German airline Deutsche Lufthansa's plan to introduce Airbus A380 service on the Delhi-Frankfurt route has hit an air pocket. The ministry of civil aviation has blocked Lufthansa's proposal to operate the superjumbo jet between the two cities from next month, putting the airline's route planning in jeopardy. "There is neither a yes nor a no from the ministry," said Axel Hilgers, director (South Asia), Lufthansa.
The airline, which had recently increased frequency on two destinations--Frankfurt and Munich--from Delhi, was hoping to secure the permission soon as it had factored in an Airbus A380 for India in its route planning. The German carrier has seven of these super jumbos and it is acquiring another next month. It had planned to deploy the new jet on the India route from May 15. The civil aviation ministry, which clears seat entitlements on all sectors, is of the view that allowing Lufthansa to operate A380 will mean raising the airline's capacity on the sector. "An A380 coming into the country means cutting off the business of domestic carriers," said an official in the ministry with direct knowledge of the matter. "We can not allow that."
The superjumbo offers 139 more seats per aircraft as against a Boeing 747-400, or 255 additional seats as compared with a Boeing 777-300 ER or 777-200 LR, versions most used by airlines in India. Kingfisher Airlines is the only Indian carrier that has placed an order for A380, but it too is thinking of revisiting the order. However, the official said the main reason for not letting Lufthansa operate an A380 was the lack of facilities at the Delhi airport to handle an aircraft as big. He said an A380 might cause chaos at the airport.
But Lufthansa rejected this argument. "This (Delhi) airport was constructed to have A380," Hilgers said. "The airport is interested to have this aircraft as they will get more transit passengers." Indian carriers often accuse foreign carriers of taking away traffic from the country. Foreign carriers carry 70% of the onward traffic from India to international destinations, according to industry estimates.
Ailing national carrier Air India has blamed the government for taking away its profitable routes and giving them to other airlines. This, according to the airline, is one of the main reasons behind its mounting operational losses. Aviation experts say the main reason behind the denial to Lufthansa is the additional capacity offered by an A380, which can hamper the business of Air India and other Indian carriers like Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines, who are trying to expand internationally.
