Indian conglomerate Tata Sons said Friday it is in preliminary talks with struggling Jet Airways but has not made a proposal to acquire a stake, cooling speculation that a deal was imminent. Shares in debt-laden Jet Airways surged on Friday for a fourth straight day after media reported that Tata was close to making a takeover bid for the airline, which flies to destinations including Hong Kong, Dubai, London and New York. “Over the last few days there has been growing speculation in the print and electronic media about Tata’s interest in Jet Airways,” Tata said. “We would like to clarify that any such discussions have been preliminary and no proposal has been made.” Tata already owns two Indian airlines but has less than 10 percent of the country’s aviation market. A deal with Jet would transform Tata from a fringe player into the country’s dominant, full-service international carrier, but would also give it a loss-making company that is struggling to stay afloat and owes money to vendors and employees alike. Jet is 24% owned by Etihad Airways. <br/>
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An Indonesian woman whose fiance was among 189 people killed when a Lion Air flight crashed into the sea near Jakarta last month implored authorities on Friday to improve the safety and regulation of the country’s airlines. Intan Indah Syari had been due to marry her high-school sweetheart, Rio Nanda Pratama, who was a doctor, on November 11. Photographs of Syari wearing her white wedding dress, alone, on the day of their planned ceremony went viral on social media with thousands of likes and an outpouring of sympathetic comments from around the world.“I want him, now that he is on the other side, to know that I’m happy. This was to pay him my last respects,” Syari said, explaining her decision to wear the dress and how her fiance’s last wish had been to see photos of her in the gown. Indonesian investigators are due to publish a preliminary report on the crash later this month in a bid to explain why the nearly new Boeing Co 737 MAX jet slammed violently into the sea during clear weather. Pratama’s father has filed a US lawsuit against Boeing, alleging it did not adequately warn Lion Air or its pilots of an unsafe design condition. <br/>
Two small airlines are protesting the price tag for the new single terminal project at Kansas City International Airport. Executives at Spirit and Allegiant airlines outlined their concerns in letters to the Kansas City Council Airport Committee, citing the $1.6b project price and cost-sharing issues, The Kansas City Star reported Friday. Voters approved the project last year, but the cost is supposed to be borne by airlines that use the airport. The project will create a single terminal to replace the three horseshoe-style buildings at Kansas City's main airport. Mayor Sly James said the dispute is over how the airlines will split costs and that the airlines themselves must work through it. James says the city will "push forward" with the project. "We will insist, however, that this resolution of their internal dispute be reasonable and fair and in no way diminish the flight or service options for our flying public," James said. "We're not going to allow this project, which is so important to this city, to be the platform for resolution of national issues and disputes between large and small airline carriers." He said the dispute includes how to pay for a $20m baggage claim system.<br/>
Low-cost African airline Fastjet, which said in September it needed more cash within a month to continue operating, announced a fundraising and equity refinancing aimed at increasing its equity base by at least $40m. Fastjet, whose shares lost more than half their value after September’s announcement, said the steps would significantly reduce its debt and provide the company with working capital until the end of 2019. The airline, which operates in Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa, announced soon afterwards that it had raised $11.5m through a placing of 898.4m shares. “Business in our continuing operations in Zimbabwe and growth-markets of South Africa and Mozambique is on the right track”, CEO Nico Bezuidenhout said. In addition to the placing, Fastjet’s largest shareholder Solenta Aviation agreed to subscribe 316.7m shares of Fastjet, raising $4.1m and increasing Solenta’s stake in the company to 54.3% from 29.8%. Fastjet will also issue 1.91b shares valued at $24.4m to acquire four Embraer 145 aircraft from Solenta and to settle the majority of Solenta long-term loans to the company. In addition, Fastjet also proposed an open offer to raise up to $5.3m.<br/>