Aviation Boom in India and Pakistan

[RiazHaq]

http://www.southasiainvestor.com/2018/04/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan.html

Aviation market in South Asia is among the fastest growing in the world. It is soaring in terms of both domestic and international travel. Last year, the Indian commercial aviation market grew to 176 million passengers and Pakistan's reached 22 million. A total of 22 million passengers (7.2 million domestic, 14.6 million international) flew commercial airlines in Pakistan in 2016-17, up 5.11% from 20.7 million (6.95 million domestic, 13.76 million international) in 2015-16, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). While Pakistan's international aviation market as a percentage of its population is bigger than India's, the Indian domestic market is far outpacing Pakistan's mainly due to greater competition and significantly lower airfares.


Pakistan International Aviation Market in 2016-17. Data Source: CAAP
International Travel:

Nearly 15 million international passengers flew in and out of Pakistan in fiscal year 2016-17. This number is about a quarter of the 59 million international passengers who flew to and from India in roughly the same period, according to data available from the aviation authorities of the two South Asian countries. India's population is about six and a half times larger than Pakistan's.

Pakistan's state-owned PIA carries 3.2 million international passengers giving it only 22% market in the country's international aviation market. Other major international carriers flying in and out of Pakistan are Emirates (2.2 million), Shaheen (1.57 million), Air Blue (1.4 million), Saudi Arabian and Qatar (1.1 million each).

Domestic Aviation:

The difference in domestic air traffic between the two countries is far bigger compared to the ratio for international traffic. India has seen its domestic air travel market soar to 117 million passengers versus Pakistan's 7.2 million in 2017. India's combined aviation market for both domestic and international travel is 176 million versus Pakistan's 22 million passengers.

Pakistan Domestic Aviation Market in 2016-17. Data Source: CAAP

The other difference in terms of domestic markets of the two nations is that the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) enjoys massive 67.2% market share while the state-owned Air India has only 14.2% India's domestic market share and the rest of the market is divided among IndiGo (38.2%), Jet Airways(15.4%), Spice Jet(13.8%) and other smaller domestic airlines.

In Pakistan, Shaheen (1.17 million), Air Blue (797,628) and Serene (386,970) have the remainder of the domestic market.

Fares and Competition:

As to the reason for India's domestic market being 16 times larger than Pakistan's, let me quote the UK's Financial Times as an explanation: "A highly competitive domestic aviation market (in India) means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so".

Given the basic price-demand elasticity, it makes sense that Pakistan's domestic airfares being three times higher than India's reduce air travel demand to a mere 3.5% of Pakistan's population versus India's 8% of its population.

Level of Service:

Higher airfares in Pakistan do get you better service, according to Kiran Stacey of Financial Times. Here's how he sees it:

"Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live. Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s. Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus. Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos".

Highly Competitive Business:

Commercial aviation business has become much more cut-throat in recent years. It all began to fundamentally change with the passage of the 1978 US Airline Deregulation Act that made it easier for low-cost airlines to enter the market. Regulations mandating minimum fares no long applied.

Since then, many other countries, including emerging economies, have adopted legislation similar to the US airline law. Some of the big name airlines of yesteryears like Pan Am, TWA and Eastern Airlines have died. Number of airline passengers across the world has increased dramatically as air fares have plummeted.

State-Owned Airlines:

Deregulation has forced state-owned airlines around the world to either shut down or seek big government subsidies to stay in business. Running a successful airline business now requires different management skill sets and efficiencies in the current deregulated and highly competitive environment.

Part of it is technology driven transformation that enables minimizing staff and aircraft time on the ground, higher fuel efficiency and dynamic pricing based on demand. Unfortunately, state-owned airlines are finding it extremely difficult to operate in this environment. Most of them, including PIA and Air India, incur huge losses year after year and require substantial tax-payer subsidies.


Empty Seats Flying on Karachi-Lahore PIA Flight. Credit: Monis Rahman
I saw an example of poor management of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) a few days ago when a friend posted a picture of nearly empty cabin on a PIA flight from Karachi to Lahore. There were rows and rows of empty seats which is a rare occurrence in the airline business these days. Efficient airlines use yield management software to cut fares dynamically until their flights reach capacity. Flying even one empty seat is seen as a problem by professional airline managers.

