Aeroflot plans charter flights to Kerala

Feels government should provide more incentives to charter business

BY A CORRESPONDENT
April 21, 2006

Russian airline Aeroflot is planning to connect more destinations in Kerala to Moscow, with the possible introduction of a monthly inbound charter. Vladimir Ivchenko, station manager, Aeroflot Russian Airlines, pointed out that it had become necessary to look at charter destinations other than Goa, which has become India's charter capital, according to an Express Travel World report.

The airline operated a charter to Trivandrum with 200 people last year, and is seeing Kerala as a leading charter destination of the future. According to Ivchenko, a charter destination has a typical cycle of tourism interest, which eventually peaks and erodes inbound traffic, thus making it important to look beyond Goa. In addition, he felt that the high seasons for the charters to operate would be between May and September.

He further said that a third cabin may be added to the Boeing 767 it operates on Indian routes, possibly creating a Premium Economy class, to address the "large gap" in the audience posed between the Economy and Business classes. He said, "The big gap in pricing between Business and Economy leaves a large audience in between, which could be converted to the upper end if the Economy class product is enhanced. It provides the customer with value and enhances our load factors. We will however not consider the first class cabin option, at least not on the Indian routes."

He also felt that the Indian government should provide more incentives for the charter business, saying, "Charters bring in international tourists and currency, which can only benefit the local economy. Many countries have built their economies around charters. The Indian government however is not providing any incentives to do so."