The
Jet Airways-Etihad Airways deal has a had a negative fallout for Air India (AI) as European carriers like Lufthansa are fuming over the civil aviation ministry giving the Abu Dhabi-based airline a three fold hike in
capacity on Indian routes to a massive 36,670 seats a week.
Their grouse is that while Etihad has walked away with the bonanza, they have not been allowed to fly their A380 planes to Indian airports.
According to sources, Lufthansa is obstructing the
Maharaja's entry into Star Alliance, an exclusive club of 28 airlines, as it wants the ministry to grant its A380s access to Indian routes.
Many European and Asian airlines have registered their verbal protest over the liberal opening up of Indian skies to Etihad while they have been denied similar rights.
Authorities have refused A380 operations in India citing commercial interests of domestic carriers. They have argued that the huge seating capacity of an A380 compared with that of a Boeing 747 would destabilise the market.
A380s have a massive capacity of over 650 seats which is almost twice that of many Boeing 747s.
Once AI becomes part of the Alliance, it will benefit from additional access to 1,329 airports in 194 countries.
Star Alliance, sources said, continues to believe that AI still does not meet the minimum joining conditions that were contractually agreed in December 2007. At that point in time, member airlines in a secret ballot had voted against AI due to its mismanagement, weak financials and poor image.
Interestingly,
the Jet-Etihad deal has also come under the scanner of the parliamentary standing committee on transport, tourism and culture, which has questioned the government's decision in a report tabled in Parliament last week.
The report stated that the flying rights, or bilateral, were expanded despite the inability of Indian carriers to use them owing to their limited fleet. The parliamentary committee said it was
surprised by the move because present allotment of seats has not been exhausted by Indian carriers, a pre-requisite for fresh bilateral negotiations.
"Prime facie, this move appears to facilitate one airline to strike a deal with a foreign airline for its stake sale at a huge premium. The committee feels that the huge premium could be a backhanded way of obtaining access to the huge civil aviation market in India," the report said.
Aviation think tank Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation has in its latest report stated that it had expected the A380 to start operating in India before the end of 2012. "That did not happen and we now expect the aircraft to make its debut in 2013," said Capa.
In association with Mail Today 
Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal 
Special 
