After a four-year lull, there is a price war in the sky again. Domestic airline companies have started offering airfares that are Airport World's Best Airport World's Top 10 airports World's busiest airports comparable with those witnessed in 2005. The drop in airfares is nearly across all the routes in the country. For example, a Delhi-Mumbai Jet Airways ticket now costs Rs 2,900, a sharp drop from Rs 5,350. JetLite, Jet Airways’ subsidiary, is offering a Mumbai-Delhi ticket for Rs 1,650, all inclusive, against the earlier price of Rs 2,845.
Budget carriers, such as GoAir and IndiGo, are offering fares in the range of Rs 2,175 to Rs 2,700, including taxes, for the Mumbai-Delhi sector.
Experts said the move could be explained by a steep fall in the prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which accounts for more than 45% of an airline’s costs. In the past five months, ATF prices have declined by about 60% to Rs 30,457 per kilolitre. They are now quoting around July 2005 levels. However, they are not certain whether the drastic cut in airfares would be able to prop up the balance sheets in the sagging airline industry, which is expected to post a combined loss of $2 billion for fiscal 2009.
Mark Martin, senior advisor, KPMG, told ET: “Airlines need to stimulate the market as load factors are falling since August despite reduction in fares. Aggressive pricing is a gamble and it may hurt them in the long run.”
Industry experts believe that reduced prices may not generate enough additional traffic and revenues in the current economic scenario.
Source:indiatimes
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Qantas begins A380 flights to London
Australians have more options for flying the world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, to Europe after Qantas began flying the aircraft on the `kangaroo route' to London last week.
Executive General Manager, Mr John Borghetti, said the airline would initially operate three A380 superjumbo services each week on the Kangaroo Route.
"Following the delivery of a third aircraft at the end of December, we are now ready to introduce the Qantas A380 to the Singapore and UK markets," he said.
QF31 will operate flights to London from Sydney via Singapore on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with the return QF32 operating on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, also via Singapore.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines announced it will begin flights of the A380to Paris beginning from June 1.
The daily Singapore-Paris flights will be in addition to SIA's A380 service to London, Tokyo and Sydney.
Singapore Airlines and travel agents said last week that the carrier is cutting more than 200 flights to Europe, Australia, China, and India in response to falling passenger numbers during a global economic slowdown.
The airline said December passenger numbers were down 7.5 per cent year-on-year.
But on Monday it said the A380 Paris service is a response to "growing demand".
The double-decker aircraft will replace the existing 10-times-a-week service by Boeing 777-300ER planes, SIA said.
Superjumbos can carry up to 853 passengers but SIA uses a setup with a maximum of 471 seats. Qantas A380s have 450 seats.
SIA was the first airline in the world to operate the A380.
Source:theage.com.au
Executive General Manager, Mr John Borghetti, said the airline would initially operate three A380 superjumbo services each week on the Kangaroo Route.
"Following the delivery of a third aircraft at the end of December, we are now ready to introduce the Qantas A380 to the Singapore and UK markets," he said.
QF31 will operate flights to London from Sydney via Singapore on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with the return QF32 operating on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, also via Singapore.
Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines announced it will begin flights of the A380to Paris beginning from June 1.
The daily Singapore-Paris flights will be in addition to SIA's A380 service to London, Tokyo and Sydney.
Singapore Airlines and travel agents said last week that the carrier is cutting more than 200 flights to Europe, Australia, China, and India in response to falling passenger numbers during a global economic slowdown.
The airline said December passenger numbers were down 7.5 per cent year-on-year.
But on Monday it said the A380 Paris service is a response to "growing demand".
The double-decker aircraft will replace the existing 10-times-a-week service by Boeing 777-300ER planes, SIA said.
Superjumbos can carry up to 853 passengers but SIA uses a setup with a maximum of 471 seats. Qantas A380s have 450 seats.
SIA was the first airline in the world to operate the A380.
Source:theage.com.au
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
BA / British Airways cancels more routes.
As the economic downturn continues to bite and passengers look even harder for lower fares British Airways has announced the cancellation of flights to India, Bangladesh and Europe. Flights to Japan have also seen a reduction in frequency.
From 29 March British Airways will no longer operate to the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka leaving Biman Bangladesh the only airline to operate direct services. Kolkata (Calcutta) in India also gets the chop leaving the city with no direct flights from the UK.
Gatwick to Geneva and Zurich have also been cancelled but flights from Heathrow to both airports continue to operate. Tokyo’s Narita airport also sees a reduction in flights when the double daily flights are reduced to a single flight each day.
By taking this course of action British Airways believe they can better use their capacity (aircraft) where there is greater demand.Passengers who have bookings for travel after 29 March may rebook onto another BA flight at a later date-not a lot of good if you are booked to travel on BA to Dhaka or Kolkata or if you live close to Gatwick and are booked to fly to Geneva or Zurich!! Oh, and if you can’t accept the above you can have a refund-not a lot of choice really.Passengers affected should contact their agent/tour operator of BA if they have booked direct.
