Party in the sky

This week, Tiger Airways announced the launch of its services from Singapore to Chennai and Kochi with a one-way, basic introductory fare of only Rs 1,599, or more likely just under Rs 10,000 for a return flight, including all taxes.
Nok Air is here with connections to Bangkok from Bangalore for as low as Rs 11,000. And an additional Rs 5,500 will buy you a return fare between Bangkok and Phuket, including two nights? accommodation at a hotel there. Or you might choose to fly Jazeera Airways on a shopping binge to Dubai for a return fare of Rs 10,500.
If that sounds exciting, wait for the whole bouquet of offers coming your way. Thanks to low-cost international airlines, Indians will fly cheaper and more frequently, particularly to destinations within Asia. Besides Tiger Airways, Nok Air and Jazeera, other players in the fray include RAK Airways and Sama Airways ? and that?s not counting the homegrown carriers which will compete for air passengers at similar, if not cheaper, fares.
All this because low-cost carriers are taking advantage of India?s liberal air agreements to connect the country with destinations in South-east Asia and the Gulf. At a time when consolidation in Indian skies (Air India-Indian, Jet-Sahara and Air Deccan-Kingfisher) could see a strengthening in prices, the new flush of arrivals is a welcome signal for Indian passengers.
Already, the coming months will see the new entrants add 100-odd flights a week to the gateway metros as well as to Kochi, Nagpur, Amritsar and Kozhikode. From the Gulf itself, where 40,000 seats are on offer every week to India, experts say the new rush will lead to an expansion in capacity by 25 per cent or 10,000 new seats being added by the summer of 2008. And Dubai ? one of the hottest destinations from India ? could experience a 33 per cent increase in capacity in the next 12 months.
07/07/07 Surajeet Das Gupta, P R Sanjai, Anirban Chowdhury/Business Standard

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Categories: Foreign Jul 2007, General Aviation Jul 2007