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The entire aviation industry is being made to adapt new rules because the driving paradigm of the aviation market has shifted from status to price. Ten years ago, it mattered less on account of providing quality services by the only existing airlines such as food, delayed flights or conduct of airhostesses. Today it matters a lot because customers have a choice between airlines. And because customers have a choice, a government owned airline also has to go out, market itself, and when need be, change the value of marketing. Three years ago it was convenient to think of air travel as a mode of transport for the elite. A Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram - Delhi economy class ticket would make a residents wallet thinner by Rs. 25,000. For that sum, he could go to London and return. In fact, planes would take off with empty seats rather than offer cheap fares and fill them.
As a result of this anomaly, for a nation of one billion people, India clocks an average of only 40,000 air travellers a day. In the US three million people fly every day compared to 15 million people in India who travelled by air in the year ended March 2004. Today, India operates four hundred flights a day compared to 40,000 in US, with an Indian fleet having a strength of just 150 aircrafts.
Only recently, private Indian airlines were willing to fly only the time-tested sectors where they were making money. There was no way anyone could fly from Mumbai to Belgaum or from Chennai to Rajahmundry. A large number of air strips dotting rural and semi-urban interland were being maintained only for occasional visits of senior politicians in special air crafts or choppers.
Now all this is changing. Feeder airlines are becoming viable. The Airports Authority of India offers discounts to aircraft below 21 tons. This discount helps slash landing, navigation and baggage charges by 50 per cent for airlines who cater to feeder routes. Today, feeder flights are already flying a number of short routes in south and west India connecting Mumbai, Goa, Bangalore, Tirupati, Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Vijaywada, Belgaum, Hoogly, Mangalore, Cochin and Madurai.
Discounting and apex fares have also changed the contours of the aviation industry forever.
The scenario first began changing when airlines started offering special discount fares if seats were booked in advance upto a week. The fares were slashed by over 50 per cent. The bookings were cancelable only at a steep cost. There was one problem though. Airlines earmarked only a few seats in select routes for concessional fares. Once that quota was filled, booking in advance offered no price benefit. Now, because of competition and more flights, many more seats are available on the apex fare.
‘No frills airlines’ is another trend that is capturing imagination. No frill service has been made possible by cutting costs drastically and by multi-tasking. The pilot himself welcomes passengers at the entrance. Cabin crew brings in trolleys selling cookies, munchies and drinks. Reliance on on-line booking has done away with infrastructure cost in setting up booking offices. Discount Airlines have first-come first-served seating; no business class; and no frequent flier mileage bonuses.
Air travel in the country is finally getting de-glamourized. The focus is on the basic objective of getting from point a to point b in the quickest, cheapest and safest way possible.
This is a way of the future. The government is soon starting Air India Express the no frills airlines, which will cater to the large traffic especially to the Middle East and southeastern countries. It is also examining the possibility of converting the existing Alliance Air into a discount airline to cater to the price-sensitive segment. To make more people travel, the entire civil aviation sector needs to be restructured which also means developing the infrastructure facilities including airports of world class standard. Compared to India UK is a small country. Yet 70 billion people pass through Heathrow Airport every year. The same should happen in India, once private public partnership take share in India’s premier airports. The aviation sector can boost tourism activity throughout the country - not just for urban business and leisure travel but also for the rural traveller. More so because the majority of leisure trips in India are for religious and social purposes. Tirupathi is the hottest destination, followed by Puri and Vaishno Devi. What’s more, most travelers in India are not from urban India. According to a study conducted by NCAER, only 61 million trips out of the 230 million trips undertaken in 2003 were by urban Indians. The rest were by rural residents. The civil aviation sector in India needs to think outside the box if they wish to tap into these new opportunities. Age old conventions and rules must be broken and new thought processes along newer lines must be initiated to make air travel accessible to all.
*Information Officer, PIB, New Delhi
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