Analysis: Indian carriers get new international flying rights

Late yesterday, India’s ministry of civil aviation (MoCA) announced the latest allocation of traffic rights to Indian carriers.

Traffic rights granted effective Summer 12

Spicejet – 7 services/week for Delhi-Kabul, Delhi-Guangzhou, Madurai-Colombo, Hyderabad-Bangkok, Trivandrum-Male, Cochin-Male, Delhi-Dubai, Mumbai-Dubai, Delhi-Hong Kong, Delhi-Riyadh.

Jet Airways – 4 services/week on Guwahati-Dhaka, 7 services/week each on Mumbai-Chittagong, Kochi-Kuwait, Mumbai-Kuwait, Trivandrum-Dubai, Chennai-Colombo-Male, Mumbai-Singapore, Delhi-Singapore, Mumbai-Dar es Salaam, Kolkata-Bangkok.

IndiGo – 7 services/week each on Kolkata-Kathmandu, Chennai-Singapore, Hyderabad-Singapore, Delhi-Bangkok, Chennai-Dubai, Delhi-Dubai, Hyderabad-Dubai, Cochin-Dubai, Mumbai-Jeddah.

 Traffic rights granted effective Winter 12

Jet Airways – 7 services/week on Bangalore – Brussels – Chicago /SanFrancisco/ Washington D.C., Mumbai-Paris, Delhi-Munich, Chennai-Munich, Bangalore-Munich, Mumbai-Frankfurt, Mumbai-Munich.

In Bangalore Aviation‘s opinion, the majority of SpiceJet’s granted routes appear feasible (though they did not get rights to Delhi-Dhaka-Yangon).

Jet Airways’ summer services are a bit more tenuous, we see Guwhati-Dhaka as very unlikely, same for Mumbai-Chitagong. Chennai-Colombo-Male is now more crowded thanks to Maldivian, Mumbai-Dar Es Salaam is a rather small market with admittedly growing business connections, and a second daily Delhi-Singapore is unlikely given the elevated competition on this route.

Jet’s winter services granted vary. We’ve been very vocal in our support for Jet adding Bangalore-Brussels-San Francisco (they’d instantly become the fastest option, perhaps they can JV with Lufthansa on the route). Similarly, Brussels-Chicago makes sense after American Airlines cut the route; it can be placed into the vacated Brussels-JFK slot. Mumbai-Paris makes sense as an addition to Jet’s strong Mumbai operation, as do Mumbai-Frankfurt/Munich if those two routes can be timed to connect in Lufthansa’s long haul banks. Chennai-Munich could also work under a JV with Lufthansa scenario; bringing the third Indian destination into the fold. Bangalore-Munich and Delhi-Munich likely wouldn’t work given the expanded capacity from Lufthansa’s 747-8is to Frankfurt (they wouldn’t want Jet to cannibalize some of the traffic).

Most of IndiGo’s given rights have already been announced, and the remainder are very safe and conservative.