May 14, 2014
NEW DELHI: The times, they are a changing for the desi flyer. India's economic might is now forcing foreign airlines to deploy their best aircraft to the country, which was, for years, treated as a market for dumping second class products.
May 14, 2014
NEW DELHI: The times, they are a changing for the desi flyer. India's economic might is now forcing foreign airlines to deploy their best aircraft to the country, which was, for years, treated as a market for dumping second class products.
Lufthansa, for instance, will fly the Boeing 747-9 (latest jumbo jet) between Mumbai and Frankfurt from July 15.
Last week, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Emirates announced that they will fly the Airbus A-380 here and Lufthansa said it will fly the latest version of the original "queen of the skies" Boeing 747 to more cities in India. What's more, SIA has chosen the more luxurious version of its A-380s — which has suites (a notch above the first class in the other variant) — for the India flights.
The airline has configured its A-380s in two variants decision with economy and business being common to both but the top end having first in one and the uber luxurious suites in the other."India is a market with substantial demand for super luxury, premium products. We chose to go in for the A-380 with suites for the India market," David Lau, SIA's GM (India) said.
"Globally, India is among the fastest growing markets for international travel. Unlike the Gulf, it has a huge catchment area for airlines to fill their planes. Gulf carriers bank on Indians to fill up their planes. The fight is for the Indian flyer," said an airline official.
Indian carriers are also now working at a frantic pace to improve their product, due to more competition from abroad, as well as the imminent launch of two new desi airlines— Tata-SIA full service and Tata-AirAsia budget carriers.
Air India is promising the sky to its flyers from July when it joins Star Alliance and is also working to have Wi-Fi in its aircraft. Tata-AirAsia CEO Mittu Chandilya said his aim is also to have internet in the airline's planes once India lifts the restrictions on the same and provide data connectivity to flyers for a fee.
"Apart from a great product, we are going to provide fares that are 30% lower from current levels," Chandilya said. The biggest Indian carrier by domestic carriage, IndiGo, is also gearing for this challenge by cutting costs and hence have the leverage to lower fares if AirAsia India lives up to its word. IndiGo has started directly importing jet fuel as the high rates at which OMCs sell this fuel as made it account for over half of an airline's total operating cost.
The Indian flyer is now being promised seamless connectivity to the rest of the world with AI joining Star and Jet progressing on its partnership with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad. The Jet-Etihad duo plans to link 23 Indian cities to entire Africa, Europe, Gulf and the US.
That explains foreign airlines decision to fly in their niche products to India or expand their reach. Lufthansa, for instance, will fly the Boeing 747-9 (latest jumbo jet) between Mumbai and Frankfurt from July 15. This aircraft currently links Frankfurt to Delhi and Bangalore.
Lufthansa director (south Asia) Wolfgang Will said: "The introduction of the Queen of the Skies to Mumbai underlines our commitment to provide Indian customers with the best Lufthansa experience worldwide. The B747-8 sets new standards of comfort and efficiency."
Courtesy: TNN
