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K.V. Kurmanath

Hyderabad, Oct. 14 Even as the Jet Airways-Kingfisher arrangement turns out to be a talking point at the venue of India Aviation 2008, slated to begin on Wednesday, the Ministry of Civil Aviation was yet to receive a communication from the private airlines.

“We have not received any communication. They (the two companies) have not yet formalised the deal. It could be an informal arrangement between them,” a top Ministry official told Business Line.

Asked whether the duo could become a monopoly as they forged the alliance, the official said there were laws to safeguard the interests of the industry.

“Perhaps, it could help the passengers as airlines try to compete with each other to match the offers,” he felt.

Executives of Paramount Airways and SpiceJet were not available for comment on the likely impact of the development on the aviation industry.

On Tuesday, Jet-Kingfisher duo took the aviation industry by surprise by announcing the arrangement in order to cut costs and improve services.

The Ministry official pointed out that the idea behind the decision could be rationalising the route network and other areas of service.

Asked whether they need not approach the Ministry, he said issues such as code-sharing were already a norm in the industry.

The alliance spoke of code-shares on domestic and international flights “subject to the approval of Director-General of Civil Aviation”.

Accepting that there was a decline in the number of passengers, the official said the impact was much more with regard to the short-haul destinations.

“An increase of Rs 1,000 in fares would easily divert a good number of passengers to trains,” he pointed out.

More Stories on : Alliances & Joint Ventures | Airlines | Jet Airways (India) Ltd

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