Is India Ready for the A380?

New Delhi’s swanky Terminal 3 has only had a fleeting visit from the world’s largest and most modern passenger aircraft, the A380 super jumbo.
So what’s stopping airlines from flying the big bird to India?
The simple answer is India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is doing the equivalent of flashing the dreaded yellow and red lights that keep aircraft on hold, interminably.
The ministry has held back permission without citing any reasons, but aviation circles are rife with speculation that the motive is to protect Indian carriers. Some domestic airlines that fly to Europe are worried that the A380 would take away passengers from their routes, with travelers lured by the new aircraft and attractive fares that are possible with the larger, more economical plane.
If true, such a deliberate delay would be short-sighted and ultimately against India’s own interests. Indian carrier Kingfisher has five A380s on order and the option to buy five more. Air India, which has a strong partnership with Lufthansa, could also make the A380 available to its customers through its existing code-share agreement with the German carrier on the Delhi-Frankfurt route.
Lufthansa was expected to start flying the A380 on the Delhi-Frankfurt route with the opening of T3. The airline announced as much, but then it wasn’t allowed to fly the super jumbo to India, and instead had to deploy it elsewhere.
09/02/11 Ansgar Sickert/Wall Street Journal

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Categories: Airports Feb 2011, Foreign Feb 2011