India's aviation industry taking off once again

New Delhi: India's aviation industry is taking off again after last year's downturn.
With passenger numbers for domestic carriers growing, many airlines are expanding their fleet and have started rehiring.
India's domestic air traffic has grown about 25 percent in the last four months with low-cost carriers leading the fight back for the Indian aviation industry.
Thanks to their low prices, airlines such as IndiGo and Spice Jet accounted for almost 60 percent of all domestic passengers flown in January 2010.
IndiGo is planning to expand its fleet size from 24 to 34 by the end of the year, and hire around 1,000 people.
Spice Jet too is on a hiring spree, as it looks to fly international routes soon.
Praful Patel, Minister of Civil Aviation in India, said: "Growth has come back in the last four to five months. We are looking at the year 2010 with cautious optimism. If this trend continues, I am sure that by 2010 end, the worst part of Indian aviation would have been over."
The revival is also good news for airport operators who are implementing modernisation projects worth millions of dollars.
State run Airport Authority of India is planning to partially privatise at least 15 non-operational airports across the country.
Nearly 35 non-metro airports are also being upgraded to handle increased passenger flow.
13/04/10 Damanjeet Kohli/Channel NewsAsia

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Apr 2010