More air space

New Delhi, March 7: State-run Indian Airlines has decided to apply for the rights to fly five times a week to Gatwick.

The airline has agreed to hire wide-bodied aircraft after civil aviation minister Praful Patel indicated that the absence of such planes is holding up the airline?s plan to fly to Europe.

The Union cabinet, in the recent past, had allowed private airlines Jet and Sahara to fly abroad. However, the cabinet resolution specifically barred Indian Airlines from flying beyond Southeast Asia and the Gulf.

The minister had later clarified that this restriction would be removed once the airline managed to acquire wide-bodied aircraft capable of carrying bulk passenger traffic over long distances.

Following the clarification, Indian Airlines ordered a dozen wide-bodied aircraft on rent and floated tenders for this. Sources said the airline wants to fly to Gatwick, London?s second international airport, by the end of this year.

Indian Airlines is likely to target the cheaper end of passenger traffic and will not compete with Air-India or British Airways, both of which concentrate on Heathrow.

Taking advantage of the cabinet ruling, Jet last month stormed into global skies by cornering the lion?s share of new flights between India and London.

The government had allotted Jet Airways seven flights a week to Heathrow and two flights a week to Air Sahara to fly to Gatwick.

Officials said the dog-fight over foreign skies between the four Indian carriers is expected to intensify soon.

Indian Airlines plans to launch a Delhi-Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur flight. It already flies from Calcutta, Mumbai and Chennai to these destinations.

IA?s plan is in response to the Jet and Sahara flights already announced for this sector. It also wants to start a weekly flight between Amritsar and Kabul.

Air-India, on the other hand, plans to start daily terminator flights to Paris, possibly to compete with Jet?s plan to start daily terminator flights to Belgium.