In an attempt to cash in on the rising demand of passengers from the city, more airlines are taking to market survey to assess economic viability before commencing their commercial operations from Gannavaram airport.
The companies have begun the survey only after noticing hectic activity in the region following the announcement on the new Capital region. As part of the survey, airlines are mainly focusing on passenger patronage. Senior officials said that the companies would collect details of passengers travelling in the first and second class AC trains to Mumbai, New Delhi and other major cities.
Emphasis would be on AC ticket overbooking and withdrawals, number of passengers travelling in AC compartments and the duration of travelling time and etc, while conducting the study, besides taking into account other modes of transport from the city to elsewhere in the country. In a nutshell, companies want to make it a profit making initiative, once services are introduced from Gannavaram airport.
At present, seven flights touchdown the airport everyday, with the first one taking wings at around 7.15 a.m. and the last flight landing at around 9.30 p.m. Airport officials said Air Costa, SpiceJet and national carrier Air India were operating daily services from the airport. Air Costa and SpiceJet cater to the needs of passengers with 67-seater flights, while Air India’s A-319 flight has 120 seats, according to officials.
They said that the occupancy ratio of flights that were operating from Gannavaram airport touched almost 80 per cent as against previous 35 per cent. Real-estate businessmen, politicians and industrialists have been regularly visiting Vijayawada for business inquiries and this is contributing to the rise in occupancy ratio, officials claimed.
The Airports Authority of India is leaving no stone unturned in providing amenities to passengers. Besides constructing a swanky terminal building, enhancing manpower and equipment to cater to the needs of the aircraft and passengers movement is being taken up. When contacted, Airport Director M. Rajkishore confirmed that more companies were enquiring on starting their new operations or increasing their existing services.
