Airlines bet on speed to beat rival rail

New Delhi: The railways today reduced fares on all air-conditioned classes but airlines remained unimpressed by the small cuts.
The non-plussed airlines feel trains will have to learn to fly first to beat them, something which the Indian Railways says it may do in the future with trains travelling at the speed of 300-350 km per hour in dedicated high-speed corridors.
For the last two years, Lalu Prasad had been trying to counter low-cost airlines, which were eating into the traffic of prestigious trains such as the Rajdhani Express, by reducing fares in AC-I and AC-II classes.
The minister hopes that this year’s round of cuts will help bust competition.
Airlines, however, do not see any threat from the fare cut.
According to GoAir managing director Jeh Wadia, “The Indian passenger has always followed a process of upgrading as he moves up the economic ladder ... This trend will continue. This is because the Indian Railways cannot provide the time efficiency that air travel offers. Moreover, GoAir takes the launch of Go-Mumbai smart card as a huge compliment to the power of the Go brand.”
27/02/08 The Telegraph

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Feb 2008, Low Cost General Feb 2008