The other serious issue facing PIA and many other state-owned airlines is that their staffs are not recruited based on merit. It is reported that even the senior managers lacks professional experience of running a commercial airline. Instead, the PIA jobs are doled out as part of the political patronage system that gives favors to the supporters of the ruling politicians.

Summary:

Aviation markets in South Asia are growing rapidly in terms of both domestic and international travel. Last year, Indian air travel market grew to 176 million passengers while Pakistan's reached 22 million. While Pakistan's international aviation market as a percentage of its population is bigger than India's, the Indian domestic market is far outpacing Pakistan's mainly due to greater competition and significantly lower airfares.

Pakistan needs to take a page from the Indian playbook to increase competition and lower prices in the aviation market. This will expand the market, create jobs and make air travel more affordable in the country.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan Air Travel Market

Pakistan $20 Billion Tourism Industry Booming

Saving PIA, Railways and Education in Pakistan

Pakistan: Political Patronage Trumps Public Policy

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

http://www.southasiainvestor.com/2018/04/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan.html

 

[Thanatos]

Pakistan has long way to go before it reaches India in air travel. India has done remarkably well.

 

[Tom M]

http://www.southasiainvestor.com/2018/04/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan.html

Aviation market in South Asia is among the fastest growing in the world. It is soaring in terms of both domestic and international travel. Last year, the Indian commercial aviation market grew to 176 million passengers and Pakistan's reached 22 million. A total of 22 million passengers (7.2 million domestic, 14.6 million international) flew commercial airlines in Pakistan in 2016-17, up 5.11% from 20.7 million (6.95 million domestic, 13.76 million international) in 2015-16, according to Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). While Pakistan's international aviation market as a percentage of its population is bigger than India's, the Indian domestic market is far outpacing Pakistan's mainly due to greater competition and significantly lower airfares.


Pakistan International Aviation Market in 2016-17. Data Source: CAAP
International Travel:

Nearly 15 million international passengers flew in and out of Pakistan in fiscal year 2016-17. This number is about a quarter of the 59 million international passengers who flew to and from India in roughly the same period, according to data available from the aviation authorities of the two South Asian countries. India's population is about six and a half times larger than Pakistan's.

Pakistan's state-owned PIA carries 3.2 million international passengers giving it only 22% market in the country's international aviation market. Other major international carriers flying in and out of Pakistan are Emirates (2.2 million), Shaheen (1.57 million), Air Blue (1.4 million), Saudi Arabian and Qatar (1.1 million each).

Domestic Aviation:

The difference in domestic air traffic between the two countries is far bigger compared to the ratio for international traffic. India has seen its domestic air travel market soar to 117 million passengers versus Pakistan's 7.2 million in 2017. India's combined aviation market for both domestic and international travel is 176 million versus Pakistan's 22 million passengers.

Pakistan Domestic Aviation Market in 2016-17. Data Source: CAAP

The other difference in terms of domestic markets of the two nations is that the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) enjoys massive 67.2% market share while the state-owned Air India has only 14.2% India's domestic market share and the rest of the market is divided among IndiGo (38.2%), Jet Airways(15.4%), Spice Jet(13.8%) and other smaller domestic airlines.

In Pakistan, Shaheen (1.17 million), Air Blue (797,628) and Serene (386,970) have the remainder of the domestic market.

Fares and Competition:

As to the reason for India's domestic market being 16 times larger than Pakistan's, let me quote the UK's Financial Times as an explanation: "A highly competitive domestic aviation market (in India) means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so".

Given the basic price-demand elasticity, it makes sense that Pakistan's domestic airfares being three times higher than India's reduce air travel demand to a mere 3.5% of Pakistan's population versus India's 8% of its population.

Level of Service:

Higher airfares in Pakistan do get you better service, according to Kiran Stacey of Financial Times. Here's how he sees it:

"Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live. Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s. Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus. Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos".

