Indian aviation industry has placed order for nearly 500 aircrafts that are expected to fly in the Indian skies by 2010. Are the airlines too optimistic?In the last couple of years, India witnessed growth in the passenger and cargo traffic in the airline industry. Common people have also started traveling by air, which had been earlier restricted to the rich. Private airlines like Jet and Sahara, started their business in the 1990s, and recently, industry has seen the entry of many private airlines who have started their carriers especially in the discount segment.
Going by the growth in the passenger and cargo traffic, airlines started increasing their capacity. “Increased scale of operations, greater economy of operation, and lower airfares, fuel further growth” says Captain Vijay M Mayadev, Principal, Institute of Aviation and Aviation Safety, Mumbai. There is further scope for the growth, if the airlines can attract 5% of the train passengers traveling by upper class, which comes up to 40,000 passengers. Allowing foreign capital, lowering the entry barriers, allowing private airlines to fly to foreign shores, contributed for the growth of the industry. |
