New Delhi’s swanky Terminal 3 has only had a fleeting visit from the world’s largest and most modern passenger aircraft, the A380 super jumbo.
So what’s stopping airlines from flying the big bird to India?
The simple answer is India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is doing the equivalent of flashing the dreaded yellow and red lights that keep aircraft on hold, interminably.
The ministry has held back permission without citing any reasons, but aviation circles are rife with speculation that the motive is to protect Indian carriers. Some domestic airlines that fly to Europe are worried that the A380 would take away passengers from their routes, with travelers lured by the new aircraft and attractive fares that are possible with the larger, more economical plane.
If true, such a deliberate delay would be short-sighted and ultimately against India’s own interests. Indian carrier Kingfisher has five A380s on order and the option to buy five more. Air India, which has a strong partnership with Lufthansa, could also make the A380 available to its customers through its existing code-share agreement with the German carrier on the Delhi-Frankfurt route.
Lufthansa was expected to start flying the A380 on the Delhi-Frankfurt route with the opening of T3. The airline announced as much, but then it wasn’t allowed to fly the super jumbo to India, and instead had to deploy it elsewhere.
To date, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has 234 orders worldwide for the A380 (including more than 40 deliveries). The largest customer by far is Dubai-based Emirates, which already operates 15 of its total order of 90 aircraft. Of India’s seven scheduled carriers, only Kingfisher has put in orders for the aircraft. Barring any further production delays or deferments, deliveries to Kingfisher will start in 2014. Other airlines, particularly from Europe and Asia-Pacific, have placed more sizable orders and many already operate the super jumbo.
Emirates, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and other airlines are keen to fly their newly acquired fleet to India, which has become one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. It is in India’s interests to welcome the world’s newest aircraft.
Given its unrivalled fuel efficiency, the A380 would help meet the nation’s air-travel demands in an environmentally friendly way. Anyone who has had the pleasure of flying in the aircraft will attest to the outstanding on-board experience and state-of-the-art service standards. It would also help India in its efforts to come up with an answer to its strongest competitors in aviation: Dubai Airport and Singapore’s Changi. Both these airports function as de facto hubs for India, and beefing up traffic and service in Delhi would allow India to gain some ground and reduce the need for nearby hubs.
Gulf carrier Emirates conducted A380 test flights to Delhi and Mumbai in May 2007 and operated a proving flight from Dubai to Delhi to validate the demand of such a route. In order to test T3 for operational readiness prior to its opening last year, Emirates was also allowed to combine two of its flights, on regular aircraft, into one flight on the super jumbo to Delhi on July 15, 2010. The flight and all handling procedures at the airport went without a hitch. Given the huge traffic volumes between India and the Gulf, the carrier is waiting for approval to operate regular flights using its fleet of large aircraft.
Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL), the developer and operator of Indira Gandhi International Airport, is keen to receive the 525-seater aircraft on a regular basis. The airport has been designed specifically to cater for large, so called “code F” type aircraft. The 4,430 meter runway at T3 is one of the longest in Asia and has all the facilities needed to handle the super jumbo. Accommodating a regular A380 operation would not only add prestige to India’s capital airport but also showcase recent efforts to upgrade the country’s airport infrastructure.
It would also help the airport earn the necessary returns on its considerable investments in state-of-the-art A380 infrastructure, which otherwise lies unused.
There is no reason why India should linger while China‘s aviation industry, which has also undergone huge infrastructure improvements, has attracted large foreign investments that have catapulted the country into the premier league of aviation nations. In 2010, Beijing Capital Airport made it to the Top 10 of the Skytrax global airport rankings –surpassing North American and European airports, including big shots such as London’s Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Today, A380s are daily visitors to Beijing. There are many parallels between Beijing’s Capital Airport and Delhi’s T3. Both were opened just before the hosting of major international events; the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Both airports are meant to reflect their nations’ status as leading world economies.
Allowing the A380 to operate commercially has many other benefits, including low noise pollution levels. According to Airbus, the A380’s noise level is about 50% lower than that of many competing long-haul aircraft. This would offer some respite to residents living under an airport’s flight path.
Delhi is not the only Indian airport capable of handling the A380. Considerable investments have been or are being made to upgrade other airports across the country: Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and of course Mumbai. All would benefit greatly from the additional capacity the aircraft brings to congested skies and runways.
A380 operators, passengers and India’s gateway airports are clearly ready to let the big bird nest on the subcontinent. It’s hard to see how India, which over the last couple of years has been adding world-class airport infrastructure, will become a globally competitive aviation hub without the A380 flying here.
Sooner or later the aircraft will surely take to India’s skies. Let’s hope that Vayalar Ravi, India’s newly appointed Minister for Civil Aviation, will adopt a forward-looking policy that speeds up what is right for the industry and the economy, rather than letting short-sighted politics delay the inevitable.
So what’s stopping airlines from flying the big bird to India?
