Qatar Airways plans to launch first fully foreign-owned airline in India

Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker, in a presentation posted on the carrier's Facebook account, stated (08-Mar-2017) the carrier plans to launch an airline in India with Qatar Investment Authority, the investment arm of Qatar Government, with the carrier to be "soon making an application to that effect". Mr Al Baker commented: "We will have a 100% owned domestic carrier in India that will belong to both QRs and our state investment arm as India has now allowed foreign direct investment in domestic carriers within India". He continued: "We want to do [this] one by one, step by step, so that we don't put so much food in our mouths that we cannot chew, like some people did before". Foreign airlines are only permitted to own up to a 49% stake in Indian carriers, although overall foreign investment can be at 100%. Mr Al Baker also said the carrier would have a fleet of 100 narrowbodies.