Airline firms prune weekly flights by 20%

New Delhi: Domestic airlines scrapped more than 2,000 weekly flights in July, nearly one-fifth the number they operate, stepping up efforts to rein in losses stemming from record-high jet fuel prices and shrinking passenger numbers.
Declining passenger demand this year—the fallout of increased air fares—has forced airlines to prune capacity. As airlines chased market share at the expense of profits, the industry grew by nearly 33% in 2007 and 41% the year before.
The first half of this year saw modest 7.5% growth in the number of passengers from the year-ago period. Demand in June, the last month for which data has been released, shrank by 3.8% for the first time in four years.
From 10,922 domestic departures per week approved in March for the summer months this year, according to data compiled by the civil aviation ministry, airlines reduced flights to 8,778—or 2,144 cancellations—in July.
Flight rights are granted every season by the aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, or DGCA. The summer schedule for flights starts from the last Sunday of March every year and runs till the last Saturday of October; the winter schedule is in place by the last Sunday of October and runs till the last Saturday of March.
“Basically, we have gone back to 2005 (in terms of number of flights),” said a senior civil aviation ministry official, who did not wish to be identified, referring to the cut in flights sought by the airlines.
07/08/08 Tarun Shukla/P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2008