The simple answer is India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is doing the equivalent of flashing the dreaded yellow and red lights that keep aircraft on hold, interminably.
The ministry has held back permission without citing any reasons, but aviation circles are rife with speculation that the motive is to protect Indian carriers. Some domestic airlines that fly to Europe are worried that the A380 would take away passengers from their routes, with travelers lured by the new aircraft and attractive fares that are possible with the larger, more economical plane.
If true, such a deliberate delay would be short-sighted and ultimately against India’s own interests. Indian carrier Kingfisher has five A380s on order and the option to buy five more. Air India, which has a strong partnership with Lufthansa, could also make the A380 available to its customers through its existing code-share agreement with the German carrier on the Delhi-Frankfurt route.
Lufthansa was expected to start flying the A380 on the Delhi-Frankfurt route with the opening of T3. The airline announced as much, but then it wasn’t allowed to fly the super jumbo to India, and instead had to deploy it elsewhere.
To date, European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has 234 orders worldwide for the A380 (including more than 40 deliveries). The largest customer by far is Dubai-based Emirates, which already operates 15 of its total order of 90 aircraft. Of India’s seven scheduled carriers, only Kingfisher has put in orders for the aircraft. Barring any further production delays or deferments, deliveries to Kingfisher will start in 2014. Other airlines, particularly from Europe and Asia-Pacific, have placed more sizable orders and many already operate the super jumbo.
Emirates, Lufthansa, Singapore Airlines, Qantas and other airlines are keen to fly their newly acquired fleet to India, which has become one of the world’s fastest-growing aviation markets. It is in India’s interests to welcome the world’s newest aircraft.
Given its unrivalled fuel efficiency, the A380 would help meet the nation’s air-travel demands in an environmentally friendly way. Anyone who has had the pleasure of flying in the aircraft will attest to the outstanding on-board experience and state-of-the-art service standards. It would also help India in its efforts to come up with an answer to its strongest competitors in aviation: Dubai Airport and Singapore’s Changi. Both these airports function as de facto hubs for India, and beefing up traffic and service in Delhi would allow India to gain some ground and reduce the need for nearby hubs.
Gulf carrier Emirates conducted A380 test flights to Delhi and Mumbai in May 2007 and operated a proving flight from Dubai to Delhi to validate the demand of such a route. In order to test T3 for operational readiness prior to its opening last year, Emirates was also allowed to combine two of its flights, on regular aircraft, into one flight on the super jumbo to Delhi on July 15, 2010. The flight and all handling procedures at the airport went without a hitch. Given the huge traffic volumes between India and the Gulf, the carrier is waiting for approval to operate regular flights using its fleet of large aircraft.
Delhi International Airport Pvt. Ltd. (DIAL), the developer and operator of Indira Gandhi International Airport, is keen to receive the 525-seater aircraft on a regular basis. The airport has been designed specifically to cater for large, so called “code F” type aircraft. The 4,430 meter runway at T3 is one of the longest in Asia and has all the facilities needed to handle the super jumbo. Accommodating a regular A380 operation would not only add prestige to India’s capital airport but also showcase recent efforts to upgrade the country’s airport infrastructure.
It would also help the airport earn the necessary returns on its considerable investments in state-of-the-art A380 infrastructure, which otherwise lies unused.
There is no reason why India should linger while China‘s aviation industry, which has also undergone huge infrastructure improvements, has attracted large foreign investments that have catapulted the country into the premier league of aviation nations. In 2010, Beijing Capital Airport made it to the Top 10 of the Skytrax global airport rankings –surpassing North American and European airports, including big shots such as London’s Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Today, A380s are daily visitors to Beijing. There are many parallels between Beijing’s Capital Airport and Delhi’s T3. Both were opened just before the hosting of major international events; the 2008 Beijing Olympics and last year’s Commonwealth Games in Delhi. Both airports are meant to reflect their nations’ status as leading world economies.
Allowing the A380 to operate commercially has many other benefits, including low noise pollution levels. According to Airbus, the A380’s noise level is about 50% lower than that of many competing long-haul aircraft. This would offer some respite to residents living under an airport’s flight path.
Delhi is not the only Indian airport capable of handling the A380. Considerable investments have been or are being made to upgrade other airports across the country: Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and of course Mumbai. All would benefit greatly from the additional capacity the aircraft brings to congested skies and runways.
A380 operators, passengers and India’s gateway airports are clearly ready to let the big bird nest on the subcontinent. It’s hard to see how India, which over the last couple of years has been adding world-class airport infrastructure, will become a globally competitive aviation hub without the A380 flying here.
Sooner or later the aircraft will surely take to India’s skies. Let’s hope that Vayalar Ravi, India’s newly appointed Minister for Civil Aviation, will adopt a forward-looking policy that speeds up what is right for the industry and the economy, rather than letting short-sighted politics delay the inevitable.
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