Fresh bilateral negotiations for more traffic rights: Ajit Singh

Civil Aviation min recently granted 60% more traffic rights to Indian carriers on international skies

With the Civil Aviation ministry granting 60% more traffic rights to Indian carriers on international skies, it is likely to engage in fresh bilateral negotiations with countries of Oman, Macau and Afghanistan for the enhancement of traffic rights.

The bilateral traffic rights between two countries define the number of weekly flights or seats country's designated airlines are allowed
to operate in another country’s specified points. Both the countries can seek more number of services or seats per week or more number of places to which it can fly through enhancement of traffic rights.

In an interview with Business Standard, Ajit Singh, the civil aviation minister said, “We would explore possibilities of enhancing additional traffic rights with those countries with whom existing rights have almost got exhausted from both sides.”

 According to data provided by the civil aviation ministry, the current winter season will see Indian carriers utilizing over 42 per
cent of the quota of seats allowed under bilateral traffic rights with various countries, or 377,724 seats per week, compared with about 20 per cent utilization in the year-ago season.

“Though right now, there are no services operating between India and Macao but with Spicejet getting permission to fly there, we will be
seeking more traffic rights there. India and Macao Air Service Agreement permits 2 services per week,” confirmed a senior ministry
official.

Singh said, “As far as Abu Dhabi (UAE) and Saudi Arabia are concerned, India is nearing completion of utilization of bilateral rights but the other country has yet to do. For rest of the countries, fresh bilateral negotiations for enhancement of traffic rights will take
time.”

With Singapore, it will also take some time for talks of enhancing traffic rights as Kingfisher airlines still has unutilized traffic
rights (5,000 seats). “We will see if these unutilized traffic slots stay with us and then we will think ahead,” Singh added.

With 60% increase in traffic rights, the total number of services per week from Indian carriers will increase from 1074 now to
1695 in winter schedule of 2013. Up till winter schedule of 2013, Air India and Jet airways will almost increase their services by around 50% whereas Spicejet would more than triple its weekly services from 70 in summer of 2012 to 230
in winter of 2013.

Experts believe that Indian carriers were faced with two challenges in getting rights for international skies- five-year mandatory domestic
experience required for flying abroad and the Right of First Refusal (RoFR) with Air India, a situation in which only after Air India’s
refusal would private carriers get international flying rights. The government had imposed a freeze on private carriers expanding
abroad in March last year in an attempt to protect financially strained Air India from more competition on foreign routes.

Singh said, “After doing away with the Right of First Refusal of Air India in February this year, we made a policy that we would give
bilateral for next three seasons uptil Winter 2013” Explaining it further as to why the ministry has started granting
rights for next three seasons, Singh added, “If an airline goes to these neighboring countries, it would take one to three months to set
operations but if you go to relatively far off countries like China, Vietnam etc, it takes more time.”

http://business-standard.com/india/news/fresh-bilateral-negotiations-for-more-traffic-rights-ajit-singh/196256/on