New Delhi:
With “extremely affordable” air tickets in India, the country’s aviation market has growth potential, where Alkasa Air and other airlines can excel, according to Vinay Du, chief executive of the nearly two-year-old airline. Vinay Dube said.
As Akasa Air prepares to launch its first overseas flight from Mumbai to Doha on March 28, Dube also insisted that the airline is not a “marketing gimmick”. Alcazar Air aims to become one of the top 30 airlines in the world by 2030 and will be listed in the future.
“We think we have a good financial future. Listing is in our future… but you never say never. We hope to go public one day,” he told PTI in an interview this week.
He acknowledged that competition in the aviation industry has always been fierce, but said that as long as it focuses on fundamentals, there will be enough room for development in the future not only for Alcazar Air but also for other airlines.
“Thanks to the growth that we will see in India, it is not that Alkasa will do well only if others do not do well. No, Alkasa can do well and others can do well. This That’s what India’s growth offers,” the airline’s founder and CEO said.
The airline started operations in August 2022 with a fleet of 24 aircraft and a domestic market share of 4.5%.
When asked about air ticket prices, Dube said the country has some of the cheapest air tickets.
India is one of the fastest-growing civil aviation markets in the world and is considered price-sensitive in some quarters, especially with the rising number of air passengers, including first-time flyers. There are concerns about air ticket prices being too high, especially during the festive season.
“I think the fares are the cheapest in the world, like I saw three months ago, six months ago… I think when you compare airfares in India to parts of Europe, East Asia, North America You can compare air tickets in India with air tickets in any other country. As a sizable aviation economy in the world, India has some of the most affordable air tickets by a long shot, and not just for 10 or 100 rupees… … Air tickets in India are very affordable,” Dubey said.
Ayyappan Rajagopal, outgoing CEO of travel portal Cleartrip, said air ticket prices are expected to rise on both international and domestic routes due to strong demand and more people booking in advance.
“In the high-end segment, (price) sensitivity is not that high. There is a second category of consumers who are more concerned about price and may even take three hops to reach their destination,” he told PTI.
Meanwhile, Alcazar Air’s Dube said the airline had no shortage of pilots and would not experience any flight disruptions.
The revised flight duty time limit specifications, which increase pilots’ rest time, will take effect from June 1.
“We have about 700 pilots at Alcazar Airport. We have no shortage of pilots. I don’t want to say no without giving a number, because you can calculate for yourself what an airline with 24 aircraft needs in terms of pilots.
“We are focused on creating a highly reliable network. We want to be the most punctual airline in India. We want to ensure that we have the lowest cancellation rate,” Dubey said.
As for whether the revised norms would cause any disruption after implementation, his answer was negative.
“Absolutely, 100% no outages… Reliability is at the heart of everything we do at Akasa. No one should expect any outages in June,” he noted.
Regarding bilateral air traffic rights, the head of Alcazar Airlines said there is a lot of room for international expansion.
Some Gulf airlines have been seeking enhanced flight rights to operate more flights to and from the country. However, the government is not in favor of granting more bilateral flight rights.
“I think there are probably a couple of markets across the Gulf that are saturated on both sides, like Dubai and Sharjah, which are the best markets that I know of, but there’s a lot of capacity in places like Abu Dhabi, Dammam There are open skies, we have space in Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, I think Bahrain, Muscat.
“So, if you ask me specifically about the Middle East, I don’t think there’s a problem. There’s a lot of capacity in almost every market in Southeast Asia. So, I think we’re good because there’s a lot of room to expand internationally, ” Dube said.
When asked if Akasa Air wanted to use any particular label, Dube said he personally did not like such labels.
“We are the most punctual airline in India, the lowest cancellation rate, the best baggage…literally we have the best legroom in India, grab your tape measure and measure, we USB ports were added to the flight, the quality of the food was excellent and we thought we had some well-trained staff.
“…I don’t have a label, Akasa is not a marketing gimmick. We are really about providing the best customer service to people,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
