India eases rules to lift world’s fastest-growing airline market

It’s the news foreign carriers had been waiting to hear for years. After more than a decade of deliberations, India unveiled an aviation policy to open up the world’s fastest growing major air-travel market. Prime minister Narendra Modi’s govt decided Wednesday to permit domestic airlines to fly overseas provided they deploy 20 planes or 20% of capacity, whichever is higher, on local routes. Earlier, carriers needed to have a minimum of 20 aircraft in their fleet and 5 years of domestic services. The move benefits operators such as SIA and AirAsia and has the potential to attract new investments from Middle Eastern carriers such as Emirates airline and Etihad Airways, which are aiming to provide a western hub for India. More may enter the market, leading to potential consolidation among local carriers. <br/>