Air India to convert several business class flights to all-economy

New Delhi: Air India, the flag carrier operated by National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), will replace several of its West Asian flights that offer business class travel with all-economy flights of its discount carrier in an attempt to reduce costs and increase revenue.
Business class travel has been declining globally amid an economic slowdown, according to numbers released by the International Air Transport Association, an airline lobbying group. Global travel on premium tickets declined 23.8% in May from a year earlier; economy travel was down 7.6% in the same month.
“There is hardly any business class required (in West Asia),” said an Air India official, who didn’t want to be named.
The carrier’s low-cost affiliate, Air India Express, operates 186 flights a week between India and West Asia and South-East Asia. The airline will increase its services to West Asia to make up for the flights Air India plans to pull, said a government official who asked not to be named.
Air India has committed to undertake an overhaul of its business operations, restructure its massive Rs15,241 crore debt, raise funds through a public offering in fiscal 2011 and convert three out of four of its flights into low-fare services.
20/08/09 Tarun Shukla/Livemint

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Categories: Air India - International Aug 2009, Foreign Aug 2009, NACIL Aug 2009