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Summary
Air India’s flight cuts reflect the stress of costly aviation fuel, perhaps even a drop in projected demand as holidayers restrain their plans. Other carriers are engaged in cost wars too. But one thing must never change.
Air India on Wednesday announced that it would suspend or reduce flights on more than two dozen international routes between June and August, citing airspace restrictions and record-high jet fuel prices.
Notably, the government recently increased jet fuel prices for international services while keeping them unchanged for domestic flights. The idea was to keep the bulk of India’s air traffic shielded from the rise in crude oil prices.
Given Air India’s global network, it is worse affected than Indian carriers focused on the short-haul home market. Another irritant is Pakistan’s closure of its over-flight airspace, which has elongated long-haul flight spans.
Air India’s suspension list includes Delhi-Chicago and Mumbai-New York flights. With airfares on the rise and people asked to resist unnecessary foreign trips, demand may have been weak. Other carriers are reportedly also looking at their schedules to trim flights. In the US, low-fare airline Spirit recently went out of business.
Globally, across the aviation industry, a war is being waged on costs as nobody wants to share that fate. Pruned schedules can help, but as cost savings assume urgency, safety mustn’t get short shrift.
English (US) ·