Infosys chief lets it fly at Ministry of Civil Aviation

‘‘I have been trying for the last one year to get the Government to allow more Lufthansa flights out of Bangalore but no one has even bothered to reply,’’ he said, while addressing the keynote session at a two-day summit held by research firm Gartner.

Murthy, whose individual net worth is estimated at $1.5 billion, minced few words as he explained how German airliner Lufthansa’s application was on hold.

‘‘It is really very strange that we have to fight our own Government at times to get things done. I have been asking for seven direct flights out of Bangalore for so long but no one has even heard me yet. My employees face problems as a result.

‘‘The bureaucrats in New Delhi will have to understand that we are fighting our own government. No one from the aviation ministry has even bothered to write me a letter.

‘‘If, despite such poor infrastructure, we have achieved so much, with a little help on the part of the government we can do much better.

‘‘You can imagine the growth of the IT sector if infrastructure improves in this country,’’ he said when asked about the IT backlash in the US. ‘‘Why blame outsiders… look at your own government,’’ he added.

Bangalore is the hub for software biggies such as Infosys, Wipro and I-flex whose clients include Microsoft, Compaq, Sony, Toshiba, Motorola and GE Capital.

At present, there are three Lufthansa flights per week out of Bangalore to New York via Frankfurt. Air-India flies out of Bangalore but most flights have a Mumbai stopover, resulting in at least two extra hours in transit.

Air-India earns almost Rs 235 crore per annum for not utilising its bilateral rights. Basically, this means that foreign airlines pay money to India’s national carrier for not using its rights to fly out of the country.

Despite numerous applications from foreign airlines, Air-India is dead against the idea of starting more international flights out of Bangalore.

When contacted, Jitender Bhargava, Director, Air-India said Air-India has 15 flights that head abroad from Bangalore via Mumbai.

‘‘Only 30-40 passengers get in from Bangalore,’’ said Bhargava. ‘‘Hence, we do not think there is any potential to start new flights. Besides, why Bangalore? Tomorrow one could ask for direct flights from Chennai also? We cannot fly from Bangalore directly till we reach a load factor of 70 per cent per day.’’