Highly Competitive Business:

Commercial aviation business has become much more cut-throat in recent years. It all began to fundamentally change with the passage of the 1978 US Airline Deregulation Act that made it easier for low-cost airlines to enter the market. Regulations mandating minimum fares no long applied.

Since then, many other countries, including emerging economies, have adopted legislation similar to the US airline law. Some of the big name airlines of yesteryears like Pan Am, TWA and Eastern Airlines have died. Number of airline passengers across the world has increased dramatically as air fares have plummeted.

State-Owned Airlines:

Deregulation has forced state-owned airlines around the world to either shut down or seek big government subsidies to stay in business. Running a successful airline business now requires different management skill sets and efficiencies in the current deregulated and highly competitive environment.

Part of it is technology driven transformation that enables minimizing staff and aircraft time on the ground, higher fuel efficiency and dynamic pricing based on demand. Unfortunately, state-owned airlines are finding it extremely difficult to operate in this environment. Most of them, including PIA and Air India, incur huge losses year after year and require substantial tax-payer subsidies.


Empty Seats Flying on Karachi-Lahore PIA Flight. Credit: Monis Rahman
I saw an example of poor management of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) a few days ago when a friend posted a picture of nearly empty cabin on a PIA flight from Karachi to Lahore. There were rows and rows of empty seats which is a rare occurrence in the airline business these days. Efficient airlines use yield management software to cut fares dynamically until their flights reach capacity. Flying even one empty seat is seen as a problem by professional airline managers.

The other serious issue facing PIA and many other state-owned airlines is that their staffs are not recruited based on merit. It is reported that even the senior managers lacks professional experience of running a commercial airline. Instead, the PIA jobs are doled out as part of the political patronage system that gives favors to the supporters of the ruling politicians.

Summary:

Aviation markets in South Asia are growing rapidly in terms of both domestic and international travel. Last year, Indian air travel market grew to 176 million passengers while Pakistan's reached 22 million. While Pakistan's international aviation market as a percentage of its population is bigger than India's, the Indian domestic market is far outpacing Pakistan's mainly due to greater competition and significantly lower airfares.

Pakistan needs to take a page from the Indian playbook to increase competition and lower prices in the aviation market. This will expand the market, create jobs and make air travel more affordable in the country.

Related Links:

Haq's Musings

South Asia Investor Review

Pakistan Air Travel Market

Pakistan $20 Billion Tourism Industry Booming

Saving PIA, Railways and Education in Pakistan

Pakistan: Political Patronage Trumps Public Policy

Riaz Haq's Youtube Channel

PakAlumni Social Network

http://www.southasiainvestor.com/2018/04/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan.html

Sorry, but there is no comparison at all I guess.

 

[SunilM]

Air travel in Pakistan is a journey to the 1950s
Flying in the country is a pleasure compared with India, but there are downsides


Islamabad APRIL 4, 2018


A few minutes after I take my seat at gate 15 of the domestic terminal in Lahore airport — and only about 20 minutes since I entered the building — a man comes over with a menu in his hand. “Tea, coffee, sir?” he asks. “Perhaps a cold drink?” On this occasion I decline, but in the past I have accepted, and been grateful to receive my tea in a china cup and saucer, to be paid for “in your own time, sir”. Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live.

Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s. Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus.

Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos.


Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper But while flying in Pakistan is a joy for those used to Indian airports, it is not necessarily a good sign for the country’s development in comparison with its larger neighbour. The reason the experience is so civilised becomes clear to me when on board the small propeller aeroplane, where my colleague realises he knows the person next to him — a prominent environmental activist and the wife of a senior diplomat.

Unlike in India, catching a flight in Pakistan remains the preserve of a small and wealthy elite. In 2016-17, 7.2m tickets were sold for domestic flights in Pakistan — equivalent to about 3 per cent of the population. In India, that figure was 108m, equivalent to 8 per cent of the population. According to Air Asia India, the low-cost carrier which is part of the group owned by the Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, 26 per cent of their customers are first-time flyers. Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper.

