Various Gulf carriers are seeking access to more cities as well as increased seats but "we have asked them to give more seats to us since there are more Indian carriers now seeking rights to fly to this sector," he told PTI in an interview.
"We are ready to give more seats for all Gulf carriers (Ethihad in the UAE, Emirates, Qatar Airways), provided our carriers also get more," he added.
In the last three years, the seats in India-UAE sector has risen by 200 per cent and it will keep on increasing. With Indian carriers also wanting more seats under the bilaterals, we will also ask for more seats," he added.
The Ministry of Civil Aviation had in September approved traffic rights to Jet Airways on India-Gulf/Middle East routes from January 1, 2008. Jet can then fly to Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Qatar.
The carrier's request for grant of traffic rights on India-Dubai and India-Abu Dhabi routes is under the consideration of the Government, the minister said.
Asked when private airlines will be able to fly on the sector, Patel said eventually they will be able to fly to all countries including the UAE. However, he did not give any time-frame.
"When we discuss and review out bilateral air agreement with the UAE, then a decision may be taken in this regard," he added.
At present, the total entitlement for Indian carriers on Gulf routes is 85,481 seats per week of which 21,950 are for Dubai, 7,420 for Abu Dhabi, 10,206 for Sharjah, 8,000 for Kuwait, 10,892 for Qatar, 7,546 for Oman, 10,967 for Bahrain and 8,500 for Saudi Arabia.
The utilisation by Indian carriers of the available Gulf routes is 49,348 seats per week of which 20,002 are for Dubai, 3,313 for Abu Dhabi, 8,690 for Sharjah, 3,475 for Kuwait, 1,526 for Qatar, 3,475 for Oman, 1,526 for Bahrain, and 7,341 for Saudi Arabia.
Patel said India was emerging as a major aviation force to be reckoned with. "Since the past two years, the civil aviation sector in India has made giant strides and is today a major contributor to the growth of the national economy.
The industry witnessed significant opening up of Indian skies, paving the way for increased international and domestic connectivity," he said. In the first three years of the tenth plan, air transport has grown at an impressive rate as against the plan estimate of 5 per cent.
The government is, therefore, convinced that an average growth rate of 16 per cent per annum is achievable by 2010. Such growth can be achieved with a paradigm shift towards greater liberalisation and significant private sector participation in infrastructure development, he said.
With all the carriers in India, aggressively buying new planes and growing number of Indian players, plane manufacturers are pursuing us to seek a slice of the pie, he added.
On Air India, the minister said that once equipped with a new fleet, the carrier will make its mark on the aviation map of the world. Patel said Air India will fly not only on the traditional routes, but also to Central Asia, Europe, South America, Australia and Africa.
In the next two years, Air India will be more of a global carrier flying to more destinations, Patel said adding the merger of Air-India and Indian Airlines is on track.
He urged Air India to widen its network and plan quickly for expansion of its fleet. Air India now has a fleet of nearly 125 aircraft, and is planning to order a large number of planes for delivery after 2011.
Before the merger, Air India had placed orders for 68 Boeing aircraft while Indian had ordered for 43 Airbus aircraft.
A fleet requirement review by the newly constituted National Aviation Company of India (NACIL), may well recommend the acquisition of up to 100 aircraft by merged carrier Air India. The new fleet requirement would be for the five-year period beginning 2011, sources said.
The requirement for 100 aircraft may be argued for assuming a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent in international traffic and 15 per cent in the domestic traffic, they said.
