airline, airline chiefs recently made a presentation to the Prime Minister’s Office to this effect and government sources said some of their demands may be accepted.

What airlines want

• Interest-free loan with a “bullet” (one-time) repayment after three years
• ATF be put under ‘declared goods’ for uniform sales tax
• Reduction or withdrawal of duty on spare parts for aircraft maintenance
• Scrapping customs and central excise on ATF
• 50% reduction in airport landing, route and terminal navigation charges for 24 months
• Freeze on further increases in airport service charges

The concessions requested include an interest-free loan with a “bullet” (one-time) repayment after three years, putting aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in the “declared goods” category for sales tax relief and scrapping customs (5.15 per cent) and central excise (8.54 per cent) on the fuel.

The industry has also asked for a reduction or withdrawal of duty on spare parts for aircraft maintenance. Airlines have also asked for a 50 per cent reduction in airport landing, route and terminal navigation charges for 24 months for domestic operations and a freeze on increase in airport service charges, sources close to the development said.

While the civil aviation ministry hopes that its finance counterpart will soon accept the demand to bracket ATF in the declared goods category, to ensure uniformity and help the airlines save on fuel costs, it is unlikely demands to reduce airport charges, and route and navigation charges will be considered.

Airline companies have been unable to garner investor interest or raise money from institutions to fund their losses and expansion plans.

Private carriers like Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways have commenced "re-organisation" of international operations. Today it annouced, effective January 13, 2009, it will discontinue its Mumbai - Shanghai - San Francisco route, and serve its SFO bound passengers on codeshares with United via London.

No sympathy
While, the airlines are hoping for some positive response from the government soon, they do not have much sympathy from either industry experts or the general public.

Many aviation experts say airlines are themselves to be blamed for the financial crisis. “Could they not see the writing on the wall that crude, as a commodity, will go up? They made their biggest mistake when they started competing with the Indian Railways,” said an aviation analyst who did not wish to be identified.

Just last week, the airlines appeared to be willing to add special fees in the ticket price to cover travel agents' commissions costs, earning them the ire of the travelling populace.

Impact on airports
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), has joined the ranks of other airports in India, Bengaluru International Airport (BIAL), and GMR Hyderabad International Airport (GHIAL), to demand imposition of User Development Fees on passengers. Aviation experts are cautioning about the exaggerated negative impact of these fees, on the Indian aviation industry especially in these tough times. Airports are stuck between a rock and hard place, with no easy options available.

Related articles :

Fuel Populism killing Indian aviation

Air passengers to pay yet another fee

I read the following story in the TravelBizMonitor (TBM) with a big pinch of salt.

In paragraph two of the TBM article, Dr. Vijay Mallya, Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, is quoted as saying he is completely against charging the UDF as part of the ticket. Yet airlines are perfectly at ease over-charging passengers a "transaction fee" to cover the travel agent commission, even when you do not fly and turn the ticket in for a refund (See my articles 1 and 2 on this subject).

Travel agents too are an external agency just like BIAL would be. What justification do the airlines have to offer for this blatant discrimination against BIAL ?

Bengaluru International Airport will charge UDF for domestic passengers
Implementation date and amount to be decided
By TBM Staff | Bangalore
Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) will charge a User Development Fee (UDF) for domestic passengers but the amount and the date of implementation is yet to be decided. The decision is still being reviewed by the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and the operator is awaiting the decision. “Although it is a new concept for Indian domestic passengers the concept was agreed upon while signing the concession agreement. We realise that the aviation industry is witnessing a slow down and the carriers are facing constraints but the airport too requires the UDF for its functioning and future growth,” informed Albert Brunner, CEO, Bangalore International Airport Limited.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had earlier issued a notice to all domestic airlines asking them to collect the fee while issuing their tickets. The GMR Hyderabad International Airport in Hyderabad is already charging UDF of Rs 375 for domestic passengers as part of the ticket cost. The passenger is allowed to pay the fee either before checking in or after collecting the boarding card. It is yet to be seen how Bengaluru International Airport will collect the fee from passengers. “We are not against the concept of UDF for domestic passengers but we will not incorporate it as part of the fare. BIA can collect it on their own,” said Vijay Mallya, Chairman, Kingfisher Airlines, at a recent press conference announcing the launch of the airlines’ international operations.

In the same article, TBM reports
Meanwhile the expansion plans of BIA are still going strong. The first expansion of the apron is already underway and is expected to be completed shortly. The second phase of expansion will include extending the current terminal building to accommodate the increase in passenger traffic. The operator is confident of handling the passenger traffic for the next couple of years with the existing infrastructure. It will also construct a second terminal and runway, which will take at least another three to four years.