A highly competitive domestic aviation market means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so. While both countries allowed private airlines to set up from the early 1990s, companies have had a more difficult time in Pakistan. “Since 2003, Indian low-cost carriers have genuinely democratised airline travel,” says Kapil Kaul, chief executive of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy. “With close to 70 per cent market share, these companies have structurally changed aviation in India. Pakistan, on the other hand, is yet to realise the massive social and economic potential of bringing air travel to the masses.”

The rapid expansion in the number of Indians able to fly has caused difficulties for both the companies and the travellers themselves. Aviation executives say first-time flyers tend to treat air travel as they do bus travel, where timings are uncertain and passengers who do not board quickly can be left behind. Air Asia India is even making a video to try to educate new customers on the basics of air travel, such as how to clear security and when to turn up at the terminal. As I stand to gather my belongings from the overhead bin and wait in an orderly queue to disembark at Islamabad, I am grateful not to have a fellow passenger pushing past me to get to the door more quickly. But I also know that while this is good news for me and the 60 or so other people who have been able to afford this flight, it means that millions of others have been denied the opportunity.

https://www.ft.com/content/6fc0dc08-3283-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498

 

[RiazHaq]

#Aviation Boom in #India and Pakistan. #Pakistan's domestic airfares are three times higher than India's. Higher fares in #Pakistan reduce #airtravel demand to a mere 3.5% of Pakistan's population versus India's 8% of its population. #PIA #Airlines

http://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/blogs/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan

 

[khail007]

#Aviation Boom in #India and Pakistan. #Pakistan's domestic airfares are three times higher than India's. Higher fares in #Pakistan reduce #airtravel demand to a mere 3.5% of Pakistan's population versus India's 8% of its population. #PIA #Airlines

http://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/blogs/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan

And icing on the cake is whopping unjustified airport tax as compared to the services provided.

 

[AyanRay]

#Aviation Boom in #India and Pakistan. #Pakistan's domestic airfares are three times higher than India's. Higher fares in #Pakistan reduce #airtravel demand to a mere 3.5% of Pakistan's population versus India's 8% of its population. #PIA #Airlines

http://www.pakalumni.com/profiles/blogs/aviation-boom-in-india-and-pakistan

Its like saying Africa isn't really poor, only the food price is much higher there than the rest of the world.

 

[Roybot]

Air travel in Pakistan is a journey to the 1950s
Flying in the country is a pleasure compared with India, but there are downsides


Islamabad APRIL 4, 2018


A few minutes after I take my seat at gate 15 of the domestic terminal in Lahore airport — and only about 20 minutes since I entered the building — a man comes over with a menu in his hand. “Tea, coffee, sir?” he asks. “Perhaps a cold drink?” On this occasion I decline, but in the past I have accepted, and been grateful to receive my tea in a china cup and saucer, to be paid for “in your own time, sir”. Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live.

Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s. Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus.

Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos.


Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper But while flying in Pakistan is a joy for those used to Indian airports, it is not necessarily a good sign for the country’s development in comparison with its larger neighbour. The reason the experience is so civilised becomes clear to me when on board the small propeller aeroplane, where my colleague realises he knows the person next to him — a prominent environmental activist and the wife of a senior diplomat.

Unlike in India, catching a flight in Pakistan remains the preserve of a small and wealthy elite. In 2016-17, 7.2m tickets were sold for domestic flights in Pakistan — equivalent to about 3 per cent of the population. In India, that figure was 108m, equivalent to 8 per cent of the population. According to Air Asia India, the low-cost carrier which is part of the group owned by the Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, 26 per cent of their customers are first-time flyers. Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper.

A highly competitive domestic aviation market means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so. While both countries allowed private airlines to set up from the early 1990s, companies have had a more difficult time in Pakistan. “Since 2003, Indian low-cost carriers have genuinely democratised airline travel,” says Kapil Kaul, chief executive of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy. “With close to 70 per cent market share, these companies have structurally changed aviation in India. Pakistan, on the other hand, is yet to realise the massive social and economic potential of bringing air travel to the masses.”

