Doha 01st May 2013: Qatar Airways and Air Arabia are set to invest in Indian based airlines, according to reports.
Two airlines have plans to follow Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, which signed a $379m deal for a 24 percent investment in Jet Airways, second largest operator in India last week, Times of India reported.
The report said Qatar Airways was looking to invest in SpiceJet and GoAir and Air Arabia is looking at tying up with an Indian partner to invest in a start-up.
Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, earlier this year denied reports that the airline was interested in investing in an Indian carrier.
“Qatar Airways categorically denies it is interested in investing in Spicejet or any other Indian airline. This is pure speculation by individuals who deliberately want to spread such unfounded rumours to raise the stock value of their entities. India is a huge market and a potentially lucrative one. While we have expressed interest in expanding our presence in India, we will only be interested in any potential investment once we are sure regulations and laws are properly liberalized,” he said.
Gulf carriers are likely to seek permission for over 150,000 more seats a week in capacity from the Indian government. Access and flights to tier II Indian cities would see the requirement for increased capacity for Gulf carriers, according to a report from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA).
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