Description
Air India has placed an order for 470 aircraft with Boeing Co. and Airbus SE. (Representative) Tensions over plans to transform Air India into a global airline with hundreds of new planes spilled over into the aviation sector on Tuesday, as foreign airlines demanded better access to the world's fastest-growing economy. Prime Minister Modi's government is facing mounting demands to alleviate a near-frozen capacity that can be deployed on many routes to and from India now that the Indian flag carrier has been sold to cash-rich conglomerate Tata.
Current limits on the number of flights allowed between India and many markets date back to Air India's heavy losses early in the last decade, analysts said.
But a major overhaul of the airline, including the world's largest aircraft order for 470 jets, reignited the market access debate at an aviation conference in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Dubai Emirates, Turkish Airlines and Kuwaiti airline Jazeera Airways have called for a large increase in traffic rights to and from India to meet demand. Vietnam and Indonesia also want more flights, an Indian official said.
"We are not getting enough share in this market," Turkish Airlines CEO Bilal Eksi told the CAPA India conference. Dubai has requested 50,000 additional seats per week on Indian routes.
But in an exclusive interview, India's civil aviation minister told Reuters the government was not currently considering easing the restrictions. He urged Indian airlines to order more large planes to meet demand without forcing passengers to change planes.
"I think it is time for our airlines to focus more on the international market. This is what we are pushing airlines to do and this process has already started," said Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Currently, most Indians use foreign carriers for long journeys, often changing in Gulf hubs, with relatively few long-haul aircraft based in the country despite a population of 1.3 billion.
Most
Today, the renaissance of Air India and the launch of a new Saudi airline with dozens of plane orders has turned the tables, leaving Dubai's massive international hub flanked by new rivals.
But Emirates Chairman Tim Clark welcomed the launches, saying there was enough space for everyone with no restrictions on movement.
"There is so much (demand) out there that none of us will be able to meet it, if we allow unrestricted growth," he said.
Analysts said the Indian government was in no rush to ease the restrictions as it sought to recapture lost traffic to foreign carriers as part of a broader push to build economic power.
“There is clear evidence that the government wants a mega airline of size, scale and quality to emerge over the years,” said Kapil Kaul, director of consultancy CAPA India, adding that the refusal to allow more flights for now seemed to be justified. tactical. .
"I don't think they're even encouraging discussion...the position, whether other airlines like it or not, is 'we want to build a bigger brand and we want to have a bigger share'."
With one exception, India has granted more flights to Russia, Civil Aviation Secretary Rajiv Bansal said.
Other analysts have pointed out that India is not alone in using a system of post-war air traffic agreements to aid development.
"It's not about the airlines; the government says it's about India as a country: 'We want non-stop flights,'" said Ameya Joshi, founder of the NetworkThoughts Air Analysis website.
"Next year is an election year, so it wouldn't make sense for the government to take a chance on running rights now. Whatever happens will probably be after the election."