The rapid expansion in the number of Indians able to fly has caused difficulties for both the companies and the travellers themselves. Aviation executives say first-time flyers tend to treat air travel as they do bus travel, where timings are uncertain and passengers who do not board quickly can be left behind. Air Asia India is even making a video to try to educate new customers on the basics of air travel, such as how to clear security and when to turn up at the terminal. As I stand to gather my belongings from the overhead bin and wait in an orderly queue to disembark at Islamabad, I am grateful not to have a fellow passenger pushing past me to get to the door more quickly. But I also know that while this is good news for me and the 60 or so other people who have been able to afford this flight, it means that millions of others have been denied the opportunity.

https://www.ft.com/content/6fc0dc08-3283-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498

Shame on you for posting the whole article and not the cherry picked snippets!

I wonder if @RiazHaq agrees to this bit

Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper But while flying in Pakistan is a joy for those used to Indian airports, it is not necessarily a good sign for the country’s development in comparison with its larger neighbour.

 

[Zhukov]

Well an important factor that everyone is ignoring is the patterns of travel in Pakistan. Pakistan only have two major Urban centers.
Central Punjab and Karachi.
Nobody travels in central Punjab via Air cause it doesn't make any sense. Not even the wealthiest. Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot etc.
Islamabad is also not far away from central Punjab, its an easy comfortable car ride again thanks to Excellent Motorway.
Baluchistan is not much populated and there isn't much traveling their.
Even Peshawar is not that far.
Most people take air travel only when they have to fly to Karachi from Punjab or Pishawar or Vice versa.

I mean imagine the pain you have to take to travel by air from one city to other that are just 3 hours drive on a world class highway where most middle income people own cars and Public transport is also good enough in the form of Executive Buses.

India on the other hand is massive. Imagine someone have to travel from Delhi to Calcutta or From Mumbai to Chandigarh. Any comparison of this sort is simply stupid.
Such high demand of long traveling is the real cause of boost in Aviation industry as compared to Low demands in Pakistan. I think plus the obvious fact India have much bigger economy then Pakistan.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

Well an important factor that everyone is ignoring is the patterns of travel in Pakistan. Pakistan only have two major Urban centers.
Central Punjab and Karachi.
Nobody travels in central Punjab via Air cause it doesn't make any sense. Not even the wealthiest. Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Sialkot etc.
Islamabad is also not far away from central Punjab, its an easy comfortable car ride again thanks to Excellent Motorway.

It is increasing rapidly though even with good motorway system.

While Pakistan's international aviation market as a percentage of its population is bigger than India's, the Indian domestic market is far outpacing Pakistan's mainly due to greater competition and significantly lower airfares.

Nearly 15 million international passengers flew in and out of Pakistan in fiscal year 2016-17. This number is about a quarter of the 59 million international passengers who flew to and from India in roughly the same period, according to data available from the aviation authorities of the two South Asian countries. India's population is about six and a half times larger than Pakistan's.

Shame on you for posting the whole article and not the cherry picked snippets!

I wonder if @RiazHaq agrees to this bit

One need to give it to India...Indian airports and services have improved exponentially since 2010 when the new IGI T2 was inaugurated in New Delhi...now declared one of the best in its class.

Earlier many Indian airports were in the worst category rankings...

 

[xyxmt]

Pakistan has much better road infra

 

[KapitaanAli]

Pakistan has much better road infra

To be precise, Pakistan doesn't have many centres to connect. There are good roads for the existing centres and there aren't enough passengers who want a faster connection. Vehicles are also lesser, thus reducing the wear.

India has more lengths of better roads (but lesser per capita), but the most important urban centres are too far apart where the only alternative to air travel would be faster trains.

 

[Śakra]

Pakistan has much better road infra

Nice goal post changing.

 

[N.Siddiqui]

Pakistan has much better road infra

Aviation infra is also witnessing quite an improvement, new Isb airport, new Lhr airport terminal(planned), new Multan and Faisalabad terminals, new Sialkot, Peshawar terminals and planned Gwadar airport, check the increase in private airlines and their fleet, Airblue fleet is rivaling PIA, other like Shaheen, Serene and SialAir on the rise...new private airlines coming up...

