EXPANDING AVIATION MARKET
Lufthansa not keen on ‘misadventure’ of new airline in India
The leading European carrier is cautious after Qatar Airways says it plans to start an airline in India with as many as 100 aircraft
Mumbai/New Delhi — Deutsche Lufthansa said starting a domestic airline in India, the world’s fastest growing aviation market, will be a "misadventure" because of high jet fuel taxes and the cost of operations. Lufthansa’s comments come weeks after Qatar Airways said it planned to start an airline in India with as many as 100 aircraft, as it looked for a bigger share of a market projected to sell half-a-billion domestic tickets in a decade. Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airways and AirAsia have also bought stakes in local carriers buoyed by an emerging middle-class flying for the first time. "You only make business when you have business plans which give you hope that you can be successful," said Wolfgang Will, a director for South Asia at Lufthansa. "I did not hear of any domestic airline in India making a lot of profit." Lufthansa has a history of running an Indian airline. It was part of a partnership that ran ModiLuft, which was grounded in 1996 after disputes over payments with the...
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