Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007
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Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Aug 14, 2007 ePaper |
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Logistics
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Airlines Govt move to boost regional airlines welcomed
K.V. Kurmanath Hyderabad, Aug. 13 The Union Government’s move to create a separate category to promote regional airlines is expected to further trigger growth in the aviation industry as people from smaller cities would get access to air travel. “The trunk routes (connecting major cities) have already become congested. It is time to focus on the smaller towns and cities to trigger growth,” Mr R. Krishnaswamy, Head (Corporate Planning), of Air Deccan, told Business Li ne. “The big airlines do not focus on small routes as they can’t operate their wide-bodied aircraft at the smaller airports,” he said. New alliances, lower fares
The emergence of regional airlines could also bring about new alliances. “The big airlines, which don’t operate to smaller places, will tie up with the regional airlines,” he said. Echoing his views, Mr C. Venkateshwara Prasad, Vice-President of the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI), said the tie-ups would result in reduction in fares. The regional airlines would also help increase frequency to smaller towns. “Take, for example, the fare to Visakhapatnam (from Hyderabad), which is Rs 3,500. But, for Mumbai, the fare starts at as low as Rs 1,200-Rs 1,400,” he said. Welcoming the move, he said the regional airlines could be a viable model as they operated with three-four small aircraft operating to three-four cities, with lesser overheads. Asked whether the regional airlines could pose a challenge to low-cost airlines that penetrated into many smaller cities, Mr Krishnaswamy said there was a huge scope for more players. “This, in fact, will go a long way in achieving the projected target to double the traffic by 2015 in the country,” he said. On infrastructural constraints that might crop up as more and more small players came in, he said developing the dormant airports would not cost much. Boost to MRO industry
Mr Amit Kishore Prasad, Director (Finance, IT and Support Services) of Hyderabad Aircraft Maintenance Company Private Ltd (Hamco), said the decision would not only help passengers in the non-metros but also give a boost to the MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) industry. Hamco is setting up a MRO in Hyderabad, which is likely to be operational by March next. The growth of aviation in the country had been disproportionate with only passengers in the metros reaping the benefit (in the form of lower fares), while those in smaller towns were forced to pay more. Besides, it would make the MRO business sustainable.
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