Edits, Columns & Analysis - May 2008

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‘We are selling more tickets in India than in China’
Ashwini Phadnis
Business Line
May 19, 2008
The German Airline Lufthansa is bullish about its prospects in the Indian market. The airline recently got permission to operate a 48-seater all-business-class flight six times a week to Pune from Frankfurt and is now eagerly awaiting next February, when the next round of talks between India and Germany will take place. In an interview to Business Line, the airline’s Director, South Asia, Mr Werner Heesen, spelt out the plans for the airline.
Excerpts from the interview >>>

Efficient air cargo system must for growing economy
Gunjan Pradhan Sinha & Nirbhay Kumar
Economic Times
May 15, 2008
Newly-commissioned greenfield and brownfield airports seem to be focussing on air passengers. Cargo facilities at these airports are yet to draw the full attention of airport developers. “In our country, cargo is still a neglected area even though it generates 30% revenue for the airport operator. After privatisation things have improved but only in the passenger side,”said an official of a leading air-cargo company.
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Break the complacency barrier
Abhijit Bhattacharyya
Financial Express
May 14, 2008
One of the most visible signs of prosperity is airport traffic. Both the Chinese and Indian demand curves are on upswings, thanks to economic growth and booms in civil aviation. An interesting feature of civil aviation growth, however, is airport capacity, efficiency and profitable use thereof, to ensure that traffic does not get clogged and passengers don’t stumble on delays, either onground or in the air. Hence, the world over, there seems to be an inclination for decentralisation of traffic to avoid bottlenecks and delays by having more than one airport adjacent to big hubs and metros.
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‘Maharaja experience must make a comeback for customers’
Ashwini Phadnis
Business Line
May 05, 2008
The newly appointed Chairman and Managing Director of Air India, Mr Raghu Menon, is just one-month old in the top spot. In an interview to Business Line, he outlined how there will be increasing emphasis on passenger comfort, expansion of the network and improving the carrier’s profitability.
You have taken over at a time when the airline has reported the highest loss in its history and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices are at a global high. What would your strategy be to manage these issues?
There is no denying that the airline industry is going through a difficult period. Fuel prices have escalated more than three times in the recent past.
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