Latest news with #BASA
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
A blockbuster battle of global airline alliances is playing out in India
Early this month, on the sidelines of IATA's 81st AGM, which was held in India after a gap of four decades, IndiGo signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delta Air Lines, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Air France. The MoU, when firmed, will see IndiGo being able to offer its passengers flights to 30 points in Europe beyond Amsterdam on KLM, points beyond Paris, Amsterdam and London to North America with Delta Air Lines, KLM and Air France, and to North America from Manchester with Virgin Atlantic. One would wonder why these airlines would want to partner with IndiGo, which has a vastly different experience on offer and has had an LCC DNA for years. The answer to this lies in how the alliance wars are playing out in India. Data obtained from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, exclusively for this article, shows that amongst the three large airline alliances in the world, SkyTeam, which counts Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines as its members, has the lowest percentage of seats. Star Alliance, with a member airline in India in the form of Air India, has the highest capacity on international routes out of India. A total of 2.3 lakh seats are on offer each week out of India to destinations outside India, and a staggering 62.2% of the seats on offer are flown by low-cost carriers or carriers that are not affiliated with any of the alliances, like IndiGo. 19.9% of all seats, or 45,994 seats, are flown by Star Alliance carriers, 12 of whom, including Air India, operate to and from India. This is followed by OneWorld, which sees 10 carriers operate to India and offers 26,601 seats per week or 11.5% of the total. The last is SkyTeam with eight carriers and 5.9% of total international seats, or 13,720 weekly seats. The spread is thinner for SkyTeam, with the member airlines operating to six airports in the country, while Star Alliance members fly to eight, and OneWorld carriers fly to 16 airports in India. Star Alliance, with Air India being part of it, has the advantage of routing traffic via Delhi, Air India's hub. India is the third-largest domestic aviation market in the world and is growing rapidly. The country has climbed ranks and is now the third-largest economy in the world. With business, trade, diaspora and tourism the main drivers for Indians, airlines across the world are betting on the world's most populous country to be their carrier of choice. This is being led by Air India and now IndiGo, with the likes of Emirates and Etihad pouncing on the traffic. European carriers have a smaller presence than Middle Eastern carriers due to how the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) has been structured over the years. The growth of traffic in mature markets remains muted and ranges between 1% - 3%, while India recovered much earlier than global estimates post-pandemic, making the market lucrative. There is a thin line between who is more important to whom. Is IndiGo more important to the SkyTeam carriers, or are these four airlines important partners for IndiGo? This thin line is what makes this a match made in heaven. IndiGo, for its expansion, cannot rely on destination-centric traffic alone, which is seasonal at best. It has to find ways to cater to transatlantic as well as European traffic, for which it requires a strong partnership. While IndiGo may be a strong airline in India and the neighbourhood, intercontinental is a different ball game. On the other hand, the likes of KLM, Virgin Atlantic, and Air France have not had an opportunity to cater to more Indians after the fall of Jet Airways, with whom they had a strong partnership. Within Europe, these airlines are locking horns with the Lufthansa group, comprising Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, among others, and the IAG group led by British Airways. International, unlike domestic, is dependent on BASA, and while Lufthansa has two hubs, KLM and Air France largely have a single hub, thus limiting the scope for expansion. This 'win-win' is what will bring these airlines closer in the future. Air India could well be stronger at Frankfurt, while IndiGo focuses on Paris, with Amsterdam slots being the thorn.
Mint
29-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
Hyderabad, Bengaluru shine among metro airports in footfall growth; new Noida, Navi Mumbai facilities set for takeoff
The Airports Authority of India (AAI) declared the footfalls at Indian airports for the last financial year. Delhi continued to be the largest airport in the country in both Domestic and International footfalls, having an unassailable lead over Mumbai, which maintained its second position. The fastest growth was accounted for by Hyderabad airport, which saw a growth of 17.3 per cent in FY25 (April 2024 to March 2025) as compared to the previous financial year. Kolkata came in next with a 12.1 per cent growth, Bengaluru followed with 9.7 per cent when it comes to domestic footfalls. Chennai recorded 8 per cent growth, while Delhi and Mumbai recorded 6.4 per cent and 2.7 per cent growth, respectively. Both Mumbai and Delhi are congested with limited scope to grow and have a large base, making a double-digit growth impossible. On the international side, Bengaluru reported the highest growth at 25 per cent followed by Hyderabad at 12.3 per cent. Delhi reported a 10 per cent growth, while Mumbai saw an 8.9 per cent increase in footfalls. Both Chennai and Kolkata saw shrinking footfalls marginally, with Kolkata seeing a drop of 4 per cent while Chennai saw a marginal drop of 0.4 per cent. In absolute terms, on the domestic front, Hyderabad maintained its lead with addition of 36 lakh passengers while Delhi, which grew only 6.4 per cent, saw an addition of nearly 35 lakh more passengers over the previous year. Bengaluru added 31.8 lakh, Kolkata saw an addition of 20.95 