Source:alternativeairlines.com
From 29 March British Airways will no longer operate to the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka leaving Biman Bangladesh the only airline to operate direct services. Kolkata (Calcutta) in India also gets the chop leaving the city with no direct flights from the UK.
Gatwick to Geneva and Zurich have also been cancelled but flights from Heathrow to both airports continue to operate. Tokyo’s Narita airport also sees a reduction in flights when the double daily flights are reduced to a single flight each day.
By taking this course of action British Airways believe they can better use their capacity (aircraft) where there is greater demand.Passengers who have bookings for travel after 29 March may rebook onto another BA flight at a later date-not a lot of good if you are booked to travel on BA to Dhaka or Kolkata or if you live close to Gatwick and are booked to fly to Geneva or Zurich!! Oh, and if you can’t accept the above you can have a refund-not a lot of choice really.Passengers affected should contact their agent/tour operator of BA if they have booked direct.
Source:alternativeairlines.com
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Singapore Airlines flies into price war
Low airfares are back and so is competition. The cash rich Singapore Airlines is offering discount deals of up to 60%, connecting Mumbaiwith various South-East Asian cities. A Mumbai-Singapore return fare is now available for just Rs 16,830, including taxes, whereas Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur return fares are Rs 23,980 per ticket. The Sydney, Melbourne and Perth return fares from Mumbai are Rs 41,350 only. “Attractive prices to popular leisure destinations will allow more customers to travel these places,” said Singapore Airlines general manager CW Foo.
Interestingly, these fare cuts are coming at a time when Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is launching its daily non-stop Mumbai-London flight from Monday. Singapore Airlines, which started operations from Chennai in 1970, operates 56 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian cities. It has double daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi, apart from flights from Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Its subsidiary airline SilkAir operates daily flights from Kochi, four flights from Thiruvananthapuram and thrice weekly from Coimbatore.
On the other hand, Jet Airways has announced offerings for international travellers last week. Mumbai-Singapore return fare in the Premier Class is available for two persons for Rs 1,01,250. Similarly, a companion-free offer with a return Premier ticket worth Rs 94,500 is available on the Mumbai-Hong Kong sector. Jet has also announced companion free offers on the Mumbai-Bangkok sector at a Premier fare of Rs 57,065. All fares are exclusive of surcharge and taxes.
Kingfisher Airlines flight to London has almost full occupancy, said a spokesperson. The Mumbai-London flight will be Kingfisher’s second overseas route after the Bangalore-London flight, launched in September last year. Kingfisher is planning to launch Mumbai-Hong Kong operations from January 12, and Mumbai-Singapore flight from January 16.
It will also launch its Bangalore-Chennai-Colombo flight from January 19. Kingfisher Airlines will also be competing with the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, Jet Airways and several international carriers.
International passenger traffic fell by 4.5% in November. The International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines operating 93% of cross-border flights, has forecast that 2009 will be worse than 2008 in terms of the number of passengers and yields.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways has introduced special 3, 5 and 7-day advance purchase (APEX) fares for its Premiere passengers on key domestic sectors. While the 3-day APEX fares range from Rs 7,900 to Rs 8,100; the 5-day APEX fares range from Rs 6,500 to Rs 11,500; and the 7-day APEX fares from Rs 4,500 to Rs 17,500.
Source:indiatimes.com
Interestingly, these fare cuts are coming at a time when Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines is launching its daily non-stop Mumbai-London flight from Monday. Singapore Airlines, which started operations from Chennai in 1970, operates 56 weekly flights to Singapore from eight Indian cities. It has double daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi, apart from flights from Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. Its subsidiary airline SilkAir operates daily flights from Kochi, four flights from Thiruvananthapuram and thrice weekly from Coimbatore.
On the other hand, Jet Airways has announced offerings for international travellers last week. Mumbai-Singapore return fare in the Premier Class is available for two persons for Rs 1,01,250. Similarly, a companion-free offer with a return Premier ticket worth Rs 94,500 is available on the Mumbai-Hong Kong sector. Jet has also announced companion free offers on the Mumbai-Bangkok sector at a Premier fare of Rs 57,065. All fares are exclusive of surcharge and taxes.
Kingfisher Airlines flight to London has almost full occupancy, said a spokesperson. The Mumbai-London flight will be Kingfisher’s second overseas route after the Bangalore-London flight, launched in September last year. Kingfisher is planning to launch Mumbai-Hong Kong operations from January 12, and Mumbai-Singapore flight from January 16.
It will also launch its Bangalore-Chennai-Colombo flight from January 19. Kingfisher Airlines will also be competing with the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd-run Air India, Jet Airways and several international carriers.
International passenger traffic fell by 4.5% in November. The International Air Transport Association, which represents airlines operating 93% of cross-border flights, has forecast that 2009 will be worse than 2008 in terms of the number of passengers and yields.
Meanwhile, Jet Airways has introduced special 3, 5 and 7-day advance purchase (APEX) fares for its Premiere passengers on key domestic sectors. While the 3-day APEX fares range from Rs 7,900 to Rs 8,100; the 5-day APEX fares range from Rs 6,500 to Rs 11,500; and the 7-day APEX fares from Rs 4,500 to Rs 17,500.
Source:indiatimes.com
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