Singapore Airlines would consider stake in Indian carrier

Singapore Airlines stated it would consider acquiring a stake in an Indian carrier if the Indian Government were to alter its ownership regulations, but it is not looking into the matter at present (Press Trust of India, 01-Aug-2010). The Government prohibits foreign airlines from purchasing stakes in Indian carriers. Singapore Airlines previously partnered with the Tata Group to acquire a 40% stake in Air India in 2000, but the Government later decided against selling equity in the airline. SIA is in the process of augmenting capacity in India to match demand and may consider deploying A380 aircraft to the market. The carrier believes India is a "fast growing and an important market".

Singapore Airlines: "Never say never. Challenge for us at the moment is to consolidate what we have today … When opportunities arise, we will consider it. It is not something that we are actively looking at right now … Our strategy has always been to have long and steady growth - a balanced growth with improved experience for passengers. We have not only been expanding frequencies and adding flights, but also improving our product and services … We have been operating to India for 40 years and have expanded our operations significantly, particularly over the past six years. We will always remain on an expansion mode here," Philip Goh, Regional Vice President for India, West Asia and Africa. Source: Press Trust of India, 01-Aug-2010.