Pune airport dangles carrot to woo airlines

The Pune airport, a three-hour drive from Mumbai, is wooing airlines towards it with attractive discounts. This comes on the heels of a proposed airline, AirAsia, declining to operate from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) due to its high charges for landing and parking.

However, industry insiders say this won’t impact passenger movements at CSIA much as only those transiting from Mumbai to go to neighbouring cities might take up Pune airport.

As per incentive proposal prepared by AAI, which manages Pune airport, domestic airlines will get 25% discount on landing and parking charges for additional flights for the next two years. Also, domestic airlines won’t have to pay for overnight parking for next five years.
Similarly, for international airlines, there are plans to offer up to 75% discount on landing and parking charges for the first year and 50% and 25% for the second and third years.

For passengers, this will mean lower airfares as airport charges at Pune are less compared to those at Mumbai and Delhi, which are said to be among the highest in the world. For example, an airline operating A330-200 for international flights, which weighs around 230 metric tons, pays around Rs1.9 lakh as aeronautical charges at CSIA, as compared to about Rs90,000 at Pune airport. For domestic flights, rates are cheaper.

While airlines refrained from commenting, Gurcharan Bhatura, chairman, Air Transport and Tourism India, an advisory group, said, “Though many will keep travelling to and from Mumbai, those headed for other cities via Mumbai may think of flying from Pune.”

Amber Dubey, partner and head (aviation) at global consultancy KPMG said, “Discounts at Pune (airport) are likely to attract some airlines. But we don’t anticipate major adverse impact on air traffic at Mumbai airport.”

@abidi_shahkar