Private Indian carriers may soon launch GCC flights

The lifting of a moratorium on certain Indian airlines from flying abroad could bring a flood of new carriers serving the Gulf.
The government’s three-year policy of insulating the foreign routes of Air India and Indian Airlines from its domestic competitors ends in January 2008, according to Gaurang Shetty, vice-president of marketing at Jet Airways, one of India’s largest airlines.
When that happens, Jet and Kingfisher Airlines will both launch routes to Dubai, Muscat, and other Gulf cities, according to executives from both companies. The new competition will be felt by the incumbent airlines from India and the UAE alike, raising questions of whether the market is big enough for new players.
Jet, which operates more than 340 flights to destinations in India as well as Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and London, will allocate A330 aircraft for the new routes, Shetty said.
Kingfisher, which recently acquired Air Deccan, will transfer around 10 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft to fly to Gulf states as early as January, according to Sudhan Thomas, a regional director at Kingfisher.
06/07/07 Travel & Tourism News Middle East, Bahrain

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Categories: Foreign Jul 2007, General Aviation Jul 2007