In the rush by foreign airlines to get a piece of India's airspace, domestic firm SpiceJet looks like an unwanted orphan.
New Delhi's move a year ago to let foreign airlines own up to 49% of local carriers has opened up the biggest new market for the global industry. India is set to be world's third-largest aviation market by 2020, according to analysts at CAPA-Centre for Aviation.
Abu Dhabi's flagship Etihad Airways tied up with India's Jet Airways earlier this year. Malaysian low-fare giant AirAsia and full-service Singapore Airlines announced separate ventures with Tata Group, the conglomerate that owned Air India before the state seized it in the 1950s. These firms have deep pockets and operational expertise to fight it out in India's tantalizing yet regulation-heavy airspace.
There are three major domestic airlines that haven't tied up with foreigners. Market leader IndiGo is closely held and considered the strongest of the bunch. State-owned Air India constantly turns to taxpayers for bailouts and isn't under the same commercial pressure.
That leaves budget airline SpiceJet, which carries one in five Indian fliers, all alone. Based in Chennai in southern India, it will go head-to-head with the Air Asia-Tata low-fare venture, which also plans to set up its hub there.
08/12/13 Abheek Bhattacharya/Wall Street Journal
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New Delhi's move a year ago to let foreign airlines own up to 49% of local carriers has opened up the biggest new market for the global industry. India is set to be world's third-largest aviation market by 2020, according to analysts at CAPA-Centre for Aviation.
Abu Dhabi's flagship Etihad Airways tied up with India's Jet Airways earlier this year. Malaysian low-fare giant AirAsia and full-service Singapore Airlines announced separate ventures with Tata Group, the conglomerate that owned Air India before the state seized it in the 1950s. These firms have deep pockets and operational expertise to fight it out in India's tantalizing yet regulation-heavy airspace.
There are three major domestic airlines that haven't tied up with foreigners. Market leader IndiGo is closely held and considered the strongest of the bunch. State-owned Air India constantly turns to taxpayers for bailouts and isn't under the same commercial pressure.
That leaves budget airline SpiceJet, which carries one in five Indian fliers, all alone. Based in Chennai in southern India, it will go head-to-head with the Air Asia-Tata low-fare venture, which also plans to set up its hub there.
08/12/13 Abheek Bhattacharya/Wall Street Journal
