Emirates' Tim Clark pitches for more open access in Indian mkt

     New Delhi, Jun 1 (PTI) Leading Gulf carrier Emirates President Sir Tim Clark on Sunday pitched for open access to the Indian market, saying that the restrictive practices on bilateral flying rights does not make sense.
     "We have been stuck with 65,000 seats in each direction for just over 11 years. For every seat we sell, there are probably 10 who want it...," he said at a briefing in the national capital.
     The leading Gulf carrier, set to complete 40 years of operations in India this October, currently serves nine Indian cities.
     Clark said that India can have aspirations to become a global player in the aviation world but to do that, "you have to have open access. It doesn't work one way".
     He also hoped that the situation would change.
     Currently, the bilateral flying rights allow Dubai carriers -- Emirates and Flydubai -- to operate 65,000 seats weekly to India.
     Similarly, Indian airlines can operate 65,000 seats to Dubai every week.
     The flying rights on both sides are fully utilised and the last upward revision in the number of seats happened in 2015.
     According to Clark, it is not compatible with the expansive economic policy to restrict air access and that the biggest problem is the lack of capacity.
     To a query from PTI on whether Emirates will be looking for partnerships with Indian airlines, Clark said it is kind of restricted by what is there now.
     "If you thought that for every seat we offer, particularly in the peaks, we've got three to ten people trying to get it, there's no point in doing a partnership...," he said and added that it is the same for IndiGo, Air India and Air India Express.
     Emirates is a huge global carrier now and any Indian carrier that wants to work with Emirates are welcome but "as long as the Indian market remains as restricted as it can, it's very difficult to do that," he noted.
     About the supply chain situation, Clark said he does not see much improvement and it is a "real bugbear for not only Emirates, but for the whole industry".
     "It is not Covid... Covid was a major disruption to the way things are done. But frankly, Covid was five years ago.
     "In the end, you have to look at your own way of running the business to find out exactly what you cannot do for the people that are demanding. And this is just for the whole industry," he said.
     India is one of the world's fastest growing civil aviation markets and Indian carriers are expanding their international networks.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)