Jet Airways’ sale of 24 per cent stake to Abu-Dhabi-based Etihad Airways for $379 million (about Rs 2,050 crore) is a win-win situation for both parties and for Indian passengers. Travellers will now have a choice of flying from smaller cities directly to Abu Dhabi and thereon to any of the carrier’s global destinations. There is also expected to be a price war between Etihad and its Gulf competitor, Emirates, as both will be competing for the Indian passenger who will be the ultimate beneficiary.
In the next three years the number of Indians travelling abroad is expected to touch 44 million so the stakes for airlines are tremendous. Etihad is in keen competition with Emirates, which flies out of 10 cities and currently has a 13 per cent market share of international travellers from India.
The government has agreed to give Etihad permission to fly to 11 more cities in India in addition to the nine it already flies to and both Etihad and Jet will get an additional 37,000 seats a week from the present 13,000. This generous enhancement of flights by the government has, as expected, caused serious worry among Indian domestic carriers, including Air India, who feel they would be deprived of air traffic.
26/04/13 Deccan Chronicle
