The government has been betting for a complete or partial sale in Air India since quite some. Tata Group and Indigo are said to be the interested parties for debt-ridden national airlines. However, if the latest sources are to be believed, then Jet Airways and Spicejet have also shown their interest in buying the company, or at least, a part o it.
Commenting on the development, one of the top government sources said that buying Air India could change the fortunes of the buyer. He added that Air India currently has 14% market share for the domestic flights and 17-18% market share for the international traffic originating from the country. According to the source quoted above, buying Air India could be a big boost to any of the Indian Airline.
The news was originally published by Times of India. The newspaper did get in touch with officials from both the airlines. While Spicejet official said that Spicejet is ‘too small’ to put a buyout offer for Air India, Jet Airways official confirmed the development stating that the talks are on and more details will be known once the terms are disclosed.
Recent developments do look in favor of Jet Airways. The company has recently announced a partnership with KLM, Delta, and Air France and according to sources, it could get the foreign players to back the transaction if it decided to place a buyout offer for Air India. Etihad, UAE based airline is also a partner in Jet Airways with 24% stake.
Tata Group and Indigo have earlier expressed open interest to buy Air India. While Indigo has been more particular about buying the international segment of Air India, Tata Group is planning for a complete buyout to strengthen its position in the airline market yet again. Currently, Tata Group is running Air Asia and Vistara airline in partnership with Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines respectively.