I do not know if something has changed in the last month. When I visited BIAL on the 6/Sep, all work on the apron was stopped. (See my visit report). Quoting from my visit report :

While driving around, I observed that the apron extension to the west of the PTB, is on hold. I was told "we are waiting for the UDF issue to be resolved". For brief while, I had the disturbing question floating in my head. Is BIAL out of money ?

I later learnt from some people at the airport (who shall remain anonymous), the apron expansion was given to some fly-by-night contractor and not L&T who constructed the first apron. Cost was the reason, for awarding the contract, and also the contractor fleeing, when he realised the true magnitude of work.

Can some from BIAL confirm, via a comment, if the apron expansion work has re-started.

The air transport cartel is at it, again. In all too familiar theme, we passengers must get ready to pay one more "fee".

Readers will recall that airlines decided to scrap travel agent commissions, in India, effective October 31, 2008. This move by the airlines, created an uproar in the industry and led to strikes and protests. Presently, airlines pay 5% of the base fare as sales commission on tickets issued by travel agents, without any charge to passengers.

According to the Deccan Chronicle, airlines and travel agents have mutually decided to add a new component, to be called a "transaction fee", which would be a minimum of Rs 350 for domestic and maximum of Rs 10,000 for international tickets, which will replace the existing commission.

The transaction fee will be euphemistically reflected as “other charges” on the ticket. This is over and above, other fees and surcharges like fuel surcharge, air traffic congestion surcharge, user development fee, and passenger service fee, already charged to passengers.

God forbid, the airlines defile the holy altar of "low air fares" and incorporate all these charges, which make up almost 75% of the total cost of the ticket, in to their fares.

Reportedly, the transaction fee will be at least Rs 350 on domestic air tickets for the economy class, and Rs 500 for business class.

The fee on international air tickets will be Rs 1,200-2,400 (economy), Rs 2,000-5,000 (business) and Rs 5,000-10,000 (for first class tickets). These charges will be uniform across airlines, including low-cost carriers such as SpiceJet, Indigo, Kingfisher Red, etc.

At a time when everyone is cutting back on expenses, with this new arrangement, travel agents will earn double of what they are getting right now, all for no additional effort, and all of it, on us, passengers' backs.

If you think you can avoid this mutual back-scratching "fleece the passenger party", and book directly from the airlines' websites or offices, think again. Air tickets booked through airline websites or their offices will also attract the transaction fee, and conveniently, this fee will be earned by the airline. Oh what joy. The competition which allows me to differentiate between good and bad travel agents, and enables me to demand value for money service, is simply overwhelming.

I wonder why is Mr. Patel asking for tax relief on aviation fuel ? By asking their passengers to needlessly pay even more, the air transport industry in India, seems to have already overcome this perfect storm of slowing demand coupled with rising costs.

See related story "Travel agents need to earn their income"

Manisha Singhal / Mumbai, Business Standard

For decades, more than 70 per cent of the business and first-class passenger market between India and Singapore has been controlled by Singapore International Airlines (SIA).

But home grown Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is all set to challenge that with daily flights to the island city starting September 18 from Mumbai, a move that has prompted SIA to respond by adding more India-Singapore flights and increasing discounts.

Kingfisher is wooing SIA’s high-margin business and first-class passengers by deploying the state-of-the-art Airbus A330 and offering premium services.

“We are positioning ourselves as a premium Indian carrier with a ‘wow’ product on the route,” said Rajesh Verma, executive vice-president, Kingfisher Airlines.

“We are aware that there are established carriers like Singapore Airlines flying for years and they have deep pockets too. But we will get loads because we will offer a competitive product at competitive pricing,” he added.

The twin configuration A330 will have just 30 seats on Kingfisher First and 187 King Class seats (which are economy seats — Kingfisher does not have a business class).

First-class passengers will also be pampered with a chef on board, professional bar-tender, a jacket ironing facility and a social area with seat massages

SIA is already responding to the challenge by launching five more morning flights a week from Delhi, taking the total to 14 services a week ex Delhi.

“We are also looking at an increase of frequencies to Bangalore but that is slated for later in the year,” said Foo Chai Woo, general manager India, Singapore Airlines.

“Our aspirations will be to operate double daily to Chennai and Bangalore just like Mumbai currently. Looking ahead, we also need to increase flights to other key cities like Hyderabad as the market develops further,” Foo added.

Singapore Airlines executives said the airline is also offering discounts of between 33 and 66 per cent on return economy fares on its new flights. This will lead to some fare wars on the route as Kingfisher also has to fill its economy seats.

Kingfisher, however, says that it does not want to get into a price war but will respond to any challenge.

