Neelam
Mathews
Aug 12, 2014
India is
buzzing. Lufthansa expects to start flying A380s to Mumbai and Delhi from
around Nov 1, this year, with the start of the winter schedule, South Asia Director
Wolfgang Will told AeroSpaceDiary here. The A380s will replace the 747-800 to
Delhi and 747-400s flying into Mumbai. The carrier is “in the final
steps of getting approval.”
Aug 12, 2014
The
carrier has ordered 15 A380s, of which the 11th and 12th
aircraft are in delivery mode. The last aircraft will be delivered by 2016.
The entry of the world’s largest commercial jet will bring in
180 additional seats per flight and that’s no mean job to fill. Interestingly,
the first ever region-specific commercial presently on major channels, “More
Indian than you think,” to be followed by billboards and “much more,” is “a
prelude to the A380 coming into India,” Will added.
“We realize there are challenges, but we see huge
opportunities. We will reach out to new customer segments like the leisure
customer.” Will has no illusions that he will face competition from the Middle
Eastern market. The initial strategy is to fly Indian customers on high volume
routes such as San Francisco. Will refused to comment on pricing.
There have been concerns voiced by many carriers on
congestion problems in Mumbai and in Delhi, “which can become a challenge for immigration…”
when too many flights come in at once. Mumbai presently has only one gate for
the A380, with more expected in summer. Will, says confidently Lufthansa, being one of the first few airlines that will deploy the A-380 initially, "problems
will be ironed out."
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