Air Asia in India

There seem to be reasonable chances now that Air Asia will fly-into India, that is. Why it should cause any consternation among certain quarters is beyond me. I think Air Deccan was the best thing to have happened to an Indian consumer in a long time. It made flying so affordable that a large chunk of their customers were first time flyers.

With the exit of Kingfisher, we are reaching a stage where a monopolistic cartel seems to be running the skies, which is bad news for customers. Someone like Air Asia can revitalise the sector from a consumer's viewpoint.

Whether they make a profit or not would depend on their business model and practices. That should not be our concern, since Air India is still flying with taxpayer's subsidy. What we must keep in mind is the benefit to large numbers of customers who would be able to fly when they need to.

Similar anti-consumer activism was seen when FDI in retail was being debated. I am quite certain if the consumer knew what Wal-Mart could offer him, he would have been very happy. Especially the poorer customer, or the lower middle class one who pinches pennies to meet his monthly budgets.

Hope we have a choice of low-cost airline services soon, instead of just one or two.

4 comments:

Diamond Head said...

I think the govt should come up with a competitor to the Kumbh Mela and simply offer free 2 hour flights to/from the origin city to get people off the roads. Airports could serve as the Mela hotspots in smallish towns like Jhansi or Itarsi or Nagpur or Bhusaval. That will allow for remainder citizenry to enjoy less crowds on streets, peace and quiet for at least 2 hours a day.

Rajendra said...

That could be extended to the entire third world. Spread joy with joy rides. The Pope could also chip in with a supporting message.

Diamond Head said...

seriously - could give new meaning to Pop(e)culture (gujjus might like it)

Rajendra said...

ha, ha, that could be the subject of a new blog..wot is heppening to youth becoje of the Pope culture.

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