air kerala

air kerala express

‘Air Kerala’ may not be viable, say experts

Though hailed as an ambitious project, ‘Air Kerala’ seems to be a far cry from reality. The experts say that the viability of the project is still in doubt.

The increasing fuel price, crisis in the aviation sector in the country and the absence of business class passengers in the state are the major factors which can effect the financial viability of the project.

Paulose K Mathew, chairman, Travel Agents’ Federation of India - Kerala, said that keeping in view that the 70 per cent of the pa ssengers to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries from India are from Kerala, the concept ‘Air Kerala’ becomes a prerequisite for the state. But whether the project is viable or not is something which has to be discussed in detail.

Almost 60 per cent of the operational expense in the airline sector is of fuel. Since the fuel prices keep on increasing, a newly-formed company will require huge chunk of money to operate. It is doubtful that the state and the Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) can meet this challenge,” he said.

Most of the passengers from Kerala are of economy class. Hence, the airline will not be lucrative in the near future, Paulose added. The proposal to start a budget airline was first floated at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conclave in New Delhi five years ago. But it was not granted permission by the Central government as the proposal did not meet the criterion of the existing provisions which permit an Indian carrier to operate international services. It requires a minimum fleet size of 20 aircrafts and experience of five years of continuous operations in the domestic sector.

The state government expects some relaxation in this rule also. The long forgotten idea has gained momentum with M A Yusuff Ali, chairman, EMKE Group, resigning from the Director Board of Air India on July 21.

 Experts feel that for an airport the public-private-partnership model is very much suitable but it will not be successful for an airline company as the capital requirement is very huge.

They pointed out that the American and European airline companies are not ready to operate from Kochi, stating the unavailability of business class passengers.

Kerala to get own airline

Given the large number of Keralites who would offer it patronage, and given also the large number of them regularly fleeced by airlines, it is surprising that this idea took so long reaching fruition. The proposal for the state's own airline is now moving in the right direction, Excise Minister K. Babu said. 

Besides a large number of tourists who travel to Kerala, which the state's tourism department advertises as "God's own country," there are also a large number of people from the state working in other parts of the country and the world, especially the Middle East. 

Speaking to IANS, Babu, who is also director and board member of the country's first private-public funded Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL), said a decision to conduct a feasibility study on the launch of 'Air Kerala' was taken, and it would be set up as a venture of the state government, in collaboration with CIAL. 

Air Kerala under consideration

Air Kerala under consideration

KOCHI: The Cochin International Airport Ltd company on Saturday announced the proposal to revive the 'Air Kerala' plan. It has also fixed 16 per cent dividend to its shareholders. This was announced by Chief Minister and CIAL Chairman, Oommen Chandy at the airport company's AGM here.  CIAL MD V J Kurien was appointed to do feasibility studies on the plan. It was during the regime of the last UDF government that the plan to launch an airline for Kerala was made. A company by the name of Air Kerala International Service Ltd was registered. But the plan was not materialised. The decision to reorganise the directorial board of the Air Kerala Company was also taken.

Kerala government to launch its own airline

Kerala government to launch its own airline
 Kerala is to launch its own airline "Air Kerala" to cater to passengers travelling between the state and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. Indian Parliamentarian, E TMohammed Bashir, told Times of Oman in Muscat that this is likely to ease problems of NRIs travelling between Kerala and the GCC nations. 

"During peak seasons, they have shell out huge amounts to purchase air tickets. So, the government of Kerala is moving ahead to start its own airline, Bashir told the newspaper. The company, named Air Kerala, was registered in India around four years ago. He said the new airline will follow the public-private partnership model, as was adopted in building the Cochin International Airport. 

Cochin was the first airport in India that was constructed with private participation. 

Air Kerala Express

Experts give thumbs down to Air Kerala Express, Gulf ship service

The assembly session that was adjourned sine die on Wednesday saw the government proposing two ambitious plans to alleviate the travel troubles of the 2.5 million non-resident Keralites working in the Gulf region.

The proposals aren't new, but were revived after there was a huge hike in airfares in this sector during peak season. Chief minister Oommen Chandy said on Monday that Kerala would once again approach the Centre for approval to establish Air Kerala Express airline for the benefit of people working in the Gulf.