|
| Frankfurt hub played key role in Air India's expansion |
| K Mammen Mathew/PTI / Berlin Mar 13, 2010, 12:50 IST |
|
National carrier Air India's European operational hub in Frankfurt has helped the airline cope with losses and enabled it to expand its connectivity in the US and European routes.
The airliner marks its first anniversary at the end of this month.
The Frankfurt hub played a crucial role in helping the airline to cope with last year's turbulence in international air travel by ensuring a consistent and convenient connectivity on the strategically important route between India and US, said Ratan Bali, Air India's Regional Manager for Europe.
In an interview to PTI at the current ITB Berlin 2010, the world's largest tourism fair, where Air India is a co-sponsor of India's national pavilion, Bali said the airline has been offering very convenient departure timings for its US-bound passengers on its daily flights from Mumbai, Delhi and Ahmedabad.
The Frankfurt hub ensured them seamless transfer to Air India flights to continue their journey to Chicago and New York (Newark).
Among the major international carriers operating on the US-India route, Air India provides the most convenient and fastest connectivity and it also offers world class services with its most modern Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, Bali said.
These flights also have very convenient arrival timings for its passengers in Chicago and in New York (Newark).
Bali said that Air India will maintain its present 35 flights a week via the Frankfurt hub in its new Summer schedule, which becomes operational on March 29, in spite of the difficult economic situation facing the airline and other major carriers and the continuing downturn in international air travel.
Air India's existing flights to and from Frankfurt have been approved for the Summer season by the German Federal Office for Air Transport, the agency which issues the landing rights.
Bali said that even in such a difficult situation, it is very vital for the airline to keep its present level of operation in order to be in a position to bounce back to its growth path as soon as the global economic downturn is reversed and and international air travel recovers from its decline.
Air India launched its daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Chicago and New York (Newark) and back to coincide with the opening of its operational hub for its west-bound flights in Frankfurt on March 29, 2009.
The total number of the airline's weekly flights passing through the hub was raised to 35 when the airline added a new daily service between Ahmedabad and New York (Newark) in June, 2009.
Bali said these flights had an average seat occupancy of 72 per cent, which is "quite significant", especially at a time when all major international carriers have been experiencing sharp decline in their passenger traffic in the wake of the global economic and financial crisis and the outbreak of swine flu.
Air India was also successful in increasing its share of the German market to 21 per cent last year since the launching of the new flights and opening of the Frankfurt hub.
The airline could have secured more passengers for its flights from Frankfurt to the US and to India if it could offer more convenient timings for travellers embarking in Frankfurt, Bali said.
Present early morning take-off schedules are regarded as inconvenient for passengers coming from far away places in Germany and from neighbouring countries, he said.
Air India's main competitor on the Germany-India route Lufthansa operates more than 65 flights a week from Frankfurt and Munich compared to the Indian carrier's 21 flights a week.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Read Business news in |  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Advertisements |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Content Guide
