Airlines say business class buzzing again

Bangalore: Indian high flyers, who had been downgrading to economy class since last year, are now slowly returning to premium air travel as fares in that segment plunge and as they pick up positive signals from domestic and global economies.
M Thiagarajan, managing director of Paramount Airways, said premium travel saw a slight upswing of 3-4% in July compared to the month before, because of overall positive business sentiment.
Jet Airways also reportedly flew more business passengers in July than in June.Air India too is seeing its premium segment grow this month, at 10% y-o-y. Jitendra Bhargava, executive director-corporate communication, attributes the rise to relatively lower fares. He said it was also partly due to lower base effect. According to International Association of Air Transport, premium travel numbers were down 21.3% in June from 23.6% in May. IATA estimates revenues from premium seats was declining at close to 40% in the same months.
18/08/09 Praveena Sharma/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Aug 2009