Budget carriers face fear factor

Bangalore: In India, a sizeable chunk of people, who have never flown before, are keeping away from small planes like ATRs due to fear factor. Even, doling out Re 1 and Rs 3 tickets may not be enough to attract them.
Further market expansion is linked to this fear syndrome. About 35-40% of travellers in low-cost carriers like Air Deccan, Spicejet and IndiGo are first-time flyers.
Analysts say load factor of low-cost carriers could improve by another 10% if this scare of boarding smaller aircraft is rooted out.
"There are some who link low-cost carriers with lack of safety,"says aviation consultant Praveen Paul. "That's unfortunate, but that's the case. Some people think that paying a low fare could mean greater risks."
Low-cost carriers like Air Deccan believe that the issue will take some time to settle.
26/09/06 Times of India