Increased Flights to Bangalore Result in 19.3 Per Cent Growth at Bangalore Airport

Bangalore often referred as the Electronic City of India, is also the IT hub of the country. The demand for air travel between Bangalore and other parts of the country as well as world is quite high because of its strategic importance in the corporate world. It will grow even further in the coming years, and hence, the number of flights to Bangalore has increased significantly in the past few years. As per reports, Kempegowda International Airport was ranked number three in the list of the busiest terminals of the country. Indira Gandhi and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airports stood at number one and two positions, respectively.

Kempegowda International Airport

It recorded traffic of 15 million passengers in the 2014 fiscal year, even before the completion of the last month – March. Owing to a number of discounts and deals rolled out by carrier and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, a number of travellers planned their trips in these months. The demand for flight tickets to Bangalore is expected to increase even further with the onset of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2015, in the coming weeks. In addition, the launch of new carriers in the year might have affected these statistics in a positive manner.

The airport now has been promoted to the mid-sized category because of this achievement. In the previous year, the traffic was recorded at 12.86 million. The upswing of 19.3 per cent includes 8.1 and 11.2 per cent growth in domestic and international traffic. It is been seven years since the establishment of this terminal, and these achievements ensure that it has long way to go. As per reports, it has become the busiest airport in South India by subsiding the Chennai airport. The traffic is expected to grow during IPL 2015, as this city also organises a number of events of this cricket tournament.

Recently Launched Services

Keeping in mind the increasing demand for air travel on Bangalore route, a number of carriers increased capacity or launched services on these routes. The low-cost carrier (LCC) – SpiceJet and Jet Airways added operation from Mangaluru International Airport to this city. Now, travellers can book flights to Bangalore with these carriers from Mangaluru for quick and convenient journey between these cities. Now, people from Mangaluru can book these flights to watch IPL live match organised in the Electronic city.

In addition to this, Qatar Airways – the flag carrier of Qatar – also announced plans to launch Doha to Bangalore flight in the second quarter of the year. The Group Chief Executive of the carrier said that their growth strategy focuses on India market as it shows an enormous potential and is emerging as an economic hub. In addition, he said that the company plans to increase frequencies on existing routes by adding more capacity. Qatar Airways has been awarded a 5-star rating from SKYTRAX, which ensures top-notch services and in-flight amenities during the journey. This will allow travellers to avail flawless services of this carrier on new routes as well.

It is expected that these additions and IPL live cricket events scheduled in March, 2015, will increase the traffic at Kempegowda International Airport even further.

SpiceJet Flight Services Edge Past Jet Airways

The Indian aviation industry is expanding at a never-before pace and all involved are getting the benefits from it. One of the beneficiaries is SpiceJet, which replaced Jet Airways in the ranking order, as per recent reports. This low-cost carrier (LCC) is the aviation foray of the Sun Group and is lead by Kalanithi Maran – Managing Director and Chairman of the company. The airline has been setting records since its inception in 2005. It has a registered head office in Chennai, corporate office in Gurgaon and primary base at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. The LCC has introduced new flights to Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and other South Indian cities since its announcement of the hub.

This budget airline also posted losses in the previous few months, but managed to topple Air India in the last quarter reports revealed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). It gained a significant number of travellers by offering heavy discounts and capacity addition. SpiceJet flight is one of the cheapest among all others to commute from one state to another or one city to other. It operates over 350 daily flights serving over 55 international and domestic destinations, with a fleet size of almost 57 aircraft. More than 19 percentage of travellers preferred SpiceJet services over others in the last decade, which has now crossed 20 per cent. It is behind IndiGo only, which holds over 31 per cent of the total market share.

Just a month ago, Jet Airways along with JetLite had recorded 19.6 percent share in the market and were at the second spot. The new management strategies introduced by SpiceJet focuses on occupancy of the flight. As per the officials of the carrier, branding, improved revenue and pricing management and introduction of new routes are the key points behind sudden increase in the number of fliers with the carrier.