all LCCs, fastjet demands a 40-minute turnaround and regularly over-achieves on that target. Bodin says, “Indeed, our OTP [on-time performance] is approximately 96% and clearly our turnaround performance is a strong contributing factor to this.”
SpiceJet, which is headquartered in Gurgaon and currently flies to 46 cities destinations, is another LCC operating in an extremely tough market. It has stayed focussed on its goal of becoming India’s ‘preferred low-cost airline’ and has made arrangements on the ground to make its low-cost model work. According to the airline’s senior vice president and head of ground services, Kamal Hingorani, the main differences required by an LCC of its ground handlers is a low price and the stripped-down service.
For the handlers, “frills have come to a complete stop with LCCs”, he says. “It’s just the basic handling of the flights without … specialised services that traditionally the legacy carriers have required.”