Small city routes hold big potential for India airlines

The airport in Patna, one of India's smaller cities and the capital of its poorest state, is so crowded that government authorities this year said they need to build another one. The airport has seen the number of passengers, and daily flights, double in the last four years as the country's largest carrier IndiGo Airlines and smaller rivals like GoAir seek to cash in on a surge in demand for air travel from smaller regions to offset losses on highly competitive "trunk" routes linking big cities. "We are close to capacity in our arrivals and departure lounges," said Santosh Kumar, who runs operations at Patna airport. Higher disposable incomes, an expanding middle class and rapid urbanization have made India one of the world's fastest growing domestic aviation markets, where passenger numbers are expected to grow by more than 75 percent in the next six years to exceed 217 million.

via Business News http://ift.tt/1pYRqez