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Sharjah
Air carrier Indian Airlines plans to continue expanding its Gulf operations in line with rising demand, Sunil Arora, chairman and managing director, stated last week.
Speaking at a function marking the carrier's decade of operations in the UAE, he noted services had in the period increased from two flights a week to 68 by 2003.
He added the carrier would continually strive to upgrade service levels, while observing 98 per cent of its flights on the Gulf sectors were operated on time.
Arora declined to be drawn on the carrier's outlook, particularly if war should break out in the region in the weeks ahead, save to say a contingency plan is in place.
The Gulf sectors are traditionally the airline's most lucrative, although overall it continues to be mired in the red, with soaring jet fuel prices and crippling insurance premiums being primarily blamed for a Rs24.7 million loss in its last financial year.
Fuel prices have surged from Rs15,000 per kl in 1996 to Rs21,900 per kl, while the airline has, in common with others, had to bear the brunt of a steep hike in insurance rates, from Rs390 million in 1999-2000 to Rs1,850 million in 2000-01 and Rs1,820 million in 2001-02.
Arora, however, pointed out the airline posted a 50 per cent rise in regional passenger traffic between April and December, 2002, with 270,000 travellers having used its services between the Gulf and 14 Indian destinations.
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He also hinted at plans of stepping up frequency on its Sharjah to Kozhikode-Kochi-Thiruvananthapuram sector.
He added that all other things being equal, the airline is budgeting for a dramatic jump in demand during April owing to a rush at this stage from amnesty-seekers.
Meanwhile K.C. Singh, Indian ambassador to the UAE, felt capacity provided by airlines operating on the India-Gulf routes should be enhanced to enable the increased competition add to service values and standards.
Dr George Joseph, consul general, commended the airline for its improved services, while calculating the carrier had during the past decade carried over 2.5 million passengers on its Gulf routes.
On the occasion hosted by R.C. Kathuria, Gulf regional manager, Dr Ghanem Al Hajri, director general of Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation and of the airport, was feted as a key partner in the airline's progress.
K. Shyam Sundar, UAE manager, added others to be lauded were the various airline agencies, including Arabian Travel Agency, Dnata, Orient Travels, Sharjah National Travel & Tourism (SNTTA), Al Rais Travels, Al Naboodah Travels and Kanoo Travels, apart from Sunil Bhatia and K. Kumar of Indian Association Dubai, and K. Madhavan of Indian Asso-ciation, Sharjah.
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