‘Not interested in India stake’
Emirates Airlines has no plans to follow Etihad and bid for a stake in an Indian carrier, Vice President (India & Nepal) Essa Sulaiman Ahmad exclusively told .
TT BUREAU “To
be honest, we are, right now, focussing on our traditional organic growth in India. And we are extremely busy with the growth we are anticipating,” he says. Emirates, which is the largest foreign carrier in India by market share, is currently offering network-wide savings of 8 per cent to foreign destinations for bookings made by May 24 for travel till July.
Recently Emirates President Tim Clark was quoted by Bloomberg, saying, “There were no plans to acquire equity stakes in India’s indebted airlines because they lack the control of operations, finances and their workforces that Emirates sees as necessary.” “If the Indians themselves can’t make a go of it – as Vijay Mallya can’t, Naresh Goyal struggling, and Air India also combating the challenges? If they can’t make it work, then who can?” Clark was quoted as saying, referring to the bosses of the two Indian carriers believed to be seeking a link up with an international partner to help service their mounting debts.
CAPA’s India Aviation Outlook 2013/14 report too mentions that Emirates does not look like a prospective investor at this stage as the model goes against its broader strategy. “Emirates has remained conspicuously quiet, although bilateral discussions are underway between the governments of
To be honest, we are, right now, focussing on our traditional organic growth in India. And we are extremely busy with the growth we are anticipating
India and Dubai to increase weekly seats by 26,000 with immediate effect,” it said.
Emirates, which began its India operations in 1985, currently has 13.04 per cent of the total market share of international air traffic in India. It has flown 45.32 lakh passengers in and out of the country in 2011-12, while Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express jointly carried 41.38 lakh passengers or 11.91 per cent. Talking about its India market and growth prospects, Ahmad says, “I just met a person who is spending 45 days in India, doing an exhaustive and intensive tour of the country. Our Emirates Holidays division is entering into partnership like TUI India and Le Passage to India to bring such unconventional tourists to India. We have a network of 134 destinations and we are tapping all these destinations to feed into India.”
When quizzed about Emirates’ network expansion plans between India and Dubai, Ahmad says, “When it comes to better access between both the countries, airlines are merely used as a bridge between the nations. It’s more to do with governments. They have to decide on the bilateral policies. We have just entered into a big partnership with Qantas. It’s more about going to different markets and complimenting each other.”
So any cost cutting measures to strengthen the financial viability of the airline? “We have had a successful operation for the past many years. The hub and spoke has really helped us. We have always remained focussed on luxury and such services to our passengers.” Ahmad seems hopeful about A380 being operational in India soon. “It’s a beautiful aircraft with double decks, shower and spa in first class and business class lounge within the aircraft. It is the flagship of our fleet. We already have 35 of these in operation all around the network. But in India, the government has to approve it first.”