Airlines pull out the stops with direct flights to US

When Angira Agarwal, an executive, took an AI non-stop flight to New York from Delhi, he felt he was in a hotel. He worked undisturbed, was pampered to the hilt and slept like a baby. He's vowed to take non-stop flights on long-haul routes in future too. It's a trend that's catching on in India, especially with one Indian carrier starting such flights. Who wants the hassles of fog, ATC delays and stopovers when time is money for business passengers like Agarwal? And international airlines sensing this, are buying the latest jets to make this a reality. Business to the US is, after all, going great guns.

No wonder AI started daily, non-stop flights to the Big Apple from Mumbai (on August 1, 2007) and Delhi (February 8, 2008). Flights from Bangalore to San Francisco are also on the anvil. "This is a lucrative sector and good traffic is expected here," says Jitender Bhargava, ED, Corporate Communications, AI. Kingfisher too plans to start non-stop US flights from Bangalore-San Francisco and Bangalore-New York this year. US carriers which have non-stops to India are American Airlines (Delhi-Chicago), Continental (Newark-Delhi, Newark-Mumbai) and Delta (New York-Mumbai).

Direct flights to US

TIME SAVED

"These flights, about 16 hours," says Bhargava, "are meant more for those who spend money to save time than for those who spend time to save money." The Delhi-NY non-stop, for eg, is three hours less than the stopover flight. From Bangalore-San Francisco, the time saved is five hours. "At the end of the day," says Singapore-based Albert Tjoeng, manager, corporate communications, International Air Transport Association, "airlines consider demand, route profitability and passenger profile when deciding between direct flights and stopovers."

An American Airlines (AA) spokesman says India is a strategic market for them. "We've introduced initiatives such as Indian menu option and Bollywood movie channels in this regard. Our Delhi-Chicago route offers seamless onwards connectivity to over 125 cities in the US. Besides saving time, it's stress-free: no disembarking, waiting, re-embarking," he says. He however refused to give load factors, saying it was commercially sensitive.

Emirates too says non-stop, long-haul flights will be the in-thing in air travel. "Great advancement in aircraft technology has made such travel easier, more convenient and comfortable," asserts Salem Obaidalla, senior VP, commercial, West Asia & Indian Ocean. It has non-stops from Dubai to NY and Houston and will fly to Los Angeles on September 1.

With increasing trade between India and the US, air traffic too has grown — three million passengers approx. in 2006 and has been growing at double digits for the last four years, says the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA). India was the fastest growing inbound market into the US between 2001-2006 and traffic is expected to quadruple over the next five years.

Airlines are also flying top-of-the range planes on non-stops. AI flies its mint-fresh Boeing 777-200LR (longer range), to NY. Five have joined the fleet, three more will be delivered next year. Emirates too has put B777-200LRs, B777-300ERs and A340-500s on these routes.

TOUGH COMPETITION

But while the Indo-US market is huge, competition too is tough, says Kapil Kaul, CEO, Indian Subcontinent and Middle East, CAPA. "Reputed international airlines will be competing for this lucrative sector along with AI."

And all stops are being pulled out to make such flights successful. Noorjahan, member, operations and marketing, Department of Post, took the Delhi-NY non-stop in February. She says, "I took the flight at 12.20 am from Delhi and reached New York at 5.30 am the same day. I was able to attend my meeting at 9.30 am, thereby saving a day. I also slept well as it was night time wherever we flew. It was luxury personified." Her return trip from Los Angeles-Frankfurt-Delhi had the usual hiccups of a stopover flight: nine hours from LA, a layover of 2-3 hours at Frankfurt and another six hours to Delhi. "The entire day was gone. Even the plane was old," she says.

But these non-stops aren't cheaper than one-stops (see box). Explains Bhargava, "First and Business class fares are higher because of the superior product. Economy class fares are aligned with those of other carriers." Anyway, First and Business class are where airlines rake in the moolah. "You are in business if you can capture this niche market," says Kaul.

The amenities are many. Flat seats that convert to beds, wider aisles, massage systems, latest entertainment system, email, SMS facilities....But these haven't translated into passenger loads as yet. While stopovers such as BOM-LON-JFK and DEL-LON-JFK have 69% to 55% load factor, non-stops have 46% and 42% respectively. It may be a long haul to profitability.