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• Turkish Airlines, which operates from Delhi and Mumbai, has been looking to fly to other cities like Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata. Adnan Aykac, GM-Northern & Eastern India, spoke to DNA about the opportunities and challenges in the Indian market. Bullish on the Indian aviation sector, Aykac said his airline would like to pick a stake in an Indian airline, if allowed to.

Excerpts from the interview:

• What is your current macro perspective on the Indian aviation sector?
• India is the ninth largest aviation market in the world. It is predicted that international passengers will grow up to 50 million by 2015. The aviation industry in India holds 69% of the total share of the airlines traffic in the South Asia. In the last decade, it contributed considerably towards the global aviation growth rate of 8% per annum. This has been possible due to increased number of low-cost carriers (LCCs), domestic airlines and a large chunk of business travellers and tourists. Though in terms of passenger traffic the growth rate of Asian airlines has been slower than the international airlines, there is still a huge potential and the coming years will witness massive growth.
• What kind of growth do you expect from the Indian market in terms of revenue in the next two years?
• Though India at the moment is not as big a market as Europe, the US or Thailand, we cannot overlook that almost 300 million Indians travel abroad every year and we expect it to be one of the biggest markets by 2023. Turkish Airlines carries as many as 150,000 passengers on Indian routes every year, out of which about 85% is transit traffic. The airline carried about three lakh Indian passengers in 2010, and 2011 witnessed a further growth of 5%-10%. We are also expecting a 20% increase in business travellers from India in 2012.
• The airline has been seeking to fly from other Indian cities and has approached the civil aviation ministry for it. Since this has been pending for the past two years, what has been the main roadblock?
• We are in talks with the departments to add more destinations and are awaiting their approval, but we would definitely like to increase the routes here and tap the great potential India as a diverse and budding country offers.
• How does Turkish Airlines look at the current turmoil in the Indian aviation space? Do these offer opportunities or raise any concern from a foreign airline’s perspective?
• Though spiralling fuel costs, plummeting profits and high-debt levels have lately been a threat to the survival of airlines in India, the country’s burgeoning demand is expected to pull the beleaguered aviation sector through the current turbulence. As far as international airlines are concerned, we still consider India as a prospering market and are keen on unlocking the extreme potential of the country.
• There are plans to allow foreign airlines to pick a stake in Indian airlines. Will Turkish Airlines look at any such opportunity if the Indian aviation sector opens up?
• The sector is booming in the recent scenario and buying stakes in an Indian carrier can be considered in the times to come. Though there is no final decision yet on international airline companies having stakes in Indian carriers, but if given a chance we would definitely like to capitalise on this opportunity and invest in Indian carriers.
• What would the main growth drivers be for Turkish Airlines?
• Some of the strongest revenue-driving factors are India’s steady economic growth in the last decade that has given a boost to the purchasing power of people. Furthermore, Turkey has become increasingly popular as a tourist destination among Indians in the recent times, thus supplementing the generation of revenues from India.
• What are the main challenges Turkish Airlines faces in India and what is the airline’s strategy to deal with these?
• India has been very potential but challenging market for us. Expanding and adding more routes in India has been the major challenge for us. We are still in talks with the Director General of Civil Aviation for this decision. Apart from that, acceptance in the Indian market has also been a concern, for which we have introduced a new aircraft A-330 on Indian routes.
• You ended a sales deal with InterGlobe last year and have set up your own office.Any specific reason?
• Turkish Airlines worked closely with InterGlobe for the last eight years and we have been very happy and contented with our association. However, our accelerated growth in India has led to setting up of our independent office in Gurgaon. It is completely a business decision and in keeping with the company’s future plans.

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