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Jet Airways eyes majority stake in
bmi
16 January, 2008:
India's top airline Jet Airways is
keen on buying a majority stake in
British airline, bmi, media reports
suggest.
Jet had initiated the move last
December along with an airline from
the Middle East, which, reports said,
could be Emirates.
Sir Micheal, the airline's chairman,
holds a majority in bmi.
Sir Micheal holds 50 percent and one
share in the airline, with other stake
holders being Lufthansa and SAS.
Sunday Telegraph did not identify the
source of the report.
Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Airlines
and British Airways had expressed
interest to buy out Sir Micheal's
stake. The offers never materialized.
On December 1, 2007, Jet and its rival
Kingfisher Airlines, promoted by
Indian liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, had
announced a hike in fuel surcharge for
the seventh time in almost a year by
Rupees 300, in an apparent effort to
offset jet fuel prices.
Jet had bought Air Sahara and
Kingfisher had acquired no-frills
airline Deccan Airlines as part of a
consolidation in the Indian aviation
sector, which has seen air traffic
expand by more than 25 percent in two
years.
Analysts said Kingfisher's move to
acquire Deccan was a calculated ploy
to get to fly overseas. As per Indian
laws, airlines should be operational
for at least five years domestically
for them to get nod to fly abroad. Air
Deccan will complete that five year
tenure in 2008.
Jet has overseas flying rights.
Last year, Jet chairman Naresh Goel
had said he expects the firsm to post
annual revenue of 3 billion in three
years, with about 50 percent of it
coming from international operations.
India's civil aviation ministry had
given Jet the nod to select Gulf
routes from January this year.
Jet had filed for rights to operate to
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai
and Abu Dhabi, earlier last year.
India's airlines have been allotted
85, 481 seats per week as per data
available at that time, though only 58
percent of that was utilized.
Jet Airways now operates flights to
South and southeast Asia, the United
States, Canada, London and Brussels.
India gave formal approval to the
merger of state-owned Air India and
Indian Airlines on August 14, 2006.
The merged airline, which will be run
under the National Aviation Co, had
112 aircraft at that time.
Vijay Mallya's UB group, which has
both Kingfisher and Deccan under its
wings, plans to start flights to the
U.S. this year, from the former's home
turf , Bangalore to New York and San
Francisco.
The combined market share of
Kingfisher and Deccan is estimated
around 30 percent.
The UB Group if the third largest
spirits maker in the world.
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