AirAsia chief says Indian aviation suffering because of vested interests, skewed ... - NDTV

AirAsia group chief executive Tony Fernandes. AirAsia group chief Tony Fernandes today blamed vested interests and skewed rules for poor aviation sector growth in India, and said the sector has immense potential to expand. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Fernandes, who has been on a media blitz across India, said the country followed certain rules that are not followed anywhere else in the world, and that these rules had been framed in the favour of certain pre-existing airlines. "There are some bizarre rules. Five years before you can fly international...that doesn't happen anywhere else in the world, and we all know which airlines that came from. There are too many people who have vested interests and they don't think about what India needs," news agency ANI said citing Mr. Fernandes. AirAsia is entering India in a joint venture with the Tata group and Telestra Tradeplace. The Malaysia-based carrier will be the controlling partner with a 49 per cent stake, while the Tatas will o wn 30 per cent. Telestra will own the rest. Speaking to media persons earlier in the week, Mr. Fernandes had stressed on the need to expand services to smaller, under-served cities, and not just focus on key metros like Delhi and Mumbai. Emphasizing the potential of this under-served market, Mr. Fernandes today said India could well become the largest market for AirAsia. "I am not here to take anyone's market shares. This is not a zero sum game and it is not about one airline. It is about 1.3 billion people here. This could be the largest AirAsia but I think the market is small and I think the aviation industry has not really captured all market. That's all we are after," he said. AirAsia India is on track to start operations by the end of the year provided pending approvals are cleared. It currently awaits nods from the airports regulator and the Civil Aviation Ministry. "AirAsia has applied to the ministry for NOC. They have already hired a ch ief executive, they have hired pilots. I hope as soon as AirAsia gets security clearance, they will be able to start operations. I don't think it will take too long," Aviation Minister Ajit Singh had said yesterday after a meeting with Mr. Fernandes, Tata group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata and AirAsia India chief executive Mittu Chandilya. Mr. Tata is the chief advisor on the AirAsia India board. via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNG48kKaWKo6s_0twJD13JvzXbJ-wg&url=http://profit.ndtv.com/news/industries/article-airasia-chief-says-indian-aviation-suffering-because-of-vested-interests-skewed-rules-324021

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