Number of air passengers between UK, India double in two years - Airliners-India

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TOPIC: Number of air passengers between UK, India double in two years

karatecatman

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Date: Nov 22, 2006

Number of air passengers between UK, India double in two years	Permalink Closed

www.uninews.com Number of air passengers between UK, India double in two years London, Nov 22 (UNI) The number of passengers flying directly between the UK and India has more than doubled during the last two years due to liberalisation of bilateral air travel, resulting in avalibility of greater choice and capacity, combined with cheaper fares. Between October 2004 and October 2006, the number of direct services between India and the UK more than tripled from 34 to 112 service per week, provided by a combination of pre-existing carriers offering more flights and the arrival of new carriers in the market. As a result of liberalisation that began two years ago, India has moved from seventh to fourth most popular long-haul destination after the US, Canada and the United Arab Emirates. A report published today by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, on the eve of the European Union/ India aviation summit in Delhi, claimed that the UK/India market is a showcase for the benefits of aviation liberalisation. Services are more frequent, and use a wider range of destinations in India, while increased competition and capacity has led to substantial reductions in air fares. Passenger numbers have reached more than two million a year in the last two years from one million, with a big increase in direct business travel. Harry Bush, CAA director of economic regulation, said the expansion had followed the move by the two governments to look ‘‘beyond the narrow interests of their flag carriers when deciding what is in the national interest’’. __________________ KCM

karatecatman

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Posts: 2289

Date: Nov 23, 2006

UK officially deregulates long-haul fares	Permalink Closed

www.uninews.com UK officially deregulates long-haul fares Tuesday November 21, 2006 The UK Civil Aviation Authority, in a move that likely will have more of a symbolic effect than a practical one, yesterday announced it will stop regulating long-haul fares after 30 years "because of greater competition in the airline market." CAA said that in recent years it has focused on "a very small subset of fares on a shrinking number of mainly long-haul routes...paid by what the CAA perceived to be 'captive' passengers," such as those working for a small business or traveling due to an emergency. Regulation will be discontinued in two stages. Long-haul routes other than UK-US will be deregulated on Dec. 1, while UK-US routes will be deferred "until other pricing restrictions in the UK-US market are removed." Those restrictions, applied by CAA on behalf of the UK Dept. for Transport, limit airlines' ability to offer fares to the US via an intermediate point that are lower than those available on direct UK-US services, thus protecting carriers denied access to the US. "The availability of such lower-price indirect alternatives is a key element in the CAA's reasoning for removing regulation, and so the CAA believes the current UK-US scenario justified deferral for now," it said. The agency said that approximately 40 routes were subject to possible regulation this year, about half of them UK-US. Regulation was confined to fully flexible economy fares "where airlines generally have the least incentive to compete on price." Those fares now will be deregulated on flights to Russia, Egypt, Ghana, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Japan, Thailand, Mexico and Brazil. Virgin Atlantic Airways argued that the UK-US regulations also should be removed immediately, saying there is "little if any connection between the sum-of-sector policy and...regulation of the flexible economy fare," according to CAA. The body maintained there is a connection, citing as an example how direct carriers' adherence to a Saturday-night-stay condition on most UK-US economy fares has limited the alternatives to the Y2 fare more so than in other markets. __________________ KCM

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