Latest news out of India is that the Union Cabinet has approved the new Civil Aviation policy, with the biggest winners set to be new entrants Vistara and AirAsia India!
'Primary among announcements was easing of a rule that required Indian carriers to complete 5 years of domestic operations and have a fleet of 20 planes to be considered for international operations. Now an airline has to scale its fleet up to 20 planes or deploy 20% of capacity on domestic operations, whichever is higher, to qualify for overseas flying.'
'We would have preferred of course, that the rule be completely abolished to ensure Indian aviation achieves its full potential," said Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh, while adding that it is "very encouraging to see that the government has established a policy which promotes the overall growth of the country."
In a recent interview, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong had said that "ideally, there shouldn't be a limitation," "If you look at a set up outside India, an airline with two aircraft can fly to India. So I see little reason, especially if you are satisfied with the way it has set up safety. Once all that is satisfied, it shouldn't be treated worse than an external airline. Objectively, there should be no requirement at all," he added.'
With this new announcement, Vistara, which already has an existing fleet and order book totally 20 aircraft, can Kickstart expansion in the lucrative Indian international market! The biggest winner IMO seems to be the SIA group which has maxed out its bilateral seat capacities to India whereas the Indian carriers have barely used theirs to Singapore! Now SIA can expand on the Singapore-India market using both bilaterals. Lots of potential for Vistara to expand Westwards as well to Europe and US, markets the ME3 have gobbled up with poor service and routes by Air India and Jet Airways!
Exciting times ahead!
'Primary among announcements was easing of a rule that required Indian carriers to complete 5 years of domestic operations and have a fleet of 20 planes to be considered for international operations. Now an airline has to scale its fleet up to 20 planes or deploy 20% of capacity on domestic operations, whichever is higher, to qualify for overseas flying.'
'We would have preferred of course, that the rule be completely abolished to ensure Indian aviation achieves its full potential," said Vistara CEO Phee Teik Yeoh, while adding that it is "very encouraging to see that the government has established a policy which promotes the overall growth of the country."
In a recent interview, Singapore Airlines CEO Goh Choon Phong had said that "ideally, there shouldn't be a limitation," "If you look at a set up outside India, an airline with two aircraft can fly to India. So I see little reason, especially if you are satisfied with the way it has set up safety. Once all that is satisfied, it shouldn't be treated worse than an external airline. Objectively, there should be no requirement at all," he added.'
With this new announcement, Vistara, which already has an existing fleet and order book totally 20 aircraft, can Kickstart expansion in the lucrative Indian international market! The biggest winner IMO seems to be the SIA group which has maxed out its bilateral seat capacities to India whereas the Indian carriers have barely used theirs to Singapore! Now SIA can expand on the Singapore-India market using both bilaterals. Lots of potential for Vistara to expand Westwards as well to Europe and US, markets the ME3 have gobbled up with poor service and routes by Air India and Jet Airways!
Exciting times ahead!
Comment