India: 80 pc of India's ASA rights remained unutilised in 2010-11

New Delhi, Dec 14 (PTI) About 80 per cent of the total seat capacity of Indian carriers, as per the country's bilateral air service agreement with 109 countries, remained unutilised during the financial year 2010-11 ended March 31, 2011. "India has bilateral air service agreements (ASA) with 109 countries and Indian carriers have utilised 20 per cent of the total entitlement in the year 2010-11," Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi said in reply to a question in Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, today. In the last three years, India has signed ASAs with 15 new countries, which include Bhutan, Azerbaijan, Kenya, Barbados, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Iran, Nepal, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Indonesia and Brazil. Ravi said that Indian carriers were eligible to operate to foreign destinations according to the respective bilateral ASA. "However, actual operations by any airline is always guided by its commercial judgement," he added. There were reports that state-owned Air India's first right to fly overseas was hampering the plans of private Indian airlines to fly on more overseas routes. The private airlines also allege that there were several routes on which Air India was not flying and also not giving up its rights to allow other airlines to operate. As a result, the expansion plans of private sector airlines to destinations such as Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and the CIS countries were getting blocked. The Comptroller of Auditor General (CAG) of India had also blamed the Ministry of Civil Aviation for being liberal in exchange of bilaterals in a recent report. PTI