The nineties saw the saw the re-emergence of private domestic airlines in India after their nationalization in the fifties. The popularity of the new private airlines went up as they provided better service and on time performance with new aircrafts. Then the concept of Low Cost Airlines (LCC) was introduced into India and it found a great acceptability. By late nineties the popularity of low cost airlines raised so much that from marginal players in the market they became a dominant factor with their share of passenger traffic overtaking the full service airlines. The DGCA of India also did away price control over tickets. With liberalized domestic market came the flexible pricing of ticket. Since airline seats are perishable like vegetables, the new concept of price of ticket for the same flight varying from day to day and hour to hour also stated. Internet sale of ticket provided an excellent medium for this. This brought in a social revolution in India next to that of telecomm where cheap cellular phone became a social and business necessity. With airline tickets hitting the bottom, it enabled the middle class to find a new form of freedom- the freedom to travel long distance for business and pleasure by air. The composition of air traveler transformed. From largely government and corporate travelers, students, housewife, self- employed small and medium entrepreneurs all found flying by LCC viable and time saving.
Dr Sanat Kaul is Chairman of International Foundation for Aviation and Development (India chapter)
The next step took place in start of this century when private airlines were permitted to fly abroad. An unnecessary condition of five years was kept as a qualifying period for a domestic airline to start foreign operation. Be that as it may, two of our full service airlines, besides Air India, now fly abroad competing with the best of the world airlines and more will join. This gives our Indian airlines an experience of competing with the best in the world.
Meanwhile, our airports were in a shabby condition and needed an improvement. Kerala took the lead in 2000 with a brand new airport in Cochin in the joint sector followed by Hyderabad and Bangalore. This was followed by modernization of existing Delhi and Mumbai airports through a long term concession.
Now that we have a reasonably modern infrastructure of civil aviation in place with a large domestic traffic and good international connectivity, what should be our next step? To me the obvious answer is to create an international hub in India. What exactly is a hub? A hub is a place where a large number of airlines meet from different destinations and exchange passengers. India is well located in Asia connecting Europe with Far-East and Australia. But unfortunately, since we did not have a good airport nor did we encourage a liberal policy of bilateral air service agreement (except in the last few years) we missed the opportunity which gave rise to Singapore and Dubai to come up as hubs in our region although their own domestic traffic was negligible. We need to correct this mistake. How can we develop a hub? A hub requires a good friendly airport where waiting and transfers to another flight can be done in a friendly atmosphere. It also requires the city where it is located to be efficient and tourist friendly. Post Commonwealth Games it is hoped that Delhi will show these signs. Heathrow airport in London has come up as a major hub as it developed into a great point of interchange with the airport providing all modern facilities and city of London providing a good city for a break. In the east Singapore developed as a hub after Singapore split with Malaysia. First they developed their own airline and then the hub. Similarly, Dubai decided to develop their airline first and then the airport. In India, with the new T3 terminal in Delhi there is a scope of developing a hub in India. Delhi airport has two parallel runways which provides it with growth potential and is the busiest airport in India. Unfortunately, the existing Mumbai airport cannot grow due to limitations of land and the fate of the second airport is in a limbo, thanks to Jairam Ramesh. It is now time for government to take a concerted decision to develop an international hub in Delhi. For this they will have to encourage more flights into Delhi even thought our own airlines may protest to guard their turf. We also need to encourage bigger aircrafts like Airbus 380 to land in Delhi to create the critical mass required to create a hub and compete with the likes of Singapore and Dubai. Creation of a hub requires a good airport which we have and flights coming in from all directions, both domestic and international to provide connectivity. The advantages are many. A hub provides an increase in localized tourism and overnight stays; it provides an incentive to do business in the region. However, the state government of Delhi also needs to play a more proactive role in the airport hub development as it enhances the brand value of the city rather than sit back and take undeserved credit.
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