Private Airlines to Add More International Flights

Tuesday, 29th May 2012 at 03:06am

Private airlines, particularly the likes of Jet Airways, SpiceJet, and IndiGo, have announced earlier this month that they will add international flights bound to South East Asia, Middle East, and SAARC countries this coming summer. In addition, the Civil Aviation Ministry has allowed Jet Airways to introduce flights to the European cities of Paris, Munich, and Frankfurt during the winter season.

The private airlines mentioned are expected to magnify their existence in the international market, by first, capitalizing on the retraction of the Kingfisher airlines from the international routes. Currently, Indian airlines handle around 30% of international transfers to and from the country. According to analysts, this will probably go up by 10% after the Civil Ministry opened up new international routes and granted traffic rights to private airlines. This is further expected to grow another 10% more after five years.

SpiceJet, presently, offers flights to Colombo and Kathmandu. IndiGo, on the other hand, has services to Kathmandu, Muscat, Dubai, Singapore, and Bangkok. Jet Airways, whose international services make up as much as 60% of their revenue, has more than 20 international destinations, although it has recently withdrawn its services to Johannesburg.

According to insiders, Kingfisher's cancellation of its international flights gave a breather to other airlines like Jet Airways and Air India, before the latter suffered from its pilots' protest. Revenues increased from London, Singapore, and Hong Kong routes. As stated by an executive of Jet Airways, this has also helped the British Airways, which offers the London-Mumbai route.

Jet Airways is planning to add its fourth daily flight on the Mumbai-Dubai route, which is the busiest one from India. Air India, IndiGo, and Emirates currently have five daily flights to this route. SpiceJet has recently been allowed to introduce its Mumbai-Dubai flight. Competition from these airlines could lead to fares going down.

The air services between those countries are controlled by the Air Services Agreements that allow seat entitlements to the airline of both countries. When any of those two are permitted to fly on a specific international destination, the Civil Aviation Ministry will determine the number of seats that can be used per week, and the Civil Aviation Department of the other country will be informed about it. The airline of that country will then have to file their schedule and get clearance from the airport and the Civil Aviation Department before operating the flight.

By: Pete Lee.