International service may not hit M'lore-Mumbai airlines

Mangalore: Will the no frills Air India Express, which will commence its first international flight between Mangalore-Dubai on Tuesday, affect the prospects of airlines ferrying passengers between Mangalore-Mumbai? Will this development benefit passengers in terms of air fares?
Though the Dubai, Sharjah bound passenger traffic constitutes as much as 50 per cent of the total traffic of all airlines from here to Mumbai, the effect may not be pronounced in the initial stage, says Nagesh Shetty, area marketing manager, Indian here.
"In case the frequency of Air India Express flights is increased from the present three times a week to daily, the effect may be much more pronounced," asserts Shetty.
But other airline operators do not seem to toe the line. "It is a hype which may not last for long," says Pramod Nair, station manager of Jet Airways here.
Sudhir Bhat, senior sales executive, IA, adds that though the traffic pertaining to Dubai, Sharjah sectors will see a drop, there are other sectors like Muscat, Kuwait, Bahrain which hold promise. 03/10/06 Stanley G Pinto/TNN/Mangalorean.com

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