•“Budget Fares Change Face Of Air Travel For Indians,” by Saritha Rai, New York Times, 10 September, p. W1.
Fabulous story that reminds me why it’s so important to be optimistic about India: Air Deccan, basically the Southwest Airlines of India, is having a revolutionary effect on air travel there, simply by offering very low fares. People who’ve never flown in their lives are all of a sudden flying. 700 rupees (or $15) to fly from Bangalore to New Delhi.
Most people flying now are completely new to the industry, which spells very good things for airport infrastructure spending in India. Right now 15 million fly a year. By 2010, that number is expected to be at least 70 million, but I’d guess much higher. As one airline executive there explained, “Low-cost airlines will unlock a massive aviation and tourism growth potential.”
That, my friends, is connectivity of the best sort. Everybody makes money, people get to travel, connections are made.
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