Many intl' airlines have restarted their flights to Pakistan...

Multan Airport, a second tier city.

New Lahore airport terminal, construction has started. By GilBartolome Architects

 

[swnjo]

Air travel in Pakistan is a journey to the 1950s
Flying in the country is a pleasure compared with India, but there are downsides


Islamabad APRIL 4, 2018


A few minutes after I take my seat at gate 15 of the domestic terminal in Lahore airport — and only about 20 minutes since I entered the building — a man comes over with a menu in his hand. “Tea, coffee, sir?” he asks. “Perhaps a cold drink?” On this occasion I decline, but in the past I have accepted, and been grateful to receive my tea in a china cup and saucer, to be paid for “in your own time, sir”. Flying in Pakistan is unlike anywhere else I have been — and the polar opposite to flying in India, where I live.

Departing from any of the three major Pakistani cities is the closest a modern traveller is likely to get to experiencing what flying was like in the 1950s. Checking in is effortless and there are no queues at security. At Islamabad airport, you do not even have to go to your gate: you can sit in the café until your flight is called and then leave via a downstairs door that takes you straight on to the tarmac and a waiting minibus.

Just hours earlier, I had suffered the regular indignity of catching a flight from Delhi airport. It took 20 minutes of disorganised queueing to check in, and another 30 to get through security. Getting on the aeroplane, as usual, reminded me of warfare at the Sino-Indian border, where troops are unarmed and so fight by jostling each other using only their torsos.


Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper But while flying in Pakistan is a joy for those used to Indian airports, it is not necessarily a good sign for the country’s development in comparison with its larger neighbour. The reason the experience is so civilised becomes clear to me when on board the small propeller aeroplane, where my colleague realises he knows the person next to him — a prominent environmental activist and the wife of a senior diplomat.

Unlike in India, catching a flight in Pakistan remains the preserve of a small and wealthy elite. In 2016-17, 7.2m tickets were sold for domestic flights in Pakistan — equivalent to about 3 per cent of the population. In India, that figure was 108m, equivalent to 8 per cent of the population. According to Air Asia India, the low-cost carrier which is part of the group owned by the Malaysian entrepreneur Tony Fernandes, 26 per cent of their customers are first-time flyers. Indians have better access to air travel in part because they are richer, but also because, for them, air travel is much cheaper.

A highly competitive domestic aviation market means that a passenger looking to fly from Delhi to Mumbai on July 1 this year, for example, can pay as little as $35. In Pakistan, someone wanting to do the roughly equivalent trip from Islamabad to Karachi will probably have to fly with the government-controlled Pakistan International Airlines and pay at least $100 to do so. While both countries allowed private airlines to set up from the early 1990s, companies have had a more difficult time in Pakistan. “Since 2003, Indian low-cost carriers have genuinely democratised airline travel,” says Kapil Kaul, chief executive of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation, an industry consultancy. “With close to 70 per cent market share, these companies have structurally changed aviation in India. Pakistan, on the other hand, is yet to realise the massive social and economic potential of bringing air travel to the masses.”

The rapid expansion in the number of Indians able to fly has caused difficulties for both the companies and the travellers themselves. Aviation executives say first-time flyers tend to treat air travel as they do bus travel, where timings are uncertain and passengers who do not board quickly can be left behind. Air Asia India is even making a video to try to educate new customers on the basics of air travel, such as how to clear security and when to turn up at the terminal. As I stand to gather my belongings from the overhead bin and wait in an orderly queue to disembark at Islamabad, I am grateful not to have a fellow passenger pushing past me to get to the door more quickly. But I also know that while this is good news for me and the 60 or so other people who have been able to afford this flight, it means that millions of others have been denied the opportunity.

https://www.ft.com/content/6fc0dc08-3283-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498

Lel , tyhanks for posting the article. OP carefully edited out some parts. For Paksitan, it seems airtravel is still an elite experience while in India it just opposite. Sashi Tharoor didn't coin the term cattle class for nothing.