IATO Special - XXIII Annual Convention, September 1-8, 2007

DAY ONE: SESSIONS
Session One: Regulators and airline panel discussion
Session Two: Etihad's growth story in India: Understanding the role of Middle East airlines in serving the US / Europe and India market
Session Three: CEO Executive Interview: The Aviation Leadership Challenge
Session Four: Driving India aviation growth through OEMRO Partnership
Session Five: Panel discussion - Crafting the right revenue management strategies to achieve maximum yield and profitability
Session Six: Jet Airways' revenue management strategy - Developing new value propositions for the passenger market in face of stiffening competition
Session Seven: Customer Focused Enterprise: The Airline of the future
Session Eight: Panel discussion - Leveraging technological enablers to boost the efficiency of airline systems and business processes
Session Nine: SpiceJet's success story: Creating an effective on-line distribution strategy to boost revenue streams via the internet
Session Ten: Case Study presentation on Changi Airport International: Leveraging on the new investment opportunities arising from India's recent Merchant airport Programme

DAY ONE: NEWS
Leading Indian carriers in talks with AeroMobile for air mobile services


Session One :

Regulators and airline panel discussion

The road map governing India's aviation industry for the next five years


By Anita Jain | Mumbai

The Indian Aviation Outlook Summit that kick-started in Mumbai today witnessed keen participation from around 200 delegates across various verticals of the Indian aviation industry. The first session of day one commenced with a panel discussion on, 'The road map governing India's aviation industry for the next five years,' which was moderated by Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) along with panelist Ramki Sundaram, CEO and CFO, Deccan Aviation Ltd; James Hogan, CEO, Etihad Airways and Kapil Kaul, CEO – India and Middle East, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

“The Indian aviation sector is booming since the last two to three years with the introduction of green field airports and private airlines entering international skies. However, since the last year or so, the cost of operating an airline is higher than the airfares and even the profit margins,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO – India and Middle East, CAPA. He further added that infrastructure is one of the major hurdles in the growth of the Indian aviation sector. "The need of the hour is for airlines to restructure their models along with government bodies focusing on the infrastructure model. The government is now cashing in on the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, which should have been undertaken a long time back,” added Kaul.

Highlighting problems faced by airlines in the rising fuel surcharge environment, Ramki Sundaram, CEO and CFO, Deccan Aviation Ltd said, "The operational cost in India for airlines is higher than in any other country across the world. With problems like congestion, soaring fuel charges and high parking fees, there is hardly anything left for an airline to make profit from.” He further added that airline travel is more of a necessity than a luxury. According to Sundaram, the profit structure of an airline depends on the aircraft used for a particular route and market focus. The cost structure in India is quite negative since airfares for Tier II cities is much higher than metro cities. The government has to cash in on infrastructure for Tier II cities also, which are becoming a cash cow for many international routes.

The session also highlighted key issues from the Indian aviation sector, which are part of the global aviation industry. The only norm, which applies to the aviation sector is 'survival of the fittest'. Airlines are echoing their problems all along rather than working together. "Airlines should come together to address the issue of high fuel surcharge to the Finance Commission of India. They should also consider restructuring their model of operations by focusing more on the cost structure," concluded Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman, CAPA.