Actually in my view we really ought to stop viewing EK, EY, QR and co. as airlines waiting to take away business from Indian carriers. They simply are airlines who offer a product that caters fantastically well for our desi janta who have resoundingly given them a thumbs up by moving their business to them.



If Indian carriers want to be the preferred carrier, let them raise their game to the levels of these three. I dare say AI appears to be doing just that by introducing all their US non-stops and under Mr Lohani making a sincere push to make their presence felt in the market. For those shouting patriotism from the rooftops - like Jesus said in a different context - let he who uses a Micromax phone on a BSNL line, wears an HMT watch, watches a Keltron TV and drives an Amby be the first one to tell EK/EY/QR to get out... After all the average Indian spends 100 times as much time with the above products than he does inside a jet from any of these airlines. So let patriotism begin with these. And if you cant do that, shut up and listen to logic:



DXB is going to be hosting the Expo 2020 in.. well 2020. Nearly 2 million work visas are being issued for jobs ranging from bricklayer to CEO. Dubai South is a full fledged city coming up which has this huge manpower requirement as well. Likewise Qatar is hosting FIFA 2022 and 2.5 million visas for foreign workers are getting issued there. A large chunk of these jobs are in the services sector. These are just two. Oman, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait (despite the current economic dip) going to still require hundreds of thousands of expatriate workers over the next 2 decades.



Cut the chase to India. Specifically the North East - a region that suffers from chronic unemployment. Unemployment in turn leads to 2 things - drugs, militancy, both of which are rampant there. And who speaks the best English in the country? the North Easterners - without doubt. Also probably among the better behaved with the ability to carry themselves in Western style better than most Indians. The high numbers of our citizens from that region doing well in the services sector in India and abroad is proof of this.



If LCCs from the Gulf are given the chance to fly directly into the NER, they will provide opportunities for employment to the thousands who today have the twin challenge of long transit times and humongous fares if they have to get to or from the GCC Region. FZ, G9, QR all fly 3-4-5 times a day from KTM and fill their flights. Why cannot these be our citizens from the NER? What is wrong if Indians from the NER get access to opportunity in the GCC Region?



That was on the outbound side. For the inbound, As one post above rightly observed, we have so much going for us in terms of the NER as a tourist destination. Its unexplored literally. It offers mountains, wildlife, religious, cultural tourism a huge gateway if opened up for international air services. And if tourists come foreign exchange comes in, new ancillary businesses spring up like hospitality, airport ground services, entertainment, money exchange, ground transportation etc. - all further adding to local employment opportunity and growth of local GDP. Produce from the NER finds an outlet to the international market. Kiwis of the finest quality are produced in Arunachal Pradesh and 90% of the produce do not have access to international markets simply due to lack of connectivity. Do we want to deny the NER access to all of this just because Indian carriers do not have the balls to start non-stop international services from there and are not prepared to nurture the route to eventual profitability?



And AAI... all these airports that AAI is developing to international standards in the North East... are they going to make money out of UDAN? subsidized, viability gap funded UDAN ? Forget it !!!



For those who feel these are low yield markets - the typical ne'er do good type of routes - you may have a point if you are looking at business traffic volumes. However that is what they will remain if you do not have the patience to develop them. Look at AirAsia and TRZ. Their first international route into India was TRZ. Today they fly 4 times a day into TRZ and providing the folks there with amazing connectivity to Malaysia and beyond. Why can this not be replicated in other Indian cities by other international airlines? I will tell you why...



75% of all Indian NRIs live in a 4.5hr radius of India. 65% live in the GCC and Middle East. With such a high number of Indians going to the region for their "papi pet" this is not a traffic that is likely to dry up. Ethnic traffc, tourism, business, students may all dry up when the going gets tough for the economy. But not labour... a worker whose family's sustenance depends upon his earning will strive to go where the job opportunities are, come hell or high water. No other traffic segment will. And that is where the GCC and Middle East outscore the others.



So before we pan Dubai for asking for Open Skies to the NER, let's think it through and not get overly attached to our gilted blinkers of patriotism.



Jai Hind



Vimanav

Sarfaroshi kii tamannaa ab hamaare dil mein hai, Dekhnaa hai zor kitnaa baazu-e-qaatil mein hai