Airlines shifting capacity to short-haul overseas routes

Mumbai: Diminishing market and eroding yields in the domestic sector are making local air carriers, which operate international flights, to migrate capacity to short-haul overseas destinations like Middle Eastern and Saarc countries.
Lately, all the three Indian international airlines - Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines and the state-owned Air India - have been aggressively expanding their services in the neighbouring regions even as they are cutting capacity in the domestic market.
Jet, for instance, has slashed 30% of its domestic capacity till now and plans to snip further 10% during the current year but it is furiously adding flights in the Gulf and South Asian region.
It operates 24 flights daily on these sectors and has announced the launch of Mumbai-Jeddah service on June 14 and Mumbai-Riyadh on June 28.
In a conference call with analysts late last month, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, chief executive officer of Jet Airways, said even as his airlines was downsizing in the domestic market, it was pursuing opportunities in the international market.
Jet's rival Kingfisher is also tapping potential on these routes.
The Vijay Mallya-owned airline, which dropped its ambitious international expansion plans of flying non-stop on long-haul sectors -- US and Europe, is not fighting shy of starting service on closer-to-home destinations like Colombo and Dhaka.
It is planning to launch an all-economy Bangalore-Dubai service from June 25 on an Airbus A320 and has got approval to fly to Chittagong, Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok. So, what's making short-haul foreign destinations attractive for local players?
Kapil Kaul, CEO - India and Middle East - Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), said in a scenario of slowdown in the local market, it makes sense for the airlines to shift capacity from the loss-making domestic routes to regional international market.
11/06/09 Archana Shukla/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Foreign Jun 2009, Indian Aviation- In General Jun 2009