Agencies
Chennai, Feb 19: The Indian market for SriLankan Airlines is expected to grow strongly over the next five years. In tune with that potential, India will be the primary market focus for the carrier this year.
According to Barry Brown, Head of Commercial, SriLankan Airlines, to fully exploit the opportunity SriLanka's national carrier will bring in additional services ranging from wide-bodied flights to turboprops and link new destinations.
SriLankan's low cost base and the proximity of its home to the huge market that is India, he feels, gives the airline an advantage over its competition.
The location gives it the advantage of bringing in a wide range of services - wide-bodied flights, narrow and 70-seat turbo props. But its competition has to restrict to wide-bodied jets, he said.
In India, the airline was averaging about 74 per cent cabin factor on its present fleet of 15 aircraft. Over the next five years, "10 per cent growth is almost a given," he said.
This potential has prompted SriLankan Airlines to divert 30 per cent of its advertisement expenditure from Europe and West Asia to the Indian market. It will spend over $4 million this year - a big budget for a carrier of its size, he said.
SriLankan Airlines' services cover the southern States, Delhi and Maharashtra. It reaches only nine of the 18 cities that it is permitted to fly to. So the market represents major growth potential. SriLankan is the largest foreign carrier into India with 88 services a week with 15 into Chennai alone.
It hopes to enhance its fleet strength to 25 in the next five years, which would give it greater reach. India is its main focus in the current year. But its plans include enhancing its reach in South and East Africa, Australia, China and Europe.
In India, its next growth opportunity would be from new destinations such as Goa in the next winter. SriLankan could ferry in new tourism flows into India, he said.
It also has plans for other cities, which would offer it two-way traffic, he said. Coimbatore was another major destination that it plans to exploit, not necessarily with a small capacity flight - "can get a 320 in there," Brown said, referring to the increased capacity at the airport.
It plans to provide 70-seater flights to the smaller towns such as Coimbatore and Mangalore. With the turboprops SriLankan could cover the South and reach into central parts of the country, Brown said.
SriLankan Airlines is also in talks with Indian (airlines) to develop an air pass that would let foreign visitors use either of the airlines' services regardless of sector at competitive rates. The discussions are on. Here Indian would be SriLankan's main partner, he said.
Through SriLankan Airlines' holiday division it plans to offer a new selection of destinations in Sri Lanka. Its approach now would be different from the earlier piece-meal effort and it would soon employ a 16-member staff here and consult with outbound tour operators, he said. It would target the mass market and middle and upper segments with destinations in southern Sri Lanka. The five-star segment would have upmarket style of holidays with return flights and amphibious flights for transfer.
The mass-market segment can look forward to an international vacation at half the cost of a domestic vacation. The accommodation would be in the 2-star to 4-star grades.
In line with the importance of the Indian market, SriLankan has set up a product development unit for customised treatment of Indian passengers. A study is on to tailor the menu to the dietary requirements of the various segments. It is "really looking at the Indian psyche." Not just the meals but also the correct movies, proper greeting and colours. The study would lead to a new training of its staff, Brown said.