Emirates Says No Interest in Indian Carriers

Emirates Says No Interest in Indian Carriers

Emirates Airline on Tuesday dismissed talk of a possible stake buy in India's troubled aviation sector; Emirates president Tim Clark specifically denied any interest in budget Indian carrier Spicejet.

April 24, 2012 3:51 by kippreport

Emirates Airline on Tuesday dismissed talk of a possible stake buy in India’s troubled aviation sector. “We are not interested in getting involved in the Indian aviation sector,” Emirates president Tim Clark said, speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of a finance conference. Clark specifically denied any interest in budget Indian carrier Spicejet.

Spicejet said last week it had been approached by several Gulf and Asian carriers as the Indian government mulled a change in foreign investment rules and there has been speculation of contacts between it and Emirates.

Earlier on Tuesday, Indian airline shares fell on waning hopes that the country’s government would allow foreign carriers to invest in the domestic sector anytime soon.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Writing by Praveen Menon, Editing by Sitaraman Shankar)