Singapore deal may trim air fares by 10%

Air traffic between India and Singapore is expected to grow 40%.

The agreement between India and Singapore to increase the number of flights between the two countries comes as good news to travellers as fares are anticipated to drop 10 per cent and connectivity expected to rise manifold.

With the new bilateral agreement put in place yesterday, the traffic between India and Singapore, estimated to be 1.5 million in 2004-05, is expected to grow 40 per cent in the short-term.

Private Indian carriers, however, talk of a gloomy scenario. The bilateral agreement will potentially lead to unlimited connectivity to about 18 Indian cities, leading to a considerable reduction in travel time.

For instance, a passenger travelling from Singapore to Gaya need not stop over at the Delhi airport and, instead, can fly straight to Gaya.

Gaya is among 18 cities that can have unlimited number of flights to Singapore. The others are Patna, Lucknow, Guwahati, Varanasi, Bhubaneswar, Khajuraho, Aurangabad, Goa, Jaipur, Port Blair, Cochin, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Visakhapatnam, Ahmedabad and Tiruchirapalli.

While all these cities may not become aviation hubs, cities like Amritsar and Ahmedabad are expected to generate substantial traffic to Singapore and for onward journey to the US and Europe.

With the agreement, the monopoly of Indian carriers on these routes will not remain for long. Carriers from Singapore no longer need to tie up with Indian carriers to fly to these destinations.

Indian carriers say they are still assessing the implications of the bilateral agreement. "The Singapore side seems to have negotiated really well and it is not in favour of Indian carriers,' said an executive with an Indian private carrier that recently started services to Singapore.

Under the agreement, there will be no increase in connectivity with Delhi and Mumbai. However, about 6,000 seats are being added for Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata every week. About 30 flights will be mounted from these cities. Singapore Airlines now flies thrice a week to Bangalore and Kolkata and four days a week to Hyderabad. Daily flights will now be possible.

The decision to allocate additional seats instead of flights will allow the carriers to decide the number and size of flights depending on traffic.

With no restriction on the type of aircraft to be used, carriers from Singapore will be able to operate smaller planes to small Indian cities, depending on traffic. Most of these cities are expected to have twice-a-week flights to Singapore.

Singapore Airlines, which flies twice a week out of Mumbai and daily from Delhi, would have liked more flights to connect these two cities.

The official reason for opening up Delhi and Mumbai is the lack of capacity at the two airports and that the two cities are already well covered. However, civil aviation ministry officials say the two cities are likely to be covered in the next round of negotiations.

According to sources, Singapore wanted over 200 additional flights to India. The Indian side apparently thought that a sudden spurt would jeopardise the prospects of Indian carriers.

Says Singapore Airlines general manager-India, BK Ong, "Singapore Airlines is committed to developing traffic to India and the additional flights will strengthen the aviation link not only between India and Singapore but also the rest of the world."

Taking flight

• Air traffic between India and Singapore is expected to grow 40%.
• The agreement will lead to a considerable reduction in travel time.
• Amritsar and Ahmedabad may generate substantial traffic to Singapore.
• Carriers from Singapore no longer need to tie up with Indian carriers.