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Volume: II

May 25, 2007

Airlines

Share Price

NSE share prices as on May 15, 2007

 

Sales and Market Share

Source: Directorate General of Civil Aviation

 

01. Low-Cost Airlines Carry 94 Lakh Passengers In '06 – May 15

94 lakh passengers travelled by low-cost airlines in 2006

According to the data collated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the four low-cost airlines (Air Deccan, SpiceJet, Go Air and IndiGo), together carried 94.08 lakh passengers out of the total 3.21 crore passengers during 2006. Among the low-cost airlines, Air Deccan carried 58.75 lakh or more than 61% of the total passengers.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line

 

 

02. Air Deccan Loses Rs 212 Cr – April 26

Air Deccan suffers a loss of Rs 212 Crores

Due to pressures on yields and low passenger load, Air Deccan suffered a loss of Rs 213 crores during the quarter ended March 31, 2007. The loss, for the nine months ended March 31, was Rs 244 crore. According to Deccan Aviation Managing Director Capt G. R. Gopinath, “A combination of high operational costs and oversupply is creating a weak domestic yield environment in the industry. Fuel prices are once again close to historically high levels coupled with the fact that February and March are inherently weaker months for the travel industry”.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

 

Trends, Marketing Initiatives and Others

 

03. Paramount Eyeing For Stakes In Other Airlines – May 15

Paramount aims to acquire stake in other airlines

According to an official at Paramount Airways, as a part of its expansion strategy, the airline aims to acquire stakes in other airlines. Paramount Airways has established a leadership role in the South with 26% market share, with a fleet of five aircraft and 1,600 flights every month. "If an opportunity comes up, Paramount is open to acquire stake in other airlines, provided the synergies and pricing factors are right," said M Thiagarajan, Managing Director, Paramount Airlines. “Our vision is to become the most preferred airline in the country by 2011", he said, adding that the company has laid out a well-planned growth strategy for this.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

 04. Mega Carrier To Fly As Air India – May 11

Mega Carrier to use the Air-India name

According to the Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel, the largest airline in India, resulting from the merger of Air-India and Indian, will operate with the Air-India brand and be headquartered in Mumbai. A new company, named as National Aviation Company of India Limited, has been incorporated under the Companies Act, and the two airlines will be merged into the new company.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

05. Business Class Travel Rises 40% – May 08

Business class travel increases by 40%

According to industry experts, most of the domestic airlines are recording growth between 30 and 40% in their business class air travel. Manoj Chacko, GM-Global Sales, Kingfisher Airlines, said, “Kingfisher has seen exponential growth, with the business class seat occupancy growing at the rate of 30% on a month-on-month basis”.

 

Source: The Times Of India

 

 

06. Air Arabia Looks At Setting Up Hub In India – May 03

Air Arabia to set up hub in India

UAE-based airline Air Arabia is planning to add new routes to the Indian sub-continent and open a second hub in the region. This second hub will help the budget carrier solidify its route network, link in high-value markets in surrounding regions, such as Europe, and give it a chance to start a new budget carrier in the Middle East, Gulf News daily said.

 

Source: The Economic Times

 

 

07. Air India Mulls Low Cost Service On Long Distance Routes – May 02

Low Cost services on long distance routes planned

Air India is planning to offer low cost service on long distance routes through its low cost subsidiary, Air India Express. At present, Air India Express offers flights to major international destinations within a distance of approximately four hours from different Indian cities. Air India Express, whose services mainly connect Indian cities to Singapore and Dubai, plans to extend its operations to Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok soon.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line

 

 

08. Brand Ambassador – April 20

Brand Ambassador of GoAir

Bollywood actor Priety Zinta has been signed up as the first brand ambassador of GoAir.

 

Source: The Hindu Business Line

 

 

09. Deccan To Raise $100 Mn To Spread Its Wings – April 19

Deccan to raise $100 million

To expand operations, Deccan Aviation, one of the biggest low-fare airlines in India, has planned to raise $100 million and already begun talks with various private equity investors.

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

10. Jet, Kingfisher brace for dogfight in the US – April 18

Jet and Kingfisher aim to fly to the U.S.

Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, are rushing to compete in the U.S. skies. While, Jet Airways is in talks with Boeing to advance aircraft deliveries to start U.S. service, Kingfisher Airlines, which is awaiting approvals to fly abroad, has already started its branding exercise. “The international flights of Kingfisher are going to be unique. The non-stop flights to the U.S. will be having a bar and a social area for gathering for passengers to feel comfortable in ultra long-haul flights”, said Vijay Mallya, Chairperson and C.E.O. of Kingfisher. According to Jet Airways’ Executive Vice-President (Marketing & Sales) Anita Goyal, “The airline is planning to start services to New York via Brussels by July”.

 

Source: Business Standard

 

 

11. Air Sahara Now Becomes Jetlite – April 17

Jet renames Air Sahara as Jetlite

Jet Airways plans to run Air Sahara as a 100% subsidiary under the brand name of Jetlite, and will be positioning it as a value carrier between a full-service and low-cost carrier. According to Jet Airways’ Chairperson Naresh Goyal, “Jetlite would be profitable within a year because of lower unit cost arising out of synergistic use of available resources. Jet Airways and Jetlite will have two different business models. Jetlite will operate as an independent carrier with its own operating permit”.

 

Source: Business Standard

 

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