The Hindu Business Line : Asean airlines prepare for more landings in India

A YEAR into former Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's open sky announcement for the designated airlines of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), several airlines of the region are firming up plans to touch down at more airports various runways around the country.

Addressing the Asean-India summit at Bali on October 8 last year, the former Prime Minister had announced that all designated Asean airlines were free to offer daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai without prior bilaterals.

Mr Vajpayee also offered unlimited flights to 18 other tourist destinations in the country. The regional grouping includes Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia among others.

The Senior-Vice President, West Asia and Africa, Singapore Airlines, Mr Tan Chik Quee, told Business Line that the airline was examining options for more flights into India. "The announcement was made with the best of intention and taken up with interest within the region. It has allowed us to start operating to Ahmedabad. And while some may say there is a slight delay in its implementation, in the end it has been signed and sealed," Mr Tan Chik Quee, said.

The airlines General Manager, India, Mr B.K. Ong, said that the airline was examining which of the 18 tourist destinations it should operate. However, officials hinted that the airline might not operate to all 18 tourist destinations allowed.

Echoing similar sentiments, the Regional Manager, South Asia, Malaysia Airlines, Mr Syed Abdillah Aziz, said that Malaysia Airlines is to start three new flights to Kolkata from January next year. Furthermore, the airline proposes to utilise the offer of flying to 18-tourist destination by launching a flight to Ahmedabad from December 16 this year.

Besides, in combination with the Government's announcement of a limited open sky policy for all airlines, it plans to mount more than 100 flights between December this year and March 31 next year. The Government has already announced that it will follow a limited open sky policy between November 1 and March 31, next year.

In addition, based on the airline services agreement, Malaysia will be offering a daily flight to Mumbai apart from increasing to three the number of weekly flights to Bangalore and doubling the frequency to Hyderabad to two flights a week.

Also on the cards are an upgrade on the aircraft flying to Chennai, a move which will see it offer more than 90-seats on every flight in each direction. "We are contemplating and looking into new sectors like Amritsar, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchi ," Mr Aziz added.

The increase in flights has also translated into more people from India travelling to the Asean region. The Managing Director, India Subcontinent, Amadeus, Mr Ankur Bhatia, felt that there had been an increase of about 30 per cent in Indians travelling to Asean during this year alone.

With Asean airlines adding more flights, the Government is likely to consider a proposal allowing Indian private sector airlines to the South East countries,

Mr Vajpayee's dream of expediting greater economic integration of the Indian economy with one of the fastest growing regions of the world could well be realised soon.