Travel trade experts point out that for Kingfisher the timing is right as it will launch just as the leisure season picks up. Load factors during the festival season go up 40 per cent between October and December.

Kingfisher Airlines - Air Deccan will commence its much awaited international operations on September 3, 2008, offering Bangalore to London Heathrow non-stop service using its newly arrived Airbus A330 aircraft.

As per the airline website, the schedules are :

BLR-LHR IT1 0840 - 1450
LHR-BLR IT2 2205 - 1235+1

More details on the Kingfisher website.

Totally four A330 aircraft have arrived. While other schedules are yet to be announced, it is almost certain that Mumbai - London will be the next city pair to be served, followed by Bangalore - Singapore by late September. All using the A330 aircraft.

The ultra long range Airbus A340-500 aircraft are expected to arrive by end September. There is intense business planning on the Bangalore - San Francisco non-stop. Sky high fuel prices (pardon the pun), have forced many carriers like Thai to discontinue their A340-500 ultra long haul non-stop operations, or like Singapore Airlines to covert their service in to an all business class format.

Dr. Vijay Mallya is a maverick business leader, which deep pockets, and renowned for his bold decisions. Given the high passenger demand between "Silicon Plateau" and "Silicon Valley", I would not be surprised, if he commences the Bangalore San Francisco service, by early October, regardless of the fuel economics.

Bangalore - Hong Kong - San Francisco is another possible route.

All the Asian carriers operating from Bangalore, Singapore, Thai, Malaysian, Dragonair, are bound to feel the impact of Dr. Mallya's entry, and it will behoove them to forge interline alliances with him.

19 Aug, 2008, IANS

NEW DELHI: The national consumer redressal body has pulled up Kingfisher Airlines for adopting an unfair trade practice by misinforming passengers about the airline they were flying by.

J.K. Mittal bought a Delhi-Bhubaneswar return ticket on a March 8 Kingfisher flight over the internet from the airline's website. He paid Rs.4,800 each way.

When he reached the airport, he was told at the check-in counter that Kingfisher Airlines did not have a flight between Delhi and Bhubaneswar. Mittal was asked to take an Air Deccan flight instead.

The ticket for an Air Deccan flight cost Rs.2,500 each way while Mittal had paid Rs.4,800, he pointed out when he approached the National Consumer Redressal Commission.

Mittal, a lawyer, contended in his petition that the trade practice adopted by Kingfisher Airlines was unfair and should be prevented. He demanded Rs.50 million as punitive damages, to be given to the Consumer Welfare Fund set up by the commission.

Kingfisher Airlines lawyer M.N. Krishnamani told the commission that if Mittal had suffered a loss, he should have gone to the district forum. He also described the Rs.50 million claim as "totally exaggerated".

In his interim order, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission president M.B. Shah said he was not going into the exaggeration or otherwise of the claim at this stage.

But he ordered the airline "not to indulge in such unfair trade practice. A copy of this order be also sent to Director General of Civil Aviation for appropriate action," said the commission.

Krishnamani had also said that Consumer Voice, an NGO, ought not to have joined the case as a party at the request of Mittal.

Rejecting this contention of the airline, the commission said: "This contention appears to be without any substance, because consumer organisations are required to take up such causes for preventing unfair trade practices and under the Consumer Protection Act they are entitled to file such complaints".

Foreign airlines flock to India, ignore global downturn

India is seen as a growing market for international airline traffic and the current market size is nearly $5 billion (Rs 21,000 cr) a year

They are cutting flights to several destinations in the wake of a worldwide slump in business, but international airlines are doing just the opposite in India because they believe the country’s international air traffic will only grow in the coming years.

Interestingly, this comes even as the domestic aviation business is going through a downturn.

Large carriers already operating here such as British Airways and Emirates are either increasing the number of flights to Indian cities they already fly to, or beginning to fly to new cities, while smaller players such RAK Airways and Garuda Indonesia are starting to fly into the country.

India is seen as a growing market for international airline traffic and the current market size is nearly $5 billion (Rs21,000 crore) a year, said a senior official with a foreign airline.

“India, with its huge middle-class population of over 250 million, is like an untapped gold mine,” said K. Ravindran, chief operating officer, RAK Airways, which started operations in India from April, flying between Kozhikode and Ras al-Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. “With its present international travel market not even covering 2% of the population, the country offers large opportunities for airlines. India is an important geographic area in all our future network plans.”

ON THE RADAR

Kapil Kaul, chief executive officer (Indian subcontinent and West Asia) of consulting firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, said India is a critical destination for international airlines based on the “various dynamics of competition and consolidation of their network”.

