AirAsia CEO sees launch of Indian airline in March
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[LONDON] AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said Indian backing for his establishment of a low-cost airline in a once closed market of 1.2 billion people is "imminent", with flights slated for as soon as March.
"The process is coming to a happy ending," Mr Fernandes said in an interview in London on Friday, adding that delays were inevitable given that new procedures had to be developed allowing a foreign carrier to enter India. Asia's largest discount airline will equip the new unit with 10 Airbus A320 single-aisle jets.
AirAsia, based in Malaysia and with units in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines, is seeking to tap a market where the number of passengers is forecast to triple to 452 million by 2020. India has loosened investment rules, spurring AirAsia and Singapore Airlines Ltd to seek to establish units in the world's second most populous country and Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi to take a stake in Jet Airways (India) Ltd.
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