• PAGE ONE
• INDEX
• HOME

Emirates may bring A-3XX if it lands AI stake'

Ashwini Phadnis

NEW DELHI, Sept. 13

IF Emirates Airlines is successful in acquiring a stake in Air India (AI), India may see the A-3XX aircraft operating in the domestic sky in the not-to-distant future.

``We feel that there was tremendous potential for operating the A3XX aircraft not only on the international routes but also on some very busy domestic routes like Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Chennai,'' the airlines Group Managing Director, Mr Maurice Flanaga n, told Business Line.

Emirates was one of the launch customers for the double-decker aircraft which is likely to enter commercial service sometime in 2005.

On the huge work force AI had, Mr Flanagan felt that the airline may not need to sack any of its staff if it is able to grow. ``One needs to slim down the airline only if growth was not taking place. But there was tremendous potential in the Indian marke t. If infrastructure growth takes place and AI was allowed to run on a commercial basis, there was no reason why the airline cannot record a growth of around 30 per cent annually,'' he said.

The Group MD felt that Emirates would take a long-term view, of 20 years or more, on investing in AI. ``The longer a view one takes, the more the product is going to be worth,'' he pointed out.

Mr Flanagan said that a combination of allowing AI to operate as an independent and commercial airlines along with the Government pursuing an open sky policy would help the carrier. ``It was thanks to the open sky policy being followed by the UAE Governm ent that Dubai had become a very fertile place for airlines and Emirates had been able to grow and face competition so successfully,'' he pointed out.

Mr Flanagan said that the airlines was buoyant on the possibilities which exist in India on the aviation front.