23rd Feb 2012,Thursday
Kingfisher Airlines may lose some of its prime slots in the country's major airports to rivals as a severe financial crunch forces it to cut flights further weakening its competitive position.
The airline is now left with only 28 aircraft and the company submitted a revised schedule comprising 170 flights against the 400 that it was originally supposed to operate. The surplus slots across the country will then go to rivals. The airlines cancelled more than 30 flights again on Wednesday.
"They need to come up with a new schedule, otherwise their [flying] slots will be cancelled and given to other airlines," British newspaper Financial Times reported on Tuesday, quoting EK Bharat Bhushan, director general of civil aviation
Industry experts say that it will be difficult for Kingfisher to hold on to slots even if it submits a revised schedule as technically to do that - a privilege referred to as grandfather rights - an airline needs to fly at least 80% of its schedule for the entire year, which is not the case with Kingfisher.
After the reduction of flights since November, eight of Kingfisher's slots at the second busiest airport in the country, Mumbai International Airport, are already taken over by IndiGo (two flights), Jet Airways (three), Air India (two) and SpiceJet (one).
Kingfisher has already pulled flights out from several cities like Kolkata - since, partially reinstated them - besides reducing the number of flights from other cities as well as from international routes.
Aviation experts say that vacant slots will only help rival airlines, especially at crowded airports like Mumbai or at airports like Goa and Pune where there are restrictions by the armed forces on the number of flights that can operate. "Kingfisher would try and protect its precious slots at airports like Mumbai and Delhi as it cannot afford to cancel them. The airline might, however, give up slots in smaller cities or excess ports where they will still find them vacant once they stabilise and want to resume," said Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation consultancy and advisory firm.
Also, it is important that the airlines that pitch in to fill Kingfisher's slots must have the requisite number of planes when they commence their summer schedule and also for the rest of the winter schedule. The Indian aviation market currently has a problem of over-capacity and there is a supply-demand mismatch where, according to Kaul, 25% seats are still going vacant.
Kingfisher Airlines may lose some of its prime slots in the country's major airports to rivals as a severe financial crunch forces it to cut flights further weakening its competitive position.
The airline is now left with only 28 aircraft and the company submitted a revised schedule comprising 170 flights against the 400 that it was originally supposed to operate. The surplus slots across the country will then go to rivals. The airlines cancelled more than 30 flights again on Wednesday.
"They need to come up with a new schedule, otherwise their [flying] slots will be cancelled and given to other airlines," British newspaper Financial Times reported on Tuesday, quoting EK Bharat Bhushan, director general of civil aviation
Industry experts say that it will be difficult for Kingfisher to hold on to slots even if it submits a revised schedule as technically to do that - a privilege referred to as grandfather rights - an airline needs to fly at least 80% of its schedule for the entire year, which is not the case with Kingfisher.
After the reduction of flights since November, eight of Kingfisher's slots at the second busiest airport in the country, Mumbai International Airport, are already taken over by IndiGo (two flights), Jet Airways (three), Air India (two) and SpiceJet (one).
Kingfisher has already pulled flights out from several cities like Kolkata - since, partially reinstated them - besides reducing the number of flights from other cities as well as from international routes.
Aviation experts say that vacant slots will only help rival airlines, especially at crowded airports like Mumbai or at airports like Goa and Pune where there are restrictions by the armed forces on the number of flights that can operate. "Kingfisher would try and protect its precious slots at airports like Mumbai and Delhi as it cannot afford to cancel them. The airline might, however, give up slots in smaller cities or excess ports where they will still find them vacant once they stabilise and want to resume," said Kapil Kaul, CEO, South Asia, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, an aviation consultancy and advisory firm.
Also, it is important that the airlines that pitch in to fill Kingfisher's slots must have the requisite number of planes when they commence their summer schedule and also for the rest of the winter schedule. The Indian aviation market currently has a problem of over-capacity and there is a supply-demand mismatch where, according to Kaul, 25% seats are still going vacant.
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