Fly the good times to the US

AVIATION: As competition hots up, airlines are doling out freebies to wean away customers.

For the business traveller, flying to the US has never been better. As competition hots up with the entry of new airlines (Air India has launched a non-stop fight from Mumbai to New York and Jet's flying to Newark via Brussels), airlines are dropping fares and throwing freebies to wean away customers.

Delta Air Lines, for instance, is offering complimentary chopper service between downtown Manhattan and the JFK Airport on purchase of a qualifying non-stop ticket between New York City and Mumbai, or vice-versa.

Now, you can fly to or from the airport in 10-15 minutes while it can take 45-90 minutes by road.

Air India is offering its first class guests a free pick-up and drop facility for its new non-stop Mumbai-New York service, while Emirates offers its business class and first class passengers a complimentary pick-up and drop, subject to a maximum distance of 40-60 miles from the airport. This service is available in all key cities served by the airline, including New York. 
 

RETURN AIRFARES TO THE US
	ONE-STOP	NON-STOP
Economy	Rs 36,000+taxes	Rs 50,700+taxes
Business	Rs 1,53,000+taxes	Rs 1,59,700+taxes
First Class	Rs 3,45,000+taxes	Rs 3,57,700+taxes
SOURCE: travel agents

Other airlines like Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines had a companion-free offer for the US and Europe on full-fare business class tickets, which ended in June and July, respectively.

"Customers often weigh things like frequent flier miles when choosing an airline. To wean them away, other airlines may come up with such offers," said Deep Kalra, founder and CEO, makemytrip.com.

Take the complimentary chopper service, for instance. "It may not have much material value but it might still appeal to a lot of people," added Kalra.

"It's good to have some competition," said Baba N. Kalyani, CEO, Bharat Forge, who has to often fly to the US. "I prefer direct flights with convenient timings," he added.

Many frequent fliers are influenced by freebies like upgrades and other services like lounge facilities or pick-up and drop.

"I often fly to London with British Airways as it upgrades you from premium to business, or business to first class, based on your flying membership status, or take Virgin Atlantic, which offers a pick-up and drop facility. A drop can come in handy when you are abroad," said Rajesh Chandiramani, head of marketing, Tech Mahindra.

"More than a chopper service, what matters to me more are the lounge facilities. I like to take a shower at the arrival lounge, drop my luggage at the hotel or keep it in the car, and head straight for work. Often, you don't get a room in the hotel," said an investment banker who has to often fly to New York and London.

Typically, whenever a new flight is launched, airlines offer promotional fares or throw freebies to come into the consideration set of frequent fliers and agents.

Air India, for instance, dropped fares by 33 per cent after launching its non-stop service to New York. According to the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), the India-US route grew by 40-50 per cent in the first four months of 2007.

The doubling of Indo-US trade has fuelled business travel, which constitutes around 50 per cent of the traffic on this route, followed by leisure travel (8-10 per cent).

With the Indo-US sector estimated to be a $1.5 billion market a year "" traffic is likely to double to three million by 2011-12 "" expect more flights and freebies.