Discount Airlines coming to India

Filed in archive Venture Capital on December 9, 2004

India's flight travel market has long since been overdue for change. You easily recognize this by stopping in New Delhi Airport. The Economist has more:

"The skies too are being opened. Foreign airlines are to get more slots at Indian airports; British airlines 40 a week instead of 19 now. India's two main private-sector airlines, Jet Airways and Air Sahara, will be able to fly abroad, which compensates them for accepting competition at home from no-frills Air Deccan and other possible new operators. Deccan, launched 15 months ago, now has 74 flights a day to 24 destinations and is raising $50m-60m of private equity. Jet, which carried 44% of India's 15m domestic passengers last year, is cutting costs and prices in response."

Not bad - seems to be good money in the play for potentially Asia's second largest travel market.