Monday 26 March 2012

Cheap International Flights And Economic Growth


Air travel is the fastest mode of travel. The increase in the air-traffic bears a direct relation to the economic growth of the country. Growing economies require not only greater interaction of people domestically and internationally, but also a more frequent interaction as well. For facilitating this, the air travel is the best suited mode of transport, even though there are sufficient road and railways corridors of travel as well. For making this mode of travel possible, there is a need for the expansion of the infrastructure which can adequately handle the air traffic in a growing economy. With the growth of their operations, it becomes possible for the airlines to provide cheap international flights due to the overall economies of scale being possible.
Growing economies develop the airports in new areas where the growth is to be focused. By doing so, it opens up an altogether new market for domestic and international aviation, facilitating quicker movement of goods and people. The same is also achieved by the expansion of the capacities of the already existing airports. The creation of this infrastructure has its own operational and capital costs and, if the flights from these destinations have to become viable, then there has to be a correct assessment of the increase in air traffic demand. Another important aspect which affects the growth of international flights in a new sector is the way its capital costs are spread out over a period of the next few years. If the charge is heavy, no airline would be willing to fly in the segment since offering cheap air tickets becomes practically impossible for them.
By creating a viable infrastructure, it becomes viable to offer cheap international flights to these areas and speed up the growth process since less ticket amount can mean generating the latent demand for air travel. While it is true that the development of the modes of transport helps in stimulating economic growth and development of the region, the air travel helps in achieving it faster. However, air travel shall not discount the need for road and rail based transportation networks in the region since the latter have their own advantages.

No comments: