| With the much-debated `2,058-crore deal between Jet Airways and the Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways taking a political turn, experts feel further delays may be inevitable. Last month, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) deferred a decision on clearing the Jet-Etihad deal. Also, various ministers / ministries and politicians have since raised concerns on a decision to allow 36,700 seats on Indian flights to Abu Dhabi under the bilateral agreement between the two countries. Both the airline deal and the bilateral agreement were announced on April 24. Since then, the deal has been under various clearances and facing opposition. "The matter is getting complicated as politicians are seeking a review. I don't think it will come to a conclusion any time soon," said an industry expert who did not wish to be quoted. "The deal may get delayed. Etihad will not wait forever for things to get cleared. Also, it is not encouraging for the other foreign investors to invest in India. They will think twice before investing in India." The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has also sought a review of the contentious deal with respect to the allotment of seats under the bilateral agreement. The PMO, however, clarified its stand on Tuesday via a statement. "The allegations in some media are factually incorrect and baseless. There is absolutely no disagreement within the government or between the ministers and Prime Minister on the matter. The Prime Minister is neither washing his hands of the bilateral air services agreement nor is the PMO trying to do a U-turn on the issue now." When contacted, Jet Airways had this to say on the current status of the deal: "As the Jet Airways and Etihad Airways alliance is being examined by the concerned regulatory authorities and their consequent approvals are awaited, it would be inappropriate for Jet Airways to respond at this stage." An Etihad spokesperson's response was on similar lines. Objections to the deal were first raised by a parliamentary standing committee headed by CPI (M) MP Sitaram Yechury, which was followed up by senior MPs Jaswant Singh and Dinesh Trivedi, and Janata Party chairman Subramanian Swamy who wrote letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. A consultant tracking the aviation industry stated that the deal will go through eventually but that may be later than sooner. "Our ministers are cautiously inviting foreign investors now. On one hand, they are opening up the market for foreign players and on the other, they are making it tougher to get though. As of now, we don't expect Etihad to back out of the deal as the deal is equally important for Etihad's point of view. Most of the Middle East carriers are competing against each other for becoming a global hub, hence its alliance with Jet Airways is critical."  via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNE1Yqhn62CLBPx_XNyMMBjhpaHvdg&url=http://www.dnaindia.com/money/1856326/report-jet-etihad-deal-set-to-be-delayed-anew | |||
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