Recession hit air traffic to US, Britain
MUMBAI: The global economic downturn not only caused heartburn in India, it also dampened Indians' newfound wanderlust. Encumbered by the difficult times, Indians reduced their travel to and from various international destinations, but not all.
While flights operating between India and countries like the US, UK, Singapore, Sri Lanka suffered between 2008 and 2010, a few places like Dubai and Hong Kong witnessed a surge in passenger traffic. Of these, Hong Kong was the biggest beneficiary; air traffic between India and the bustling Chinese city grew by 128% in 2008-09 and by 68% in 2009-10. During these years, air traffic to most other countries fell by an average of 10%, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday.
Experts say the reason Hong Kong has suddenly found favour with fliers is the bilateral agreement signed between the special administrative region and India, which has allowed Cathay Pacific to operate more flights between the two destinations.
The DGCA statistics also show that Indian airlines are slowly catching up with their foreign carriers on international routes. Though foreign airlines continue to ferry the majority of passengers to and from India, fliers have somewhat warmed up to Indian carriers in the last five years. In 2004-05, 71% of passengers flying between India and other destination chose foreign carriers; by 2009-10, that number had fallen to 66%.
"With airlines like IndiGo scheduled to launch international operations this year, Indian carriers will continue to catch up," said a top airline official.
Yet, airlines like Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are several nautical miles behind their foreign rivals like Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways when it comes to plain-vanilla numbers. In 2009-10, only 1.1 crore passengers flew Indian carriers on international routes compared to the 2.1 crore who chose foreign carriers.
The official warned against making a linear comparison between domestic and foreign airlines. "One must remember that these numbers do not make a distinction between, say, a passenger flying to Singapore and the one flying to New York," he said.
In the last five years, airports like Doha and Dubai have emerged as major air hubs between India and the world. So, of the 2.1 crore passengers who flew to and from India on foreign carriers in 2009-10, a huge percentage would have transited at Doha or Dubai.
"What you have is a passenger flying, say, the Mumbai-Dubai-New York route on Emirates and another flying Mumbai-Dubai on Air India Express. In the statistics it will show as one passenger each for an Indian carrier and the foreign carrier. But there is a world of difference here," says the official.
It is no surprise then that Dubai did not witness a fall in air traffic. Numbers flying between India and Dubai have maintained a steady growth rate of 26% in the last five years. The only other destinations that have managed to have such a steady growth are those in the Gulf.
DEEPAK KUMAR JHA
PGDM(2010-12)
RROLL NO. 06
While flights operating between India and countries like the US, UK, Singapore, Sri Lanka suffered between 2008 and 2010, a few places like Dubai and Hong Kong witnessed a surge in passenger traffic. Of these, Hong Kong was the biggest beneficiary; air traffic between India and the bustling Chinese city grew by 128% in 2008-09 and by 68% in 2009-10. During these years, air traffic to most other countries fell by an average of 10%, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Saturday.
Experts say the reason Hong Kong has suddenly found favour with fliers is the bilateral agreement signed between the special administrative region and India, which has allowed Cathay Pacific to operate more flights between the two destinations.
The DGCA statistics also show that Indian airlines are slowly catching up with their foreign carriers on international routes. Though foreign airlines continue to ferry the majority of passengers to and from India, fliers have somewhat warmed up to Indian carriers in the last five years. In 2004-05, 71% of passengers flying between India and other destination chose foreign carriers; by 2009-10, that number had fallen to 66%.
"With airlines like IndiGo scheduled to launch international operations this year, Indian carriers will continue to catch up," said a top airline official.
Yet, airlines like Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines are several nautical miles behind their foreign rivals like Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar Airways when it comes to plain-vanilla numbers. In 2009-10, only 1.1 crore passengers flew Indian carriers on international routes compared to the 2.1 crore who chose foreign carriers.
The official warned against making a linear comparison between domestic and foreign airlines. "One must remember that these numbers do not make a distinction between, say, a passenger flying to Singapore and the one flying to New York," he said.
In the last five years, airports like Doha and Dubai have emerged as major air hubs between India and the world. So, of the 2.1 crore passengers who flew to and from India on foreign carriers in 2009-10, a huge percentage would have transited at Doha or Dubai.
"What you have is a passenger flying, say, the Mumbai-Dubai-New York route on Emirates and another flying Mumbai-Dubai on Air India Express. In the statistics it will show as one passenger each for an Indian carrier and the foreign carrier. But there is a world of difference here," says the official.
It is no surprise then that Dubai did not witness a fall in air traffic. Numbers flying between India and Dubai have maintained a steady growth rate of 26% in the last five years. The only other destinations that have managed to have such a steady growth are those in the Gulf.
DEEPAK KUMAR JHA
PGDM(2010-12)
RROLL NO. 06
World's slimmest smartphone: Samsung launches bigger Galaxy Tab 10.1
BARCELONA(Spain): Samsung launched a second tablet computer on Sunday, with a bigger screen and more processing power than the original Galaxy Tab that is seen as the only real rival to Apple's iPad .
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is intended to be a multimedia hub for afficionados of games, electronic books and social media, with a 10.1 inch (25.7 centimetre) screen, dual surround-sound speakers, and front- and rear-facing cameras.
The tablet, with two core processors to better handle media, is based on the latest Google Android platform, Honeycomb -- which has been optimised for tablets.
It will be sold by Vodafone in more than 20 countries before being released to other carriers.
Samsung, now the world's second-biggest phone maker after Nokia, also launched a new premium smartphone, the ultra-slim Galaxy S II, designed around hubs for social networking, reading, games and music.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung, whose telecoms division accounted for nearly half its profit last quarter, has sold around 10 million Galaxy S smartphones since its June 2010 debut, and 2 million Galaxy tablets.
"If I were (chief executive) Stephen Elop heading up Nokia, I would be looking over my shoulder at Samsung and feeling extremely nervous," said Ben Wood, lead analyst at telecoms research firm CCS Insight.
Samsung also announced a range of enterprise services compatible with its two new devices, to address some of the security concerns that have held Android phones back from a serious challenge to Research in Motion's BlackBerry.
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is intended to be a multimedia hub for afficionados of games, electronic books and social media, with a 10.1 inch (25.7 centimetre) screen, dual surround-sound speakers, and front- and rear-facing cameras.
The tablet, with two core processors to better handle media, is based on the latest Google Android platform, Honeycomb -- which has been optimised for tablets.
It will be sold by Vodafone in more than 20 countries before being released to other carriers.
Samsung, now the world's second-biggest phone maker after Nokia, also launched a new premium smartphone, the ultra-slim Galaxy S II, designed around hubs for social networking, reading, games and music.
South Korean electronics giant Samsung, whose telecoms division accounted for nearly half its profit last quarter, has sold around 10 million Galaxy S smartphones since its June 2010 debut, and 2 million Galaxy tablets.
"If I were (chief executive) Stephen Elop heading up Nokia, I would be looking over my shoulder at Samsung and feeling extremely nervous," said Ben Wood, lead analyst at telecoms research firm CCS Insight.
Samsung also announced a range of enterprise services compatible with its two new devices, to address some of the security concerns that have held Android phones back from a serious challenge to Research in Motion's BlackBerry.
DEEPAK KUMAR JHA
PGDM (2010-12)
SEMESTER-2 ND