lakh and Chennai handled 12.2 lakh more passengers while Mumbai saw 10.2 lakh more passengers in the last fiscal compared to the previous one. On the international side, Delhi saw the maximum addition with 20 lakh more footfalls than the previous year, followed by Mumbai, which saw 12.7 lakh more footfalls. Bengaluru was close with 11.7 lakh, while Hyderabad saw an addition of 5.1 lakh footfalls. The total traffic saw Hyderabad record 16.5 per cent growth, followed by Bengaluru (11.6 per cent), Kolkata (10.3 per cent), Delhi (7.6 per cent), Chennai (5.7 per cent) and Mumbai (4.4 per cent). In absolute traffic, Delhi handled 55 lakh more passengers, the highest, while Chennai handled the least incremental passengers among the six metros at 12 lakh. The last few years have seen the non-metro airports grow their share in total footfalls. While International is governed by Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA) with little leeway to start flights beyond the points of call, the shift in domestic flights is higher. The six metro's contribute 57.8 per cent of total footfalls, a number which was above 70 per cent only a decade ago. This is an indicator that traffic is moving beyond the six metros. The next set of metros like Ahmedabad, Kochi, Goa, Pune, Lucknow, Jaipur and Guwahati are also seeing an increased connectivity to various parts of the country. The countrywide footfall growth was a modest 9.4 per cent. Airports with very low footfalls in the past saw the highest growth, with airports like Ziro, Rourkela, Diu, Deoghar and Kullu recording growth over 50 per cent, which is 1.5 times the traffic of the previous year. Prayagraj saw a growth of 76 per cent over the previous year, which was concentrated in February, due to the once-in-a-lifetime event of Maha Kumbh taking place. Airports at Amritsar, Coimbatore, Surat, Varanasi, Vijayawada, Ahmedabad, Mangalore, Aurangabad, and Bhopal were some of the other airports which have seen traffic higher than average. Two new major airports are slated to start operations later this year; the Noida International Airport at Jewar and Navi Mumbai airport have had their trial flights done and are awaiting final clearances and licences. Mumbai airport plans to take down Terminal 1 and shift some movements to Navi Mumbai International Airport. In this case, both airports are operated by a single operator, unlike the two airports at Delhi. The shifting of flights from Mumbai's CSMIA to Navi Mumbai airport will lead to Mumbai airport dropping in terms of ranking, propelling Bengaluru to the number two spot in India. This will also open up new connections and slots for the two major cities in India, leading to an increase in connectivity, which means the focus will again be on non-metro routes. Capacity will also be available at Guwahati (New Terminal), Lucknow (runway repairs) and Goa-Mopa (Expansion), which will see the secondary cities gain even more. While the focus remains on airlines in India, the airport sector will be more buzzing in years to come. First Published: 29 Apr 2025, 03:13 PM IST
Zawya
13-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Nigeria signs amended BASA agreement with UAE
Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has signed the amended Bilateral Air Service Agreement (BASA) between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The landmark agreement was executed during the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Global Implementation Support Symposium (GISS) 2025, in a high-level meeting with UAE's Minister of Economy, H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri, solidifying mutual aviation ties between both nations. Accompanying the Honourable Minister as part of the Nigerian delegation were, Capt. Chris Ona Najomo, Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Mrs. Olubunmi Kuku, Managing Director, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Mrs. Olayinka T. Babaoye-Iriobe, Director, Air Transport Regulations, NCAA, Capt. Abdullahi Mahmood, Director of Operations, FAAN and Mr. Ahmed Tijani, Director, Air Transport Management, Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development. The ICAO GISS 2025, hosted by H.E. Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), brought together over 35 ministers, 191 countries, 1,500 aviation professionals, and 70 exhibitors at the prestigious Emirates Palace, Mandarin Oriental, Abu Dhabi. The event also featured the Global Sustainable Aviation Marketplace (GSAM)—an ambitious initiative by the UAE to drive collaboration and innovation in sustainable aviation. The signing of the amended BASA, according to the special adviser to the minister on media and communications, Tunde Moshood, built on last year's negotiations, ensuring reciprocal rights for both countries and fostering deeper aviation collaboration. At the event, the Minister emphasized the importance of enhancing connectivity between Nigeria and the UAE, with a focus on expanding codeshare agreements and interlining opportunities for Nigerian airlines. During the signing ceremony, H.E. Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri lauded Nigeria's aviation minister saying: 'let me say this on camera now, the Nigeria aviation minister is a man who keeps his words and for us, that's everything', acknowledging his commitment to advancing Nigeria-UAE aviation relations. In a further boost to bilateral relations, both countries agreed to sign a Technical Cooperation Agreement focusing on capacity building and technical support in key aviation areas, including safety and regulatory, environment, airport facilitation and security. This cooperation reinforces Nigeria's commitment to elevating its aviation sector to global best practices while deepening ties with international partners. The Minister reaffirmed Nigeria's readiness to work closely with the UAE to implement these agreements effectively, ensuring that both nations maximiSe the economic and operational benefits of this strengthened partnership.
