With the passenger load factor expected to revive in the second half of this financial year, international airlines are expanding their network and increasing flights in and out of India.
Airlines like KLM, Air France, Emirates and Etihad Airways, among others, are out to cash in on the turnaround in the Indian air traffic. According to figures released by the Airports Authority of India, international passenger traffic grew by six per cent year on year to 28 lakh in August.
International passenger traffic into India has been on the rise since February when the total passenger traffic was recorded at 25 lakh. The steady month-on-Mont growth has led to airlines being confident enough to boost capacity, say industry experts.
“From next month, we will be adding nine more flights per week to our existing network,” an official with Emirates Airline said. At present, Emirates operates 175 flights per week out of India.
KLM and Air France are planning to extend the economy plus travel service as a number of premium travelers begin to demand better services at lower price on international routes.
“As of now, we are offering economy plus travel only on one flight of Air France, but now, we would be introducing the same facility in two other flights. Similar service would also be provided on KLM flights operated out of Delhi and Mumbai,” Pieter de Man, general manager, KLM and Air France, said.Etihad Airways on Thursday announced addition of four more flights out of Hyderabad, taking its total flights out of India at 42 flights per week .India’s second largest airline, Jet Airways too has increased frequency to Katmandu from 13 flights per week to 14 flights per week. The airline will also be deploying the higher capacity Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on the Mumbai-Newark route from November 21.
Jet Airways acting chief executive officer Nikos Kardassis said, “The IndoNepal sector is a very busy one in terms of leisure and business air traffic. Having introduced the same in the festive season, we are confident that our new daily services on this sector will be much appreciated.”
Man said that load factors have begun to return to more normal levels coincided with a recovery in air traffic numbers.” This will support stabilization of yields and eventually increase in revenue,” he said.
The International Air Transport Association, which surveyed chief financial officers of airlines across the globe recently, said a majority of airlines are now expecting losses to diminish over the next 12 months.
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