India's Jet Airways buys rival
India's leading private airline, Jet Airways will acquire rival Air Sahara for 500 million dollars in Indian aviation's largest-ever deal, news reports said on January 19.
Top executives of the airlines inked the deal late on January 18 after days of negotiations, The Times of India reported, quoting unnamed informed sources.
According to aviation industry experts, the acquisition will allow Jet Airways to emerge as India's biggest domestic airline with a market share of more than 50 per cent.
Jet Airways could also position Air Sahara, which had been reporting losses recently, into a budget airline as other low-cost carriers like Air Deccan and Spice have made a dent in its market share.
The board of Jet Airways was to meet on January 19 to ratify the deal, which must also be approved by the government.
India's aviation industry is witnessing rapid growth with several private airlines being launched, and the state-run and private carriers implementing expansion plans and buying new aircraft.
According to India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation, 15.7 million passengers took flights in 2003 to 2004, a number expected to grow to 19 million from 2004 to 2005. Traffic was expected to rise by 5 million passengers annually for the next 10 years.
( www.bangkokpost.com)
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