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Close on the heels of Abu Dhabi being granted additional weekly seats to India,Emirates,Qatar Airways and Gulf Airways will plead their case for more seat entitlements. Officials from these airlines are scheduled to meet finance minister P Chidambaram and civil aviation minister Ajit Singh early next week; Emirates confirmed that either president Tim Clarke or other senior officials would be present at the meeting.The Dubai-based carrier is looking for an additional 20,000 seats per week as it fears it could lose market share due to the additional seats granted to Abu Dhabi. The airline has told Indian diplomats in Dubai that there needs to be a level playing field.
In April,the civil aviation ministry had signed a memorandum of understanding with Abu Dhabi to increase bilateral seat entitlements by 36,700 seats per week from the existing 13,300. Etihad will be the sole carrier from Abu Dhabi to make use of the rights that would enable it to rival Emirates,which has nearly exhausted its seat entitlements of 54,200 seats per week. India and Abu Dhabi have signed the MoU,but it will need to be approved by the Union Cabinet.
An e-mailed query sent to Qatar Airways remained unanswered.
Qatar has had a good flow of passengers bound for the Gulf as well as onward journeys, said the diplomat quoted above. In fact,based on the good response Qatar has got from India,they are keen on setting up newer hubs to tap into the growing class of fliers.
Qatar Airways and Emirates are eying potential heavy traffic from Indians who would want to fly to South America in the next two years for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Brazil Olympics.
Both have steadily added destinations in South America to tap into this demand.
Meanwhile,Bahrain8217;s Gulf Air which currently flies to Delhi,Mumbai,Chennai. The country has sought 5,100 additional seats. 8220;Gulf Air is undergoing a restructuring strategy,during this time,the airline is focussing on strengthening its core and existing netwrok,8221; said a Gulf Air spokesperson.
While the Gulf airlines are keen on expanding their seat entitlements,Indian carriers have not displayed a similar enthusiasm. Indian carriers have sought only 15,000 additional seats per week to Dubai,and remain content with seats to Qatar and Bahrain.
Negotiations for seat entitlements,however,are in early stages according to a civil aviation ministry official. The negotiations will take at least another six months to complete, the official said. A ministry of external affairs official said the ministry is not involved at the current stage of negotiations and their views will only be sought later.
Earlier this year,aviation consultancy firm Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation CAPA had said in a report that all airlines from the West Asian region are seeking up to 150,000 additional weekly seats into India.
The Middle Eastern airlines will make a very compelling case for this expansion as they have a total of 400 aircraft on order. Of these,90 are wide-bodied aircraft. These airlines need markets like India to open up for picking up traffic, said Kapil Kaul,CEO,South Asia and Middle East,CAPA.
