IndiGo to start international flights from August-2011

Budget carrier IndiGo, which recently placed a record order for planes, will start international operations in August, pitting it against Emirates, Singapore Airlines Ltd and AirAsia Bhd.

The aviation ministry has approved IndiGo’s proposal to fly to four countries, joining Indian carriers Air India, Jet Lite (India) Ltd, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and SpiceJet Ltd, in a market that’s growing at around 10% annually.

The Gurgaon-based carrier, run by InterGlobe General Aviation Pvt. Ltd, has been cleared to operate daily flights to Bangkok, Singapore and Dubai from New Delhi and Mumbai, besides connecting Muscat with Mumbai, all considered to be high-traffic routes. The aviation ministry cleared the four-month-old proposal late last week. IndiGo’s proposal to fly to several other overseas destination starting from November is still to be cleared.

On 12 January, the airline announced a record order for 180 Airbus SAS A320 jets in Toulouse worth $15 billion (Rs.68,000 crore) at list prices.

“As IndiGo turns five in August 2011, this approval dovetails well into its planning process. This will hasten the process of Indian carriers taking back some of the market share that has been lost over the past many decades to foreign carriers,” the airline said in a statement.

Of the 241 A320s it has on order till 2025, including 61 from a previous order, 14 will join its fleet this year, helping it expand its domestic presence and run flights to neighbouring destinations to optimize aircraft utilization.

IndiGo uses 34 A320s on 221 daily domestic flights. Government rules mandate five years of domestic experience and a 20-aircraft fleet before a domestic carrier can fly overseas.

The entry of another low-cost carrier may benefit passengers as fares are likely to fall on many of these sectors.

“I think there would be good downward pressure,” said G.R. Gopinath, who pioneered low-cost airlines in India with Air Deccan, later acquired by Kingfisher Airlines. “It’s good for everybody, especially the consumers.”

Another travel industry official said the decline in ticket prices will depend on IndiGo’s strategy to woo the market.

“The problem is that a fare war is already happening on these sectors. You can fly to Dubai for Rs.5,000 on Air Arabia. I am sure they will match whatever is the lowest fare,” said Aloke Bajpai, head of travel website IxiGo.com. “Unless IndiGo comes up with a completely radical strategy of pricing it below that.”

Bajpai said the routes IndiGo has selected were “predictable” as they see heavy traffic and are profitable.

The top 10 international routes by number of daily travellers from India are Mumbai-Dubai, Delhi-London, Mumbai-London, Chennai-Colombo, Chennai-Singapore, Delhi-Dubai, Delhi-Kathmandu, Delhi-Bangkok, Chennai-Dubai and Mumbai-Singapore, according to a Kingfisher Airlines investor presentation.

“This continues the trend of Indian carriers deploying capacity away from the highly competitive and lower yield domestic market,” said Vikram Krishnan, an analyst with US-based aviation consultancy Oliver Wyman. “These airlines would have to develop a brand presence and cultivate agency distribution channels at the international points of sale. Emirates and Qatar are selling a global network behind Dubai or Doha, while IndiGo will rely more on point-to-point traffic terminating in Dubai or Singapore.”

Source: Livemint

Unruly flyers can get 1-year jail term, fined 5L: DGCA

Airline passengers who abuse the crew or rush to open the luggage cabins even before the aircraft comes to a complete halt had better watch out. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has notified two new rules to regulate bad behaviour on-board, both on domestic flights and on international flights destined for India. The two rules — Nos. 22 and 23 — have been incorporated in the Indian Aircraft Rules, 1937.

Any offence under these rules is punishable with imprisonment up to one year or a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh, or both. These rules also empower the airline and cabin crew to initiate action for bad on-board behaviour and to lodge a complaint with agencies like the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).

Bharat Bhushan, the DG of civil aviation, said the provocation to introduce the new clauses was based on experience. ''We want to constantly improve the system. Earlier, the police would book unruly passengers under IPC (Indian Penal Code). The new clauses are a codified response to on-board indiscipline,'' he said. Previously, unruly passengers would be booked under section 336, 323, 354 or 506 of the IPC, which deal generally with endangering lives or personal safety of others, or voluntarily causing hurt.

Source: Times of India