Bangalore Set To Be Hub Of Low Cost Carriers

UB Group To Enter No Frill Bandwagon

Vyas Sivanand - Bangalore

‘It’s flying’ say the numerous Kingfisher hoardings that have come up in the city. While this could well be for their beer, it does make United Breweries (UB) group’s intention to enter the Indian aviation sector, clear. The UB group already has three aircraft, a 26-seater Boeing 727 executive jet, a 13-seater Gulfstream 2B and a seven-seater HS-125. Though, UB chairman and MP, Vijay Mallya uses these for business purposes, the group has now shown keen interest in launching a low-cost no frills carrier.

Deccan Aviation, pioneers of the no-frills concept in India, will have competition from the group as well as another company, Air One, which is also planning to enter this segment. The entry of no frill aircraft in the city at this stage will be much more easier as a platform with regard to functioning, ticketing, destinations, rate structure etc has already been actualised by Air Deccan.

This sudden growth in low cost carriers has surely effected business functioning of Indian carriers including Indian Airlines, Jet and Sahara. “Business volumes of all three Indian carriers has reduced and I think it is time for them to work out some strategies to combat this new trend of no frill carriers. With a comparatively lower network, Air Deccan has already created a spur in the air travel business. I am quite sure that with the introduction of more such carriers, there will be a marked effect,” said S Prabhakar Rao, proprietor, Travel Tips Pvt Ltd.

“The launch of a low-cost, no-frills airline, which provides connectivity to even small towns, should also make travel easier. While options have increased, expectations of business travellers have essentially remained the same. Reliability in terms of schedules and timings, comfort and convenience at all levels is what everybody looks for and with what we have already seen through Air Deccan, there is hardly any doubt among passengers when it comes to choosing a flight,” says Manoranjan Shastry, travel co-ordinator, Vaibhava Travels. Though a city-specific trend, it certainly is a signal for a new trend catching up in the Indian aviation scenario.