New Hyderabad airport: Low-cost airlines fret over ground handling charges

Hyderabad: Having got more time to shift operations to the new airport at Hyderabad, the low-cost airlines continue to hold discussions with ground handling companies Menzies Aviation-Bobba and SATS-Indian Airlines for a lower fee.
Though there is no change in landing and parking charges at the new airport, it is the issue of ground-handling charges that bother the low-cost airlines more. They fear that the cost of operations would go up significantly.
“We will be paying Rs 17,000-Rs 19,000 for ground handling expenses for every flight we operate to the new airport. The comparative figure for the Begumpet airport is around Rs 5,000-Rs 7,000,” a Spicejet spokesperson told Business Line.
When contacted, a GMR Hyderabad International Airport spokesman said the figure is inflated. Accepting that the original figure was in that bracket, he said the cost could be about Rs 5,000 for an ATR and Rs 9,500 for A-320 and Boeing 737s.
“The services we offer will match the IATA standards. We told them (the two players who got the ground-handling bid) not to outsource staff to ensure better security,” he said, attributing the increased charges to this count.
The other two major components of additional cost on low-cost airlines are fee on oil and transportation costs of staff, particularly pilots and air-hostesses.
An airliner would have to pay a fee of Rs 2,100 for every kilo litre they buy from the open access fuel farm operated by Reliance.
17/03/08 K.V. Kurmanath/Business Line

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Categories: Airports Mar 2008, Low Cost General Mar 2008