Upbeat Mallya says time is right to invest in civil aviation

Kochi: Kingfisher Airlines chairman, Vijay Mallya, struck an upbeat note at a conference here saying that this the best of times to invest in India's civil aviation sector. He also complimented the government for creating an environment that has resulted in the civil aviation sector growing exponentially over the past few years.

Mallya was addressing the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation's 11th `AGM and CEO conference', which opened here on Sunday.

Pointing out the substantial growth potential of the sector, Mallya said that the country had placed the largest order with Airbus for new aircraft, and also that it was a leading customer of Boeing.

In this regard he also pointed out that the Indian economy was `getting stronger and better' with the result that demand for air travel was increasing by the day.

He had a small cause for complaint, however, saying that the bureaucracy was hesitant to deviate from the beaten path. He argued that people should not end up getting punished for entrepreneurship and creativity. He, however, complimented civil aviation minister, Praful Patel, who, he said, was `thinking like a businessman.'

Mallya also argued for the opening up of new short direct routes. Such routes were necessary, he said, since non-stop `ultra long haul' travel was becoming increasingly common and the price of aviation turbine fuel was rising by the day.