Flocking Together

AD times can make strange bedfellows of those who cannot see eye to eye otherwise. The Kingfisher-Jet alliance struck recently is an apt example. As the aviation industry in India bleeds and is estimated to close this financial year with cumulative losses of about Rs 8,000-9,000 crore (close to $2 billion) double the amount last year, alliances of this kind have become a necessity today.

“It (airline alliance) is nothing uncommon abroad,” says M Thiagarajan, managing director of Paramount Airways, a regional carrier that operates flights mainly in the south of India. “Alliances have been around for some time in the international market.”

Star Alliance, One world and SkyTeam, for instance, have been competing with each other globally over the last decade or so. The objective of these alliances is to provide a common pool of services to their members such as the use of common passenger terminals at airports, linking frequent flyer programmes and providing flights across member carriers.

To read the full article, click here..
To read the ePaper, visit:
http://epaper.financialexpress.com/FE/FE/2008/10/30/index.shtml

Dish TV set to roll out services in Sports Utility Vehicles

Kicking off a fierce battle in the direct-to-home (DTH) sector, leading DTH player Dish TV is ready to roll out their services in Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in India. The company is learnt to be in talks with car manufacturers such as Tata Motors, Honda and Ford Motors to provide services in their new SUVs. These car manufacturers have done successful trials Dish TV’s services. This additional facility is priced about $1,500 per vehicle in India.

Dish TV has already provided services in special trains of Indian Railways and Kingfisher Airlines. The hardware, which is sourced from Companies in Israel and Germany, costs about $1500. Jawahar Goel, managing director, Dish TV, told FE , “Car manufacturers have shown interest in the services. Though the trials have been done successfully, we are yet to start it commercially as the agreement is yet to be signed.”

The company, which added 2,85,000 new subscribers during the fourth quarter with a total 1.04 million in FY 2008, has a 59% market share in India. Goel said, “Apart from the hardware cost of $1500, consumers have to shell out the charges for the packages they select.” According to him, about 15 Mercedes cars in India have been using the DTH service from Dish TV.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.financialexpress.com

Airlines look to new revenue streams as fuel prices soar

In a bid to combat shrinking profits owing to rising fuel prices, airlines in India have started looking at newer revenue generating streams, as well as beefing up their business through new promotional activities. Air India is studying the cargo market in various countries to generate over 10% of its revenues from this new line of business. Go Air, too, is planning to enhance its cargo capacity.

Meanwhile, private carrier Jet has introduced special holiday packages for its passengers, while Kingfisher is in the process of designing a similar strategy. Cargo operations of Air India, at present, contribute 6% to the airline's revenues. The company is now studying the South East Asian market to ascertain the potential of cargo operations to that region, which normally has a high cargo offtake from India, especially in perishable goods. Says an aviation analyst with a Mumbai based broking firm, "Airlines looking at alternative revenue streams assumes significance since it comes at a time when jet fuel prices are getting steeper each day."

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.financialexpress.com

Private jets flying thick and fast

It's not just the airlines that are on an aircraft-buying spree. There are 230 aircraft owned by Indian business tycoons and non-aviation companies circling the sky. It was just six in 1990. But now private aircraft are about two thirds the size of the domestic airline fleet in numbers.

The craze for private jets is spreading.DGCA expects the number to exceed 300 by December, riding on a booming economy. "The demand for private jets and helicopters in the country would rise to around 300 to 400 in the next three to five years," said civil aviation minister Praful Patel recently.

It's not just the big corporates that are buying these airplanes. Mining companies in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand have recently sought permission to acquire and import about 80 helicopters, despite the hefty price tag. The number of small airplane owners has gone up to 76 in FY08, up from 36 in 2000.

A single engine Cessna costs about $5 million and a high-end Gulfstream, which can fly Delhi-London non-stop, $50 million. The top ones come fitted with features like a personal bedroom, office space, modern communication facilities and even Jacuzzis.

To read the full article, click here...
To read the ePaper, visit: http://epaper.financialexpress.com