Gulf airlines show lukewarm response to India’s FDI policy

Dubai: Five days after India opened up its aviation sector for 49 per cent FDI (foreign direct investment), Emirates says it is not looking at acquiring a stake in any of the Indian carriers, while Etihad Airways says it will make such investments only if it’s convinced of strong commercial prospects.
A lot of it has to do with the fact that the Indian aviation sector on the whole has been ailing for a while with the country’s flagship carrier, Air India, waiting to be thrown a lifeline, and carriers such as Kingfisher Airlines barely managing to survive.
“Emirates has no plans to acquire a stake in another airline in India or anywhere else. We are busy focusing on the many aspects of our own growth including the launch of flights to five new destinations in as many months,” an Emirates spokesperson told Gulf News in an e-mailed statement, adding that the carrier operates 158 weekly flights to India at present.
17/09/12 Shweta Jain/Gulf News

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Categories: Foreign Sep 2012, Indian Aviation- In General Sep 2012