A new bilateral will allow carriers to almost double flights between India and Dubai
India and the UAE have agreed to further liberalise their air services agreement covering passenger flights to and from Dubai, in a long-delayed move that will open the market significantly.
Under the new agreement, airlines from each side will be allowed to carry up to 54,200 passengers per week in each direction by the 2009/10 winter season, representing an increase of 23,000 on the previous deal. The new agreement had been under discussion for some time and should help to ease complaints of significant under-capacity in the market. Capacity has not kept up with demand due partly to fast growth in Dubai's population of Indian migrant workers.
The new bilateral comes as India has been allowing more international services by privately owned carriers and as Dubai is setting up a new low-cost carrier that will almost certainly seek to operate to India. India's Jet Airways, which began serving Abu Dhabi in late April, will also likely benefit. It does not yet have Dubai rights but has been applying for them and now expects it will be able to launch services to Dubai from several Indian cities.
Air India's low-cost unit Air India Express has also unveiled plans to launch flights to Dubai from Ahmedabad, Goa, Hyderabad and Pune. It already connects Dubai with 12 other Indian cities and these services are considered among its most lucrative.
Air India Express also serves Abu Dhabi from five Indian cities and Sharjah from three. Demand for services from all of the UAE's major cities has been growing rapidly. Abu Dhabi-based Etihad now serves six cities in India and is keen to serve several more, while Sharjah-based Air Arabia is also keen to expand its Indian network, which already consists of 11 cities. Air Arabia says its passenger numbers on its India routes grew 43% in the first quarter with an average load factor of 94%.
Source: Airline Business
