Opportunities Today :- July 2006 Issue

Interview with Nalini Udai Gupta
Regional Head of South African Airways for Indian Subcontinent and South East Asia Regionya

 

Very few personalities are featured more than once in OPPORTUNITIES TODAY- Nalini Gupta is one of them. She was last interviewed in Opportunities Today in June 2004 issue as the General Manager-India for South African Airways and under her auspices South African Airways has grown exponentially and now offers five flights a week from Mumbai and Nalini too has grown with the airline to become one of the 7 Regional Heads worldwide for South African Airways. Not only Nalini's portfolio has expanded but her vision to take Africa's premier airline to be one of the best carriers continues to take the airline to a new level which will also ensure growth of tourism and bringing new destinations closer to the fast growing outbound travel market from not only India but across Asia.

 

 

Our Editor cum Director of COMPACT TRAVELS caught up with Nalini Gupta during the visit to BRITE 2006 which was held during the last week of May in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and here is what Nalini had to say…

 

How has your role changed as the Regional Head of South African Airways for the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia?
Basically my role is quite similar and the only major difference is that from June 2005 when I was appointed as the Regional Head, I was responsible for a much larger market beyond India and the new areas include Singapore, Thailand and other countries of South East Asia. The airline found it necessary for someone to handle this region due to the similarities of the markets of the Indian subcontinent as well as South East Asia. The market to South Africa was growing and if there is no one to capitalize on the growing market, it becomes a wasted effort. So my role is to ensure that the market is well handled in terms of queries, corporate deals, tie ups and also to ensure connectivity to Southern Africa. We have also entered into code share agreements with Singapore Airlines for Singapore, with Thai Airways for Thailand and we have also finalized code share agreements within India so that there are convenient connections to our flights to Mumbai which flies non-stop to Johannesburg.

 

Are there any flight network expansion plans in the immediate future?
Our plans are to also have flights from Delhi besides Mumbai although at present we are able to address this issue to an extent as we are looking at having code share partners within India who would be our partners committed to cater to travellers and offer connectivity to our international flight flying out of Mumbai. This network will enable us to reach not only markets in Mumbai and Delhi but also the fast growing markets especially in South of India and even the East of India including places like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.


By having a strong network we could get a greater share of market and the other USP of South African Airways vis-à-vis other carriers that may be flying into South Africa is that our network is not only extremely strong within South Africa but also to the African continent where the potential is huge. There is a large number of both business as well as leisure travellers who want to reach to other destinations within Africa and South African Airways is able to provide convenient connections to all the major cities within the African continent. We also have passengers who may come from Vietnam or Cambodia and who wish to do business with South America and with the code sharing agreements, we can offer convenient connections and they use Johannesburg as a hub to connect to the South American continent as well besides having extensive connections within Africa.

 

What are the initiatives that you have taken to introduce newer markets to the Indian leisure traveller?
One such initiative is taking travel agents to attend BRITE (Brazilian International Tourism Exchange) since 2005. I always felt that Johannesburg can be used as an important hub to connect to South America which has always been a popular destination for the business traveller but now is soon growing to be a destination for the leisure traveller as well.

Last year, we took the first group of travel agents to visit BRITE which is the most important incoming event in Brazil and it gives a great opportunity for travel agents who are interested to do business with Brazil and South America to interact with key decision makers of the international travel trade, network and conduct business with them. Besides interacting with people from the trade, the agents also get the experience of seeing a new destination and realize the potential of the fast emerging market in South and Latin America.

As South African Airways, we offer the shortest and most convenient connections to Brazil as from India you can fly from Mumbai to Johannesburg non-stop and with convenient transit you have a non-stop flight from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo. From Sao Paulo, you can fly on our Star Alliance member airline VARIG which can take you to other destinations within the country. The other important point to note is that we reach at a convenient time which is around 1500 hours and this is what most travellers especially business travellers prefer as they reach during the day rather than late in the night. This advantage we enjoy as South African Airways compared to most of the European carriers who may reach in the middle of the night especially if you are flying out of Europe. Besides the time of arrival, the time duration from Johannesburg to Sao Paulo is much shorter compared to flying from London or Frankfurt into South America.

