Cathay Pacific may cut flights to Delhi

Hyderabad, May 21:

Hong Kong's flag carrier Cathay Pacific may be forced to prune its services to Delhi, even while it is planning to expand operations elsewhere in the country.

This comes in the wake of Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which operates the airport, effecting a nearly 345 per cent hike in aeronautical charges from May 15, 2012.

If Cathay Pacific snips its services to the Capital's airport, it will be the fourth foreign airline to either cancel or trim flights to Delhi in the recent months due to high costs.

While American Airlines and Air Asia took pulled out of Delhi, Air France opted to operate fewer flights to the Capital.

Other foreign airlines such as Lufthansa, British Airways, Emirates and Singapore Airlines have also opposed the rate hike.

evaluating impact

Mr Tom Wright, Cathay Pacific's GM- South Asia, Middle East & Africa, said: “We are evaluating the impact of the hike on our operations out of Delhi and will soon take a call (on whether to cut flights or not).”

The airline currently flies 14 times a week to Delhi. “It is a highly complicated formula.

With this kind of tariff, Delhi should be the most expensive airport in the world,” he told Business Line.

unrealistic proposition

He said passing on rate hike to passengers “is an unrealistic proposition in the current environment.”

Mr Wright refused to buy the argument that Delhi airport required the hike for its financial viability.

“With a world class airport such as Delhi, you cannot make losses. Then its financial model must be fundamentally flawed,” he says.

The airline's possible move to cut flights to Delhi may upset its plans to expand operations in India, including increasing it's Chennai service to daily from September and connecting Hyderabad and Kolkata, as the entire cycle will get affected.

The carrier has also been facing tough times in getting bilateral entitlements to add new destinations in India.

“Getting rights is time taking here. It took us 20 years to increase our services to India from eight flights a week to the present 35,” Mr Wright said.

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