16th April 2011

Lufthansa's plan to introduce A380 flight on the Delhi-Frankfurt route. As per a report in  The Economic Times, the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has blocked Lufthansa's proposal to operate the super jumbo jet between the two cities from May 2011, putting the airline's route planning in jeopardy. “There is neither a yes nor a no from the Ministry,” said Axel Hilgers, Director (South Asia), Lufthansa. 

The airline, which recently increased its frequency on two destinations-- Frankfurt and Munich--from Delhi, was hoping to secure permission soon as it had factored in an A380 for India in its route planning. The airline has seven of these super jumbo aircraft and it is acquiring another next month. It had planned to deploy the new jet on the India route from May 15, 2011.

MoCA, which clears seat entitlements on all sectors, is of the view that allowing Lufthansa to operate an A380 will mean raising the airline's capacity on the sector. An official in the Ministry said, “An A380 coming into the country means cutting off the business of domestic carriers. We cannot allow that.”

The A380 offers 139 more seats per aircraft as against a Boeing 747-400, or 255 additional seats as compared with a Boeing 777- 300ER or 777-200 LR, versions most used by airlines in India. Kingfisher Airlines is the only Indian carrier that has placed an order for A380, but it is thinking of revisiting the order. 

However, the Ministry official said the main reason for not letting Lufthansa operate an A380 was the lack of facilities at the Delhi Airport to handle a big aircraft. The official said an A380 might cause chaos at the airport. But Lufthansa rejected this argument. “This (Delhi) airport was constructed to have A380s. The airport is interested to have this aircraft as they will get more transit passengers,” said Hilgers.

Foreign carriers carry 70 per cent of the onward traffic from India to international destinations, according to industry estimates. 

Aviation experts say the main reason behind the denial to Lufthansa is additional capacity offered by an A380, which can hamper the business of Air India and other Indian carriers like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, who are trying to expand internationally. Air India currently operates daily flights to Frankfurt from Delhi and Mumbai. International operations contribute 60 per cent of Jet Airways revenues and it has announced that it wants to increase this share. Granting permission to Lufthansa will also allow it to carry much of the onward traffic to the US, a market where Indian carriers want to grow. While Jet Airways wants to fly direct to US, Air India has resumed direct flights to the destination, cutting out its previous hub at Frankfurt. 

“The government's denial is because of the uncertainty as to how to deal with such requests specifically relating to impact on Air India and other Indian carriers like Jet Airways for their international expansion plans,” said Kapil Kaul, CEO (India & Middle East), Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. 

The Ministry is aware that allowing Lufthansa to fly A380 will encourage other airlines, such as Emirates and Singapore Airlines, to chase the government for similar permissions.

"travelbizmonitor"