Airlines bank on rising traffic to the United States

Chennai: India’s air carriers are set to launch an all-out offensive to tap the growing traffic to the United States this coming year, and passengers can expect more travel options and lower fares as competition on U.S. routes will become more intense than ever before.
On August 27, Kingfisher Airlines will launch a non-stop service from Bangalore to San Francisco. It will likely introduce non-stop flights from Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi to New York as well as a Chennai-San Francisco service by September or October. The year 2007 saw Jet Airways end Air India’s monopoly among Indian carriers on U.S. routes, and Kingfisher’s entry is set to reduce their margins further.
Jet Airways and Air India enjoyed considerable success in their New York sectors last year: Jet’s load factors were close to the 90 per cent mark and Air India’s, at 80-85 per cent.
According to the latest forecast of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the significant growth in international travel that India saw last year is likely to continue in 2008, although at slightly lower rates. International travel increased by 10.8 per cent in 2007, and the IATA forecasts that it will grow by 9.6 per cent next year.
25/01/08 Ananth Krishnan/The Hindu

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Categories: Foreign Jan 2008, Indian Aviation- In General Jan 2008