Secondly, we offer the best fleet of aircraft and for the Johannesburg to Sao Paulo sector the business traveller can travel on flat beds and have a good rest during the flight and enjoy a top of the end product.

 

Thirdly, what we have seen of late is that a lot of corporate travel especially the incentive travel traffic has started into South America and a natural corollary to that is undoubtedly leisure travel and we are already seeing leisure travellers taking interest in exploring South America. Hence, events like BRITE are an excellent platform for agents to network with trade partners in South America and this way we can also encourage agents to visit new destinations and add it to their range of destinations they have to offer. This way we as an airline also ensure that besides flying the regular routes, we are exposing agents to fly to newer destinations which in turn creates a win win situation for all - the airline, the travel agent as well as the traveller who is looking at exploring new destinations.

The second initiative that we are planning is to organize a road show of South American travel agents in India which we intend doing some time in September so that more travel agents are exposed to the emerging markets which in turn will increase the traffic to these destinations. So today if a handful of agents know about South America, the awareness thru such events will ensure that the awareness of the destination is increasing over a period of time.

By taking these initiatives we want to make it convenient for everyone to reach new places and that will lead to increasing opportunities for everyone. If you do not expose travel agents and people to new destinations, it will appear a very cumbersome process and in turn the interest for such destinations may never grow and eventually perish.

 

What are the challenges you face especially in a scenario where you have many more airlines flying into South Africa today ?
Competition is always to be taken as a challenge rather than looking at it as a threat and instead of looking at it from the point of view of the competing airline grabbing a share of the market, I have always believed that we can use this opportunity to make the destination appear more attractive and within reach of the traveller and as a result that would increase the demand and higher demand would be easily absorbed by the availability of more seats for a given sector.


This way, there will always be a market for your product and you need to ensure that you are doing a damn good job and create a niche and I am happy to share with you that our airline over the years has always shown a revenue increase in spite of the competition. Hence, for South African Airways, India is a very key market as the business has grown over the years and I am sure if the team is focused as it is now, we can always create that need in the market place. Amidst competition, we have made sure that there is a demand and that has helped to increase the load factor over the years.

 

How has South African Airways as being part of the Star Alliance changed the market scenario?
I believe any alliance is good, but Star Alliance brings its own strength which is phenomenal. It has strength of 18 carriers which are extremely strong in the market place and we can exchange ideas including databases and work together. When you are a Star Alliance member, you are getting endorsed to a brand which has earned its place in the aviation business. To be a part of Star Alliance you have to go through a list of quality and safety checks and to be part of the alliance at times it takes even up to 2 years to come into that category. You get an endorsement of being a world class carrier and we are extremely proud to be the only African carrier which is part of the Star Alliance. Even for our partner airlines it gives them an opportunity to reach to major destinations across Africa thru South African Airways as part of the alliance member. It becomes one big pool of sharing our facilities across airports, airlines and continents.

 

What are the advantages to the passenger now that SAA is a Star Alliance Member?
South African Airways is now a proud member of the Star Alliance - bringing the world to Africa and taking Africa to the world, by adding routes of seventeen other global carriers to ours and offering passengers a network of vastly superior proportions. More flights, more options and more convenience. With 18 member airlines, it will also be more rewarding for Voyager members who can now travel on any Star Alliance partner airline and collect Voyager miles all the way - throughout Africa and around the world. Star Alliance is world's biggest airline network and serves 842 destinations in 152 countries.


