Nigel Mayes is the senior vice president, consulting & product development at ASM. Nigel has over 15 years’ experience in route development and is responsible for product development at ASM.
The sister company to Routes, ASM is the world‘s leading route development consultancy and has supported the creation of new air services since 1993.
Route 1: Doha - Prague
Data
|
Carrier |
 |
|
Aircraft |
A320 |
|
Frequency |
Daily |
|
Start Date |
21 August 2017 |
|
Distance |
4234 |
|
O&D Traffic Demand (2016) |
3,744 |
|
Growth % YOY |
-0.65% |
|
Average Fare $ (one way) |
$500.37 |
Insight
The Prague launch has been brought forward as Qatar's licence has been revoked following the ongoing diplomatic situation. The following countries have imposed the ban: Saudia Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and Maldives - find out more here. These countries will account for 22 percent of seat capacity (March 2017) and will have been heavy users of the A320. Prague appears to be a "no brainer" for Qatar with only Emirates of the big Middle East 3 serving Prague, together with its low-cost subsidiary FlyDubai. Emirates operates daily with an A380 and FlyDubai is daily with a 737. Qatar will be targeting the usual large connecting flows of Australia (Czech community), leisure market of Bangkok and Incheon which has been served from Prague for many years.
Route 2: Kuwait - Tbilisi
Data
| Carrier |  |
| Aircraft | Boeing 737-800 |
| Frequency | 1 |
| Start Date | 11 July 2017 |
| Distance | 1,415 |
| O&D Traffic Demand (2016) | 9,427 |
| Growth % YOY | 250.98% |
| Average Fare $ (one way) | $238.02 |
Insight
Wataniya is starting operations after the airline ceased operations in March 2010. The other two routes in addition to Tbilisi are Baku and Sarajevo. These markets are popular for Eastern Europeans travelling to the Middle East for work, as well as for the outbound market from Kuwait. Interestingly neither of these routes were operated in 2010 when the airline stopped flying. The carrier at that time served: Cairo, Beirut, Dubai, Vienna, Sharm El Sheikh and Istanbul.
Route 3: Kolkata - Delhi
Data
| Carrier |  |
| Aircraft | A321 |
| Frequency | Daily |
| Start Date | 1 August 2017 |
| Distance | 3,242 |
| O&D Traffic Demand (2016) |
2367671 |
| Growth % YOY | 41.2 |
| Average Fare $ (one way) | $55.13 |
Insight
Air Asia India has launched a number of routes from Kolkata including Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar and Jaipur (all daily). The Indian domestic market continues to grow rapidly and Air Asia is taking delivery of aircraft at a rapid pace with its focus on building its core bases at Delhi and Bangalore. Air Asia is obviously keen to move into the Kolkata market where Indigo has 45 percent of the seats (July 2017). Air Asia will be the seventh carrier on CCU - DEL with the route being served by Air India, Go Air, Indigo, Jet Airways / JetLite, Spicejet and Vistara.
Source: Sabre Market Intelligence
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