Date:02/12/2005 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/12/02/stories/2005120200660700.htm

Back Air Arabia makes travel less costlier

Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Dec. 1

DID you know that the glossy ticket of an international airline cost $8 and you are paying for that too?

Things like this, and many other hidden and unhidden riders, make the air travel costlier for passengers, according to Mr Rohit Ramachandran, Manager (India), Air Arabia.

"Suppose an airline carries one million passengers in a year. It means that they are spending $8 million just on printing tickets. We have done away with the procedure. Instead, we started issuing e-tickets that cost us nothing. And we pass on these savings to the passengers," he said.

"We also eliminated computerised reservation system, saving us expenditure on processing systems," he said.

The other cost-cutting measures initiated by the airline included maintenance of one type aircraft. "This helped us in reducing expenditure on flight crew training, maintenance and spare parts," he said.

"We are the first low fare international airline in India," Mr Ramachandran claimed.

The airline also had the lowest aircraft-human resources ratio, with just 260 staff serving for the airline that operated six A-320s.

"Also, we have the best turnaround time for aircraft. None of our aircraft land for more than 45 minutes. Besides, we ensure that there are no delays," Mr Ramachandran said.

Unlike other international carriers, Air Arabia offered no free food on board. "We don't offer free food on board. You have a wide choice to select unlike in other airlines. In no case, the meal crosses Rs 100," he said.

As a result, the Sharjah Government-owned airline is able to offer tickets at as low as Rs 2,400 on the Nagpur-Sharjah sector. (The ticket price, however, varies on the demand and supply equation monitored by the airline seasonally. The highest tariff will be in the range of Rs 4,500-Rs 5,000) compared to the first class railway fare of Rs 3,700 between Nagpur and New Delhi.

The airline said it would offer the same tariff on the Hyderabad-Sharjah sector too if it got the permission to fly from there.