Kingfisher defers Dubai plan till July

Kingfisher Airlines has put off its plans to fly to Dubai until June-July. The airline was all set to connect Bangalore to Dubai beginning March 7, but has suspend its plans owing to the economic slowdown that has gripped the West Asian region as well as plummeting airfares on the sector. According to sources in the travel industry, “Kingfisher had looked at a provisional date of launch for its Dubai services in April this year, which also got cancelled. Now the launch date will be somewhere in June-July.” The source added that if the market does not pick up by then the launch could be further postponed by another 1 or 2 more months. Aviation analysts point out that the current low pricing levels of West Asia carriers such as Emirates and Etihad Airways as well as the excess capacity on this route, could have also been a factor in Kingfisher postponing their Dubai service. At present return ticket prices to Dubai range in the Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,000 levels a drop of around 20-25% from the usual quoted fares on this route. On the capacity front Emirates alone operates 20 flights per week out of Bangalore. “Dubai is used only as a gateway to US and Europe for passengers out of Bangalore. There is not much demand in traffic only to Dubai,” says a leading travel agent in the city.