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Santa gets busy for airlines, travel
The bells are jingling for the country’s airlines this Christmas. After a year that saw the industry suffer in an economic downturn, the New Year holiday season is bringing back some colour.
The bells are jingling for the country’s airlines this Christmas. After a year that saw the industry suffer in an economic downturn, the New Year holiday season is bringing back some colour.
Flights are well-booked and travel destinations are being discovered on the map to show that a slump in travel may be somewhat offset by travellers who had spent the previous Christmas week in doubt about the economy.
More and more people are opting for outstations vacations rather than a “quiet evening” with family and friends which was the refrain last year.
“We are looking to fly between 25,000 to 28,000 passengers every day between December 24 to January 16. Our flights to Jaipur and Udaipur, Goa, Trivandrum, Bhubaneshwar are fully booked and these are besides the metro destinations which are also reporting good loads,” a spokesperson for Air India said.
To meet the rush Air India will operate additional flights to Goa, Port Blair and Aizwal. Nineteen additional flights will be operated from Chennai to Port Blair in the Andamans, which is a seaside destination increasingly matching old favourite Goa for its sands.
“India was never into recession like the rest of the world in the past. It has very effectively moved out of it which has a straight relation with travel and tourism industry,” Raji Rai, president of Travel Agents Association of India said.
For the low-cost carriers, which were already doing good business during the economic slow down, the holiday season promises them with load factors — the average occupancy of passengers per flight — and better bottomlines.
“This is the time when the travel industry maximizes gains. We are almost full on all sectors from December 20 until January 16. Our seat load factor is nearly 80 per cent and we hope to maintain that. Also we have not yet factored in the last minute bookings which are also big,” a spokesperson for Spice Jet said.
Full service carrier Jet Airways is looking at the season with cautious optimism. “We have very good bookings and also the season will augur well for
the entire industry,” the Jet Airways spokesperson said.
The November 26 attacks in 2008 had also put travellers on a defensive mood, but things are looking better.
With a largely terror-free year behind and visible signs of green shoots in the economy coupled with huge discounts and freebies offered by hotels things could not have been better for the beleaguered aviation and hotel industries.
“People have put the past behind and looking at outstation holidays during the New Year. More and more people opting vacations, outside India, but at the same time the demand for domestic destinations is very encouraging”, Subhash Goyal, chairman STIC travel group told Hindustan Times.
“Egypt, China, Philippines and Sri Lanka are places where people have booked their holidays. These were earlier destinations preferred by the serious travellers,” Goyal said.
Destinations like Hong Kong, Thailand, Maldives continue to be among the favourite destinations, apart from Goa, which still continues to share the top spot with backpackers and premium travellers, Goyal added.
“The shift in vacation preference is primarily because the worst is over and the uncertainties seem to have ended. The mood in very many sectors is now upbeat. This coupled with cheap hotel and air fares has made travel a preferred way to unwind,” said a travel analyst with a global consultancy firm who did not wish to be identified.
Rai feels for India the best is yet to come and airlines and tourism sector can look at good growth in 2010 as well.
“With hotels offering good discounts the willingness to travel has improved, For example rooms which were selling for over Rs 16,000 a night are now being offered at as low as Rs 6,000 per night, this has helped hotels maximise their occupancy,” he added.
