Indian expat labour market on West Asian airlines` radar

Mumbai: State-owned Air-India dominated the West Asian travel market for Indian overseas workers for decades with a 51 per cent market share.
Now its low-fare subsidiary Air India Express, which flies 12 destinations across West Asia and has more flight frequencies than any other airlines, will be facing some stiff competition
Emirates, Sharjah-based Air Arabia, Kuwait-based Al Jazeera and Saudi Arabia-based Nas Air are among the airlines that either have launched or are launching low-cost services for this market, which alone accounts for over half the passengers who travel between India and West Asia.
Most are offering fares comparable with Air India Express, which are 65 per cent cheaper than full-fare airlines and are gaining about 1.5 per cent market share every month.
The market is growing at over 25 per cent a year and is expected to touch 60 million passengers by 2010.
The biggest challenge is coming from West Asia giant Dubai-based Emirates Airlines which recently announced a low-cost airline as a separate brand.
05/05/08 Manisha Singhal/Business Standard

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