TRIVANDRUM, 15 April 2004 — Air-India is yet to take a final decision on operating low-cost flights to Gulf destinations from Kerala, according to the A-I chief.
“The proposal comes up for discussions at almost every board meeting but there hasn’t been a final decision made yet,” A-I Chairman and Managing Director V. Thulasidas said.
“I can only say that it’s under very active consideration,” he added.
He also hinted that there would be no fare cuts in the immediate future unless the market situation changes. Normally, the no-frills airlines are cheaper by around 20 percent.
Sharjah’s Air Arabia has already sought Indian aviation authorities’ permission to operate budget flights linking Cochin and Sharjah. Last week, Chief Minister A. K. Antony urged Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to clear the proposal immediately after the Air Arabia chairman sought his intervention. Thulasidas refused to comment on alleged reluctance by the federal authorities to accord sanction to Air Arabia.
He said the A-I required no government approval to operate budget flights once the board takes a decision. “A decision is to be taken by all the members including me. There’s no timeframe set for that,” he said adding questions were being raised on viability every time the issue comes up for discussions.
“The budget flights are an internationally accepted business norm. But we have to clear all doubts and look into the experiences of others who have started and folded up before jumping into it,” he told Arab News in an interview here. The Kerala government has been clamoring for low-cost service to the Gulf for long. M. M. Hassan, the state minister for non-resident Keralites’ affairs, has had several rounds of discussions with A-I officials, including Thulasidas who took over three months ago, and he had even threatened to launch an agitation.
