India first: Airlines choose India to fuel growth
International carriers find flying to an economically resurgent India a profitable proposition.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: International carriers, who survived the airline industry slump in 2001 and are seeking to consolidate gains, find flying to an economically resurgent India a profitable proposition.
All international airlines that are on an expansion mode have made it a point to add an India gateway to their plans, be it Finnish national carrier Finnair, Delta Airlines or UAE's budget carrier Air Arabia.
Already, the likes of Qantas, which withdrew service post September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, has resumed flights to India. But the new entrants are confident that the India service would add to profits.
"When we (some years back) looked at the market from the tourism and culture point... we were very reluctant (to start services)... but expanding economy has convinced us that the service will be up and working," said Finnair deputy CEO Henrik Arle.
Finnair, which launched its first scheduled direct service between Helsinki and New Delhi on October 30, hopes to cater to business travellers, given the large number of Finnish companies, including Nokia, that have operations in India and vice-versa.
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The carrier is also looking at long term contracts with freight forwarders to tap into the cargo potential and hopes that cargo would account for 20-30 per cent of it revenues from the India service. The increased interest in India comes at a time when the country's economy has been expanding at an unprecedented 8 per cent in the last three years. The corporate India has been showing a wonderful earnings record and is expanding overseas through acquisitions and mergers. India hopes the economy will grow by 10 per cent in 2011-12, the last year of the 11th five year plan.
India has already enlarged the scope of air services agreement with several countries, including the US.
Last month, low-cost airline, Air Arabia, inaugurated its daily Airbus-320 flights from Sharjah to Chennai, making its the fifth Indian destination for the airline.
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Also, other middle-east carriers are on an expansion mode. Dubai-based carrier Emirates launched services to new the Indian IT-hub Bengalooru (Bangalore) last week. Besides Etihad Airways, which had launched operations to India in 2004, said it plans to fly to more Indian cities, including Kochi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Kolkata by next year. "If everything goes well, we may start operating regular flights to Kochi from next year," Raymond Korban, regional general manager of Etihad Airways (UAE and Oman), said. Sri Lankan Airlines too commenced flights to Goa on October 30.
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