CHENNAI: In pursuance of its strategy to have a pan-India presence by 2010- 11, Chennai-based Paramount Airways is sprucing up its fleet size of Embraer 170 and 175 aircraft from the current five to 45 by 2010.

An outright purchase of the Brazilian aircraft is on the cards with $2 billion pitted to exchange hands between Paramount and the Brazilian aircraft supplier Empresa Brasileira de Aeronautica SA.

Exim Bank is expected to fund 65 percent of the sale with the balance to be chipped in by internal accruals and equity.

On Paramount’s second anniversary on Friday, Managing Director M Thiagarajan told media that Paramount would be spreading its wings from being just a South India player, where it held a 26 percent market share, to straddling the entire country with a 58 destination itinerary by 2010.

Currently the airline is touching 8 destinations in the southern region. Scaling up the number of flights from the existing 1,600 a month to 16,000 is also on the agenda.

With the merger of Jet Airways and Air Sahara followed by Air India and Indian Airlines marriage and recently the acquisition of Air Deccan by Vijay Mallya having opened the route to consolidate the aviation sector, talks have been doing the rounds that Paramount is likely to acquire a 40 percent stake in Jeh Wadia’s Go Air.

But Thiagarajan was non committal about it and only stated that the airline was in discussion with a couple of players and acquisition would happen when the value and synergies were right.

Paramount is expected to announce its interline agreements with about 4 to 5 international airlines next month, which would enable its customers to undertake international travel on a single ticket.

This is likely to step up Paramount’s occupancy by about 10 to 15 percent from the current 80 percent over the next few months. “We will be the market leaders in the next 2 years,” predicted Thiagarajan.

Negating any hiccups in getting good pilots, Thiagarajan said they had expat captains while co-pilots were from India. The air carrier is being further strengthened with a frequent flier scheme with a multiple level reward programme, including free travel in early December. Special discount offers of 50 percent for the physically challenged are also expected to be a draw.
source: New Indian Express

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