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Innovation

Singapore Airlines, Tata form new venture to tackle Indian market

Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines to establish a new airline in India, 15 years after such a scheme originally failed.
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

Indian conglomerate Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines plan to launch a new airline to tap the Indian travel market.

Tata Sons will own 51 percent and Singapore Airlines will own 49 percent of the new venture, established 15 years after the companies first failed in launching a jointly-owned Indian airline. The full-service carrier will be under the watch of chairman Prasad Menon, nominated by Tata Sons, and the initial three-person board will have one Singapore representative.

The two companies will initially invest $100m into the venture. Only nine months ago, Tata announced a similar scheme with AirAsia.

India's aviation industry was opened to foreign investors last year -- allowing firms based abroad to own up to 49 percent of a local airline -- after suffering losses through a lack of tourism and the economic downturn. In April, reports suggested that female visitors in particular were avoiding the country after rape and harassment cases of both local and foreign women were exposed by the media.

Menon said:

"It is Tata Sons' evaluation that civil aviation in India offers sustainable growth potential. We now have the opportunity to launch a world-class, full-service airline in India. We are delighted that we are partnering in this endeavour with the world-renowned Singapore Airlines."

Details of the airline's branding, management team, products and services are yet to be announced.

Via: Tata

Image credit: Flickr

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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