Business

Friday February 27, 2009

KL-Amritsar route a potential for MAS, AirAsia X


THE mushrooming of low-cost carriers in India has made travel much easier in the large sub-continent.

The tariff war over Indian skies may be taking a toll on full service carriers as they compete against the low-cost airlines but consumers really benefit from the price war.

Two weeks ago, premium Indian carriers wanted fares raised. They brought it up with the government but just days after that, they had to revert to their old pricing system to remain competitive.

Carriers such as SpiceJet, IndiGo and GoAir are bringing down tariffs to what some perceive as “unrealistic levels’’ but they are getting the passengers needed to fill their planes.

These days, families are taking to the skies to travel across India due to the emergence of low-cost carriers. The case is the same for Malaysia after the emergence of AirAsia.

On my recent trip to India, I flew from Hyderabad to Amritsar – home to the Golden Temple. The journey normally takes 36 hours by train or three to four days by road.

But it was a breeze for us onboard Kingfisher Airlines; in less than six hours we were at the Golden Temple.

Kingfisher also offers live TV and you can watch CNBC, CNN and even Cartoon Network as well as movies.

Just to illustrate, the trip from Delhi to Amritsar by road normally takes eight to 10 hours despite the many new highways that have emerged.

Of course, when you travel by road, get used to the incessant soundtrack of vehicle horns.

And finding a clean toilet can also be trying even though there are many of them these days compared with some years ago.

And if you plan to travel by train, book online or be prepared to spend time jostling for tickets.

Every year, thousands of Sikhs from all over the world go back to their heartland to either renew their land leases (January to April), attend weddings (in spring) or just to go to the Golden Temple – which is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikhs.

Having air connectivity has made travel easier and many Indian carriers offer the link between Delhi to Amritsar. But the only airline that now flies KL-Delhi direct is Malaysia Airlines (MAS) since Indian Airlines has ceased to ply this route.

Indian Airlines had a very reasonable package for the KL-Delhi-Amritsar route and many passengers found going to Amritsar by air convenient.

MAS now has a partnership agreement with Jet Airways. Perhaps it should capitalise on this and provide reasonably priced offerings for the KL-Delhi-Amritsar sector before Kingfisher plies the KLIA-Delhi route in the future.

Even AirAsia X has plans to ply the KLIA-Amritsar route but for some reason, it is taking far too long to do it. Perhaps Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes should fly into Amritsar to see the vibrancy of the place, maybe that will hasten AirAsia X’s launch of that route.

● B.K. Sidhu is deputy news editor at The Star. She really enjoyed her two recent trips to India and Geneva onboard Kingfisher Airlines and Qatar Airways; she found their service excellent, the food sumptuous and the entertainment superb.


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