Indian aviation industry is unhappy with the government's proposal that it would examine applications for overseas service on a case-to-case basis instead of going by the uniform five years domestic flying experience.

The Union civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, has stated that he wants the Indian airline industry to reach parity with foreign airlines flying to India and urged national carriers to start considering new international routes for service.

However, most private airliners are fuming at the new proposal as they feel the government's approach is to benefit only a few big private airlines and deprive other competi-

tors. A civil aviation ministry official also admitted that it is meant to facilitate some private airliners who have been in the flying business for less than three years.

“I would nudge India's airlines to look at opening new routes. There are several routes that can be explored on which a number of international airlines fly to India, although no Indian airlines operate to these countries,” Patel had stated recently.

Kingfisher Airlines is less than three years old, but is the key contender for flying West. This was made clear when Kingfisher displayed the A-380 airbus, the largest aircraft in the world on 7 May. Kingfisher has said it would fly this plane only on international routes.

Perhaps coincidentally, several Indian carriers have made new foreign route announcements. Air India first signalled its consideration of a non-stop Kozhikode-to-Bahrain flight, following an analysis of the passenger segmentation of its successful Kozhikode-Doha-Bahrain service. The carrier also detailed plans for international expansion of its low-fare unit, Air India Express.

With the October schedule, the flag carrier's low cost affiliate will build up its presence in Kolkata, connecting that city with Bangkok, Singapore, Dhaka and Kuala Lumpur. It will also triple frequencies on its route from Trichy to Singapore, from three weekly services to nine.