How will India’s bilateral seat-count policy impact its aviation sector?
Every country has a government-level, bilateral agreement or the air service agreement (ASA) with another country that it finds lucrative to service.
The United Arab Emirates and India, for example, have such an agreement and airlines belonging to both nations are allowed a total of 66,000 seats together, as per the 2014 agreement and Dubai had sought an increase of 50,000 seats.
But the Indian government said that it did not have any plans to increase air traffic quotas with the West Asian nation. Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had said the govt wanted Indian carriers to offer non-stop long-haul flights on larger planes. He said Air India’s widebody plane order and IndiGo’s twin-aisles to some destinations were signs that that ‘transition’ had begun.
Emirates president Tim Clark said that with India poised for the best economic growth given the global gloom, and the growth that is coming for India aviation. In his inimitable style, he said, “You are going to need airports and airports and airports… pilots and pilots and pilots and planes and planes and planes,” he said quite emphatically.
The question he asked is whether India can cope with the growth coming its way. He says that Dubai is opening up the visa ecosystem, and will be extending work, investment and property visas and Indian workers are bound to benefit from these relaxed rules.
How will this impact fares? How will India’s bilateral seat count policy impact its aviation sector?
Script and presentation: K Bharat Kumar
Production: Shibu Narayan
Videography: Johan Sathyadas
Newsgathering: Jagriti Chandra
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