The Flight has Landed

Indians are flying high. Thanks to a proactive civil Aviation Minister (Praful Patel) , the airline sector has finally woken up from the slumber. Last week witnessed AI buying 50 planes worth US$ 7 Billion from Boeing. BusinessWeek reports about the dogfight between Airbus and Boeing to cater to the Indian market. They are giving huge discounts , using official diplomacy, promising to provide ground support,maintanance and training -- you name it and you get it. Boeing is already contemplating about setting up a maintanance and pilot training centre in India.

The Open Skies agreement signed between India and US,UK,Singapore (plus a few more set to follow) in recent weeks promises more flights,low fares and increased consumer power.

Long live low cost airlines. After the phenomenal success of Air Deccan, this month would witness the launch of Kingfisher airlines and spicejet. Air Deccan has already fired the first salvo by offering air tickets for as less as Rs.1 (Limited number of tickets . plus taxes which is apparently Rs.221 !).

But amidst all this good news is a sense of pessimism. The number of airports and the airport conditions in general continue to be a cause of concern. But with bold privatisation reforms in the offing, the Mumbai and Delhi airports followed by the other metros are likely to become world class in the future.

Only sky is our limit !