Paramount aims for stakes of competators ..
Paramount Airways aims at acquiring stakes in other airlines as part of its plans for a pan-India presence by 2011, the airline's managing director M Thiagarajan has said. "If an opportunity comes up, Paramount is open to acquiring stake in other airlines, provided the synergies and pricing factors are right," he told.His comments come amid consolidation in the Indian civil aviation space, which has seen the mergers of national carriers Air India and Indian and private carriers Jet Airways and Air Sahara. "Our vision is to become the most preferred airline in the country by 2011," Thiagarajan said, adding that the company has laid out a well-planned growth strategy for this.
The Coimbatore-based airline has a fleet of five Embraer aircraft, which it flies in an all business-class configuration to nine cities -- mostly in South India barring Delhi. "We have already established a leadership role in the south with 26 per cent market share, a fleet of five aircraft and 1,600 flights every month," he said. Paramount would move into other markets after further consolidating its position in the south, Thiagarajan added. "We will add to the fleet as we expand into the western markets by 2008," he said.
Paramount had placed orders for 15 Brazilian-made Embraer aircraft and five of these are already in operation. "The rest are expected in the next three years in a staggered manner," he said. The airline, promoted by the wealthy textile mill group Paramount, wants to internally fund the USD 600 million investment. Thiagarajan, however, ruled out any plans of going in for for higher-end planes like the Boeing or the Airbus. He said the airline has opted for night parking in non-metro airports to avail the 50 per cent cut in parking fee to reduce expense. "Any airline can sustain and succeed as long as they can control costs and bring in efficiency," said Paramount chief.
He said the airline had intensified its frequency on the Chennai-Coimbatore routes because of the success they have enjoyed here. The airline had tracked one million people who had travelled on its flights and found that it was not only business travellers but also leisure and day-return travellers who were adding band of people wanting comfort and convenience. Attributing on-time performance as the airline's key strength, he said it was the main reason for passenger retention being high for Paramount.