Not only you can have access to over 660 business lounges worldwide as a business traveller but also you can avail of special Star Alliance Air passes which give you access to regions at a highly discounted price on any combination of star alliance member airlines.For example, if you are travelling to Brazil, you can avail of the 4 coupon and even go up to 9 coupon Brazilian Airpass which allows you to travel on any of the VARIG flights within Brazil which serves 57 airports. There are 10 such air passes to choose from including the Star Alliance Round the World Fare, the Circle Asia or the Circle Pacific Fare. The boundaries of travel are limitless when you are part of the Star Alliance Network and you can use the Frequent Flyer miles across the entire network as well.

 

What will be the influence of super jumbos like the A380s on air travel?
People generally like to travel and although you can do business today over the phone or email, people generally like to be on the move. Hence, travel has been growing in spite of various adversities and worldwide the affordability is also there. The bigger aircraft will bring air fares down further as there would be advantage of volumes, bigger aircraft would also result in fuel efficiency especially for long haul sectors and even airports worldwide are ready with their infrastructure to cope with the emergence of bigger aircraft. So all together it will bring an interesting dimension to the aviation industry.

 

How important is your role to ensure that the inbound travel to India is also on the increase?
Although, my role is to ensure that the traffic out of India and Asia is growing, I work closely with the headquarters to ensure that there are exciting packages to India as the bottom line is to ensure that the route is profitable. For an airline to sustain and grow it is important that the flights maintain a high load factor both outbound and inbound. For example in August we are doing an India Week in South Africa and we would be taking chefs from India into South Africa, then we may also do sessions on Yoga to educate people about meditation and how it can help in coping with stress. In turn, this will generate interest about India and also shows that we care for their interests and tastes as well.

 

How is the balance of revenue from this region?
As we have direct flights out of Mumbai, from the total region 60% revenue comes from India due to the direct connections. Secondly, as most business is online, the sales from Hong Kong or Singapore may be thru the code share partners from these cities to Mumbai and onward on South African Airways to the various sectors that we fly thereafter.

 

What are your future plans?
I would love to see South African Airways having daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi. I would want South African Airways to be a stronger player in the market place and I am glad that it has moved in that direction and I would love to play a key role in the growth of our carrier. On a personal level, I believe in working hard and work for the moment and live for the moment.

 
Interesting Facts About South African Airways
• SAA has recently become member of the STAR ALLIANCE- the largest airline network in the world
 
• South African Airways serves more than 700 destinations throughout the world.
• SAA carries more than 6.5 million passengers each year and serves 34 cities in 26 countries across six continents.
• SAA employs close to 12000 people worldwide, including 3600 at SAA Technical. Staff include about 2800 flight attendants and more than 800 pilots.
• SAA has taken the initiative to develop high calibre female managers to feed SAA's executive leadership, including running a programme called 'Women in Aviation'.
• SAA Technical at Johannesburg International Airport is the largest maintenance facility in Africa.
• SAA technical division performs maintenance for more than 40 major airlines, including British Airways, Singapore Airlines, Air France and Lufthansa.
• 20% of SAA domestic travellers fly more than one trip per month on average.
• SAA fly more than 20 domestic routes, with 20 flights a day between Johannesburg and Cape Town.
• SAA spends around 70 million South African Rands per year on in-flight entertainment.
• The SAA A340-600 can fly longer distances, more safely, and far cheaper. It is 30 tons lighter than the jumbo and flies over five to six thousand nautical miles using 20% less fuel.
• Each year wine experts sample 800 wines to select more than 70 onboard wines for SAA aircraft
• SAA frequent flyer programme Voyager has over 1,8 million members.
• In 2003 the Voyager member who flew the most on SAA, accumulated an exhausting 432681 Miles, which is equivalent to flying between Atlanta and Johannesburg 25 times, or between Cape Town and Johannesburg 272 times.
• SAA has one of the best business class flat bed seats in the world, according to Skytrax, which surveyed competitors including, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
• SAA Cycad Premium Lounge in Johannesburg was ranked number three in the world by Skytrax World First Class Survey in 2002.
• The Baobab lounge for business class international travellers at Johannesburg International has 33 workstations offering ergonomic business modules, computers, printers and faxes.