Local carriers back on unprofitable routes

Mumbai: With crude oil prices touching the lowest in eight months at $89 a barrel, aviation majors are back in business in unprofitable routes which had earlier been terminated. During the last six months, almost all the players opted out of routes originating from Cochin, Chennai, Jaipur, Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai. Full fledged and budget airlines now plan to capitalise the reduction in ATF prices by expanding routes and offsetting losses. There are, however, no plans yet to slash air fares, industry officials said.
For instance, Jet Airways will be re-introducing flights between Kolkata and North East sector and will increase the frequencies too. It's likely to put JetLite on these routes. it has also launched three new daily services from Hyderabad to Visakhapatnam, Goa and Pune with ATR 72-500 aircraft.
The largest low-cost carrier IndiGo expanded its route network by introducing four new flights connecting Chennai with Kolkata and Pune, taking the total number of its flights to 99 and connecting 17 destinations.
South India's market leader Parmount Airways, which operates in the high-end segment (business class), has forayed into the western region. The airline is now planning to launch a national network during the next two quarters.
Even, the second largest low cost carrier SpiceJet has introduced new flights enhancing connectivity on its existing network. The airline is operating from Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Coimbatore on a daily basis.
And if the federation of Indian aviation has its way, each domestic airline could get aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at about 25% less than the current price leading to further smooth expansions of carriers.
07/10/08 Mithun Roy/Economic Times

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2008