CIAL plans to up non-aero revenue

Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), the first government-private participation in the aviation sector, has drawn up plans aimed at raising its non-aeronautical revenue substantially.

CIAL managing director Shriram Bharat said the company had already initiated a study on profitable marketing of available space in the airport complex. The report is expected to be available in a year.

The move would help bring down the airport's existing usage charges including landing fee levied on airlines, he told the media, adding major players had come forward to put up hoardings, kiosks, stalls etc within the airport complex.

Explaining that the duty-free shop at the airport had been contributing a substantial revenue to the CIAL, he said its turnover was scaling up impressively over the past few years. It registered an increase of 43 per cent as compared with the previous year.

According to him, the Kochi duty-free had topped in sales among similar shops in the country with the Delhi duty-free coming next followed by Mumbai.

The direct involvement of the CIAL in the duty-free shop has helped it sell products at the cheapest price as a result of which the volume in business has gone up substantially. It is also the cheapest in the Southeast Asia region, Bharat said.

This apart, the two-month-long promotional scheme - 'Ee Onam Nalla Onam'- brought to the consumers by multinational drinks major Diageo in association with CIAL, Samsung India and Alpha Kreol, which runs the duty-free, during August-September generated a record revenue of $1.63 million on a single day on August 24.

The average purchase per passenger at the duty-free is $54, he said.