T
he global business traveller never had it so good. As we launch the third edition of our annual guide, we find the travel landscape changing rapidly, almost by the minute. New technology is leading the change with better devices, more gadgets and apps aimed at helping sort out the uncertainties that traditionally go hand-in-hand with travelling. But most of the big changes that will impact you over the next year are a result of a delayed wave of liberalisation, which is sweeping the travel business in India.
After a lull of almost a decade, 2014 will see two major airline launches in India. The decision to allow foreign direct investment is leading up to more cross-border equity tie-ups with cash-strapped Indian carriers. Airport privatisation is on a roll and will extend to six smaller airports in the coming years. Roadblocks for hotel construction are coming down, at least relative to the previous decade. At the top end, global chains, including most recently the Ritz-Carlton, have opened for business. But there is even more action in the mid-segment, where the biggies are fighting it out, almost town by town, with local players like Indian Hotels, ITC and Lemon Tree. In the ‘below Rs 4,000 a night’ segment, at least a dozen new chains with pan-India reach are firmly in business.
There is also a revolution brewing in travel distribution. The fruits of online sales are now more widespread and available across products. The most visible change is in the process of booking hotel rooms. Online travel agency (OTA) Cleartrip tells us that it offers a choice of about 600 hotels in and around Delhi alone. The number of rooms available is growing in almost every town. Rival OTA MakeMyTrip has been expanding its hotel linkages to smaller cities, signing up with dozens of hotels to offer their inventory for sale online. In some ways the aggregators seem to be finally catching up with India Inc, which has been going into smaller towns for business.
We’ve sussed out the travel landscape and present four big trends that will change the way you travel in 2014.
An A380 can carry about 420 flyers in its economy class on the lower deck and 105 in its famed upper deck
The A380 experience
In 2011, the government had banned A380 operations into India to protect Air India from competition. This ban was lifted in January. Three carriers— Emirates, Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa—have sought permission to fly the planes into four Indian airports that are ‘code F compliant’ (able to receive the aircraft). Two of these are likely to start operations by this winter, possibly even earlier. In a three-class configuration, which all these airlines have opted for, the plane can carry 525 passengers of which about 420 fly in economy class, and the rest in the famed upper deck.
Singapore Airlines was the first to start operating the plane in 2007, after ordering it in 2000. Though flying the ‘Superjumbo’ is no longer a novel experience worldwide, airlines have gone the extra mile to make this product special.
Emirates, which flies five times a day to Mumbai, could replace two of its flights with one A380. The experience is particularly delightful for business and first class passengers, who board from an aero-bridge connected to the top deck. In the business class on Emirates, they can enjoy suites with personal mini-bars and two TV screens—a high-resolution 17-inch one fitted with the new entertainment system that offers hundreds of movies on demand, and a second smaller screen on the side table to play games or write emails on.
Emirates, Korean Air, Qantas and Thai Airways have a bar and lounge in the upper deck. Singapore Airlines allows passengers to create a double bed, by combining two suite seats.
For economy class passengers, A380 means lower fares. Operating a single, larger aircraft instead of two smaller ones is far more economical for the airline. Filling seats on a single flight is also, usually tougher. On most routes that the plane operates on, economy class fares are about 20 percent cheaper than on smaller planes.
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Keywords:
The Business Traveller’s Guide,
For Frequent Flyers, The Going Gets Good
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