Fear Of Flying

As many as 32 routes, many of them believed to be profitable, have been abandoned by the carrier since 2004. (This includes those run by Indian Airlines and Air India, before they were merged in 2007.) Union aviation minister Vayalar Ravi confesses his ignorance of why his predecessor, Praful Patel, would have cancelled profitable routes. But he says he will ensure the ministry takes a good relook at them. “Most of these routes were introduced to benefit the labour class traffic to the Gulf region. Nearly 55 per cent of the movement is from the states in the south,” he says. Among the profitable Gulf routes are connections between Kozhikode, Chennai, Kochi and Mangalore and Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Dubai and Sharjah.

Vayalar also spoke of shifting the headquarters of Air India Express—the low-cost  wing of the carrier—from Mumbai to Kochi. The decision was taken last year and Vayalar is intent on fast-tracking the process. He is also keen on introducing cheaper tickets for those going to the Gulf countries, since the majority of travellers are labourers.

Unions of both Indian Airlines and Air India have complained in the past about the cancellation of profitable routes. “We had a daily flight from Kochi to Sharjah at 8 pm on which occupancy was 100 per cent. The departure was shifted to 11 pm, bringing down occupancy by 80 per cent. Private airlines were given the 8 pm slot, and they are flying with 100 per cent occupancy now,” says a union office-bearer. A senior Air India official agrees that Dubai, Doha and Bahrain were “golden sectors” that have been killed. The unions have also raised this question with the minister and requested him to reintroduce the profitable Gulf routes. Some flights were also taken off the Bangkok and Singapore sectors, but what pinched most was the shutting down of flights to the Gulf region.

“The minister has asked for a detailed route plan and we are looking at reintroducing 3-4 routes this year,” says a senior DGCA official. “These will be flights from Kochi, Mangalore and Chennai to Qatar, Sharjah, Bahrain and Oman. These will not affect the operations of private airlines.” The minister is also looking into increasing the fleet size. “A large number of aircraft are very old and we are waiting to acquire Boeing  777s and 787s this year,” says Vayalar. These new, wide-bodied aircraft will also bring heft to international operations.

Cutting down ticket prices is another exercise that the ministry is seriously looking into in its attempt to regain its lost marketshare. However, experts warn that such a move, coupled with the airline being under compulsion to ply on some non-profitable routes, may plunge it further into a financial mess.