Qantas has mega plans for India

Australian airline Qantas Airways, which returned to India after two years, is planning to increase its services and capacity and enter into a code-sharing agreement with an airline in India.

"We are having bilateral discussions next week. We are having a flexible approach as far as flights, destinations in India and code sharing is concerned," Rob Gurney, head (sales and distribution) of Qantas, told newspersons in Mumbai on Thursday.

"We are interested in code sharing as we have none so far," he said adding that flights to additional destinations in India would depend on the outcome of the talks next week.

Though the airline had withdrawn its services to Mumbai two years ago, commercial commitments made the airline to come back to India as traffic has grown by 30 per cent, he said.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh, who was nominated the brand ambassador, was among the VIP passengers on the inaugural flight, which landed on Wednesday.

"We are looking at 15 per cent growth per annum and a yearly traffic of about 90,000 passengers two years hence," he said.

The world's second oldest airline, which on September 1 resumed services with non-stop Boeing 747-300 flights with a two-class layout to India after withdrawing their services via Singapore, is to operate on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays with a flying time of over 11 hours.

Gurney said, "India is an important market and we have invested heavily in the relaunch of services to Mumbai." In the coming year, Qantas with Tourism Australia would spend Aus$1.25 million to promote the country down under as a holiday destination.

Qantas manager (India and South Asia) Khurseed Lam said the education market has seen a steady growth and presently more than 10,000 students were joining Australian universities, which have realised the potential to tap the Indian market.