Airline share prices in India have enjoyed a strong September, as investors moved back into the sector. Aviation fuel prices have dipped 10% since the end of Aug-06 - to five month lows - triggering a wave of renewed buying of airline shares across the Asia Pacific region, according to research by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Deccan Aviation, parent of Air Deccan, has posted a 35% surge in its share price since the start of Sep-06. Jet Airways and SpiceJet's stocks have bounced back by 22% and 13% respectively, as CEOs from all three carriers prepare to address the Indian aviation outlook at the LCC Symposium in Mumbai next week (29/30 September 2006).

"The rebound in airline shares is a welcome relief for the sector after several difficult months plagued by high fuel prices, uncertainty over the Jet Airways-Air Sahara merger and intense competition as new entrants launched", said Kapil Kaul, the Centre's Indian Subcontinent & Middle East CEO.

Mr Kaul added that the recent moderation in oil prices had helped the sector, but risks still remain, including an extended period of instability of yields, due to intense discounting.

Nawal Taneja, Professor of Aviation at Ohio State University and keynote speaker at next week's LCC Symposium in Mumbai, added, "LCCs globally will now face more competition not only from other LCCs, but also from legacy carriers from above restructuring to reduce their cost bases, as well as from regional carriers from below with more appropriate aircraft and cost structures. The challenge now is to maintain low costs, and more importantly to continue to innovate, to seek new opportunities and to constantly redefine the model. Similarly, customer input suggests that LCCs need to improve performance in their relationship with passengers. Maintaining the customer's trust will require greater transparency.

Meanwhile, according to Dr Taneja, full service carriers are "anxious" to know how to turn legacy into supremacy. "In my conversations with senior airline executives around the world, the most common issue I hear is that 'we know what our problems are, what we want to know is why our strategies are not succeeding with respect to speed and scope'". Dr Taneja, recognised as one of the world's leading aviation strategists, will address these issues in a keenly anticipated keynote address".

Patrick Murphy, former Chairman of Ryanair, another keynote speaker, stated, "to compete with LCCs, legacy carriers have to make some crucial and urgent business decisions. They must be ruthless if they are to be successful. Above all, legacy airlines must learn to compete wisely and to stop complaining".

Confirmed speakers at the LCC Symposium include:

• AirAsia: Tony Fernandes, CEO
• Air Deccan: Warwick Brady, COO
• Jet Airways: Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO
• GoAir: Jeh Wadia, CEO
• Jazeera Airways: Marwan Boodai, CEO
• Rak Airways: Jack Romero, CEO
• Sama: Andrew Cowen, CEO
• SpiceJet: Ajay Singh, Director
• Viva Macau: Andrew Pyne, CEO
• Ryanair: Patrick Murphy, Former Chairman
• Ohio State University: Prof Nawal Taneja, Aviation Department Chairman
• IATA: Julian Carr, Manager New Product Development
• Landor Associates: Bill Larsen, Director
• PhocusWright: Ram Badrinathan, Asia Pacific Analyst
• Ginger Hotels: Prabhat Pani, CEO
• CAPA Consulting: Andrew Miller, CEO
• Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation: Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman

Key details about India & Middle East LCC Symposium 2006:

• Date: 29/30 September 2006
• Venue: Grand Hyatt Mumbai
• Attendance: 250+ Delegates, 25+ High-level Speakers, 50+ Global Media Representatives
• Media Exposure: Global newswire press coverage, and broadsheet newspaper coverage on three continents.
• Global television coverage: Over 50 website listings and advertising, and live web streaming of interviews to over 500,000 people.
• The event will also feature an extensive supplier exhibition and enhanced sponsor offering, with over 10+ hours of networking time.

For more information on India & Middle East LCC Symposium 2006, please visit: http://www.centreforaviation.com

Picture: Airline share price movements between 31-Aug-06 and 18-Sep-06.