GCC. Unlocking the Massive Potential of India

🇮🇳 GCC. Unlocking the Massive Potential of India - Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 Air Traffic.

In the case of Saudi Arabia, despite having one of the largest Indian diasporas in the World, the current seat allocations per NRI remain significantly constrained. KSA has 24% fewer NRIs than the UAE, yet 190% fewer entitlement per NRI and 111% fewer seats per NRI (excluding 6th freedom), which highlights the under-served nature of the Saudi market, indicating an under-met demand for direct, affordable travel options and the market's huge potential.

India's approach to negotiating air service agreements (ASAs) with GCC countries requires a nuanced revision that prioritizes direct diaspora demand. This involves correcting past allocation missteps through realistic and fair negotiations, rather than compounding disparities with unequal entitlements.

Past "errors" cannot be corrected through unrealistic demands, such as requesting nine additional seats for every incremental seat offered to Kuwait. In the case of the UAE, despite the glaring disparity, the request was softened to four additional seats for every incremental seat.

The metric of "entitlement per NRI" highlights significant disparities. For example, Bahrain, with a relatively small Indian diaspora, has an entitlement of 8.3 seats per NRI, while Saudi Arabia's ratio remains at a much lower 2.9. This discrepancy illustrates the inconsistency in India's approach to ASAs across GCC countries, where some agreements appear more attuned to 6th freedom needs rather than prioritizing direct connectivity for the Indian diaspora.

India's stated policy is to consider 3rd/4th freedom demand as a primary factor in determining capacity entitlements. However, data suggests that actual allocations often deviate from this policy.

A timely course correction is necessary.

Stay tuned as we piece together the story to make the case for enhanced air connectivity for millions of Indians living in the Gulf!

Next week, we will conclude with a comprehensive synthesis of the insights explored throughout this series.

Edition 1 - Size and significance of the diaspora - https://bit.ly/4dkRSmz
Edition 2 - The quantum and significance of remittances - https://bit.ly/4gNwzwO
Edition 3 - The quantum and significance of trade - https://bit.ly/4dQavyW
Edition 4 - The glaring variance "Review week" - https://bit.ly/3YK2jMg
Edition 5 - Deep dive (1/2)
Exhibit 1 - A snapshot of the shift in India's international air traffic dynamics - https://bit.ly/4fLE0U0

(This write-up is for educational/informational purposes only and figures are directional/indicative due to strategic reasons)

(Views my own; happy to amend inaccuracies, if any)