Domestic airlines looking at hybrid model

Mumbai: Several Indian airline companies are considering adopting a hybrid business model followed in the US that combines the strong points of full-service and low-fare carriers, after failing to reach a consensus on ticket prices and rationalizing the number of flights.
A marathon meeting late Friday, under the aegis of lobbying body Federation of Indian Airlines ended inconclusively as differences cropped up between low-fare carriers and full-service carriers. Domestic carriers, facing an estimated loss of about $2 billion (Rs8,580 crore) in the current financial year, met on 13 June to jointly evolve strategies that would bail them out.
“In the backdrop of high jet fuel costs and excess capacity in the market, Indian carriers are increasingly looking at the hybrid model,” said Saroj K. Datta, executive director with Jet Airways (India) Ltd, the country’s largest private airline by passengers carried.
In the hybrid model, for instance, a full-service carrier could adopt strict cost cutting measures that are normally followed by low-fare airlines, but without comprising on services offered to passengers.
Low-fare carriers could share ticket reservation systems used by full-service carriers or enter into code-share agreements with them.
15/06/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jun 2008