In recent months, two opposing sections of airlines in India have been intensely lobbying to have it their way in a long-awaited aviation policy. Pitted on one side are new airlines such as Vistara and AirAsia India that have been demanding that the policy abolish a rule that prevents them from flying profitable international routes until they are five years old and have at least 20 planes. On the other side are older airlines such as IndiGo, Jet AirwaysBSE 2.52 %, SpiceJetBSE 0.08 % and GoAir that insist that if the so-called 5/20 rule goes, so should the Route Dispersal Guidelines (RDG), which force them to deploy flights to remote areas.
No doubt both are business unfriendly rules. Any rule that forces a commercial enterprise to act against its wishes or interests is dispiriting. But is the RDG really as bad as the older airlines insist? These airlines under the aegis of a lobby group called Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) contend that RDG forces them to launch flights to unprofitable routes. Is this true?
Data that airlines provide to the aviation regulator DGCA suggest otherwise. Take a look.
Aviation authorities have classified airline routes in India into four broad categories. The first is Category I routes — the metro, or trunk, routes such as Mumbai-Bangalore, Kolkata-Delhi, Mumbai-Delhi etc. The second, Category-II routes, connect the metro airports with airports in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Examples: Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi -Delhi - Guwahati, Delhi - Dibrugarh. The third, routes within the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, are classified as Category II-A. Examples: Agartala- Bagdogra, Imphal-Guwahati. All routes that do not fall in Category-I and Category-II constitute the fourth, called Category-III routes. Examples: Delhi - Pune, Bengaluru - Pune.
08/03/16 Binoy Prabhakar/Economic Times
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No doubt both are business unfriendly rules. Any rule that forces a commercial enterprise to act against its wishes or interests is dispiriting. But is the RDG really as bad as the older airlines insist? These airlines under the aegis of a lobby group called Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) contend that RDG forces them to launch flights to unprofitable routes. Is this true?
Data that airlines provide to the aviation regulator DGCA suggest otherwise. Take a look.
Aviation authorities have classified airline routes in India into four broad categories. The first is Category I routes — the metro, or trunk, routes such as Mumbai-Bangalore, Kolkata-Delhi, Mumbai-Delhi etc. The second, Category-II routes, connect the metro airports with airports in the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep. Examples: Delhi-Srinagar, Delhi -Delhi - Guwahati, Delhi - Dibrugarh. The third, routes within the North East, Jammu and Kashmir, Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep, are classified as Category II-A. Examples: Agartala- Bagdogra, Imphal-Guwahati. All routes that do not fall in Category-I and Category-II constitute the fourth, called Category-III routes. Examples: Delhi - Pune, Bengaluru - Pune.
08/03/16 Binoy Prabhakar/Economic Times
