About 60 percent of Scoot Airlines' passenger traffic from India is direct, while the remaining 40 percent flows beyond Singapore to destinations such as Bali, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Melbourne, Brian Torrey, the airline's general manager for India and West Asia, said on Thursday.
Scoot, which currently operates 80 flights a week between Singapore and six cities in India, is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. Singapore Airlines holds a 25.1 percent stake in Air India, operated by the Tata Group.
Onward traffic, also called “sixth freedom traffic,” is a key point of tension between India and Middle Eastern countries such as the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. These countries are demanding more bilateral rights for airlines such as Emirates and Qatar Airways to expand their services to India. With 70 percent of their Indian traffic going beyond the hubs in Dubai and Doha, India is reluctant to grant more rights, preferring that airlines such as Air India operate direct long-haul flights to North America and Europe.
In a press conference, Torrey said: “Post-pandemic, we are less dependent on traffic terminating in Singapore from India. We have increased our sales outside Singapore, reflecting demand due to network expansion and system improvement… About 60 percent of traffic goes to Singapore and the remaining 40 percent goes beyond Singapore.”
Scoot is seeking more bilateral rights with India to operate more flights. “If you see opportunities and you are constrained by the bilateral air services agreement (ASA), that is beyond your control. If the bilateral ASA changes, you have to be very flexible. You have to act very quickly. We have seen other regions where the bilateral ASA has changed overnight,” Torrey noted.
“It's not in my hands, but I feel like there are opportunities here for me to develop further… I would really like that. We hope and pray. We'll wait and see.”
Indian airlines are divided on whether the central government should grant more bilateral rights to Middle Eastern countries. While Air India and SpiceJet are against it and believe that the Indian government should instead focus on developing major Indian airports as hubs, Akasa Air and IndiGo have said that a decision must be taken only after a comprehensive analysis.
First published: 22 August 2024 | 19:11 IS
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