“So, when a rebound happens there (in global markets), these carriers will have an advantage as they would have already built capacities in India,” he added.

Deutsche Lufthansa AG, Singapore Airlines Ltd, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, British Airways Plc. (BA) and Emirates are in the process of increasing the frequency of their flights and connecting new destinations here.

Hong Kong Dragon Airlines Ltd (an affiliate of Cathay Pacific), Saudi Arabia’s Sama LelTayaran Co. Ltd (popularly known as Sama), and AirAsia Berhad are also launching operations in the country.

This surge, Kaul said, is also because international airlines are trying to gain a foothold in the India-bound market before domestic private carriers Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd grow into a threat.

Jet launched its international operations in 2004 and Kingfisher will start flying overseas routes from September.

“Other reasons include a nearly liberalized bilateral government policy with other countries and sustained economic growth amidst recession,” he added.

For instance, Emirates, which recently increased the frequency of its Delhi-Dubai flights, is readying for another round of expansion by increasing the number of flights to Hyderabad and Bangalore from October.

Singapore Airlines is also adding five flights on its Delhi-Singapore sector from September, taking its total flights to Indian cities to 63.

“We will be adding two more flights in Bangalore as India is our key market,” said Gunjn Chanana, public relations manager for India at Singapore Airlines, without disclosing the airline’s growth rates here. “We believe there is potential (for more) growth.”

“India today is by far the largest single market for Qatar Airways with a network of nine cities, which represents more than 10% of our global network of 83 international routes,” said Qatar Airways’ chief executive officer Akbar Al Baker in an email.

Qatar Airways added Kozhikode as its ninth destination in India in June.

The global aviation industry is waging a losing battle against rising aviation fuel costs, which have increased 30% this year.

However, international airlines expect potential passenger growth from India to nullify the impact over the long term.

“For example, we have registered a load factor of 86% during the first half of this year in the India-Sharjah sector,” said Housam Raydan, corporate communications manager, Air Arabia PJSC which operates 86 flights a week between Sharjah and India.

Much of the rise in international air travel from India is driven by traffic to South-East Asian countries, while demand for destinations in the US, Australia and New Zealand is also increasing.

“The overall (number of) Indian arrivals to Malaysia from January to May 2008 is 234,245, a growth of 32.5% from last year. Similarly, Singapore has also witnessed above-average growth,” said Neelu Singh, chief operating officer, Ezeego1.com, a Mumbai-based online travel agency.

Naresh Goyal, founder chairman of Jet Airways, had said in an earlier conversation with Mint that Indian airlines pose a serious threat to international carriers on account of the quality of their service.

He had added that Jet, which earns nearly half of its operating revenues from international operations, would extend its global reach to other cities in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia in phases.

“However, international carriers will have to be a bit cautious in increasing their capacities considering the current downturn,” said Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive officer of Jet Airways.

His warning holds merit as three carriers—Linee Aeree Italiane SpA (Alitalia), Eva Air (Taiwan) and British Midland Airways Ltd—have suspended their Indian operations over the past two years, because of intense competition.

Ryanair Ltd, United Air Lines Inc., US Airways Inc., Qantas Airways Ltd and BA have either deferred, or cancelled their international flights to various cities owing to the high jet fuel prices.

Source : The Mint

Paramount Airways adds new routes to its network
Will enhance operations from 62 flights to 66 flights a day in the following weeks
By TBM Staff | Chennai

Madurai based, Paramount Airways is planning to enhance its operations from 62 flights a day to 66 flights a day in the following weeks. The new routes include Bangalore-Vishakapatnam (direct), Chennai-Vishakapatnam (direct) and Chennai-Tiruchipalli (daily). Paramount Airways will also double the frequency of its flights on the Chennai-Tiruvananthapuram route. The airline also plans to launch flights on Chennai-Pune route by July end or first week of August this year. It will induct two new Embraer aircraft in its fleet by end of next month, taking its fleet size to nine. The airline is expanding its route network at a time when most carriers are cutting routes to reduce losses on account of the rising cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).

According to M Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airways, they have not been affected due to the rising ATF prices, since they do not cater to the train passengers like most other low cost carriers. Paramount Airways, which caters to the top end of the market feels, that the price elasticity of their customers is better and an increase of Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 in the fares does not affect its target group. As per the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) statistics, Paramount Airways recorded the highest seat factor for May, 2008. The seat factor for Paramount was 81.2 per cent, while that for Air India (domestic), Jet Airways, Deccan and Kingfisher Airlines was recorded at 61.2 per cent, 73.9 per cent, 71.5 per cent and 70.1 per cent respectively.

Source : TravelBiz Monitor