Jet, Sahara get passage to France

In a move that is sure to trigger a fall in airfares to Paris, India and France have agreed to increase the number of flights between them to 70 a week from the present 28. The number of flights will be split equally between the two countries.

Civil aviation ministry officials said the increase in flights would be carried out over the next few seasons, and that in the first phase, the additional capacity would be given to new entrants like Jet Airways and Air Sahara along with Air-India.

The two governments, which signed the new air services agreement in Paris yesterday, also decided to provide multiple designations for airlines, thus paving the way for Indian private carriers to fly to destinations in France.

The French government has allowed the 'fifth freedom' traffic rights to Indian carriers, enabling them to fly to other destinations in Europe and the United Kingdom via airports in France.

The Indian carriers will now have a stopover in France and can off-load passengers there, before their onward journey. The rights will enable the carriers to fly to New York,  four other points in the United States and Toronto and Montreal in Canada, after a stopover in France.

India, on its part, designated Bangalore and Hyderabad as additional points of call for French airlines, besides Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai.

The French government also agreed to assist Air-India in getting additional landing slots and terminals at the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris.

According to aviation sector analysts, the move will result in a major drop in prices and better connectivity to Europe from different parts of the country.

The other sectors opened up by the government for Indian private carriers have seen fares dropping by over 40 per cent in anticipation of Jet Airways and Air Sahara starting their services.

Domestic private airlines on their part, said they would be keen on operating flights to France and would pursue the matter with the government aggressively.

The Indian side at the bilateral talks was led by Civil Aviation Secretary Ajai Prasad and comprised Director-General Civil Aviation Satinder Singh, Joint Secretary Raghu Menon and Air-India Chairman V Thulasidas.