As Indian government allows international airlines to fly large planes into the country, carriers could soon be able to operate the world’s largest passenger aircraft, the Airbus 380, while offering flights tickets for destinations in India.
Very soon, travellers booking air tickets on India bound flights would be able to fly on the world’s largest passenger airplane, the Airbus A380. The Indian government is mulling over plans to permit international carriers to operate ultra long-haul aircraft into the country.
The country had previously barred airline operators from flying these big planes into India, in an effort to shield its own airlines.
Germany’s Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Dubai-based Emirates are couple of airlines that are showing interest in taking their Airbus A380s to the Indian skies as the authorities in India soften their stand.
Both Lufthansa and Emirates already operate flights to the country, offering air tickets on connections to different parts of India and beyond.
A senior civil aviation ministry official was quoted in various media reports as saying: “We will allow carriers, who want to fly Airbus 380s into India under the existing bilateral allotments they have.”
Industry experts are of the opinion that the move will help bring down the cost per seat and is likely to push up revenues for the operators offering tickets to the destination. More number of seats on India bound flights will enable them to save on fuel expenses. It will be interesting to see if these cost reductions trigger competitive fares on cheap air tickets on international routes of flights. However, a section of the market feels that this could lead to a plunge in the frequency of flights to the country, which could result in lesser flexibility for flyers looking for cheap flights tickets.
Currently, only three airports in India – Delhi, Hyderabad and Bangalore – are equipped to handle flights operated by A380s. The jumbo jet has a capacity of 525 seats and traditionally offers air tickets for all three travel classes.
