With Gulf-based airlines vying with each other to capture India's aviation market – one of the fastest growing in the world – Etihad Airways, which has equity share in Jet Airways, will be starting luxurious three-room suite, connecting Mumbai with its hub at Abu Dhabi from May 1.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

With rival airlines, Emirates and Qatar reported to be planning similar products, the competition may get intense in near future, believe the experts. However, the luxury in the sky comes at a cost with the outgoing fare for the inaugural A380 Jumbo flight costing about Rs3.5 lakh, as per the information available on Etihad's website on Tuesday evening.

Designed for two people travelling together, the living room has sofa, dining tables, large-size television double bed, shower room, a personal butler, are some of the highlights of the suit, as per the airline.

As per estimates made by several government and non-government institutions, India is flying to become the third-largest aviation market by 2020 and the largest by 2030. According to statistics available with aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the highest traffic in 2015 was between India and UAE with about 1.6 crore air passengers, commuting between the two countries out of a total international traffic of 4.86 crore.

Rival airline not wanting to lose an inch are designing to give befitting reply. Emirates is planning a private bedroom first class suite on its Airbus A380s this year, with the Boeing 777 fleet to follow, with luxury like that in a luxury hotel room or yatch, though it will be for just passenger and without a butler.

The fares, too, will be lesser than that of Etihad. Similarly, Qatar Airways, too, is said to be working on having a 'Double-bed', at much lower Business class fare. The spokesperson for Etihad, Emirates and Qatar Airways did not reply to the email seeking comment.

Commenting on the development Vinay Bhaskara, a senior business analyst with aviation news website Airways News, said, "The problem for Etihad is more likely to be that Mumbai-Abu Dhabi is too short of a route to justify the expense for first class on a four-hour segment. So, the flight will have to be filled with passengers connecting in Abu Dhabi to other destinations."

He added, "For Etihad, the primary use of the A380 to Mumbai is likely to be for aircraft utilisation purposes (the aircraft would have otherwise stood on the ground in Abu Dhabi for the eight to nine hours it is now flying the return journey to Mumbai), so that would be the primary driver. And it does not need to fill First class to be profitable, there is more than enough Economy and Business class demand."