Indian aviation market large enough to #39;accommodate all players profitably#39;: Emirates

Indian aviation market large enough to #39;accommodate all players profitably#39;: Emirates

Aviation



Indian aviation market is "large enough to accommodate all players profitably" and irrespective of what competitors do, the airline is focused on its strategies, leading Gulf carrier Emirates has said amid Air India ramping up its fleet and operations.

Emirates, which operates only wide-body A380s and B777s, flies to nine Indian cities and operates 167 weekly flights to the country.

A senior Emirates executive said the expansion of Air India might push airports to improve their services, which will be a positive development for all other airlines, Indian customers as well as the aviation and travel industries as a whole.

"Air India flying to new international routes might also have a positive (effect) on Emirates. When a new route is operated by an airline, then that could result in increased traffic demand and the particular airline might not be able to cater to the demand.

"As a result, the potential customers will look at other carriers and that can have a positive impact," Mohammed Sarhan, Vice President - India & Nepal of Emirates, told PTI during a recent interaction.

Tata Group-owned Air India has placed orders for 470 new aircraft, including 70 wide-body planes, as the carrier embarks on overseas expansion plans