Jazeera Airways is currently looking at purchasing an equity stake in Kuwait Airways. Although Jazeera does not have the spare funds to purchase the entire 35% that the government has put on the block right now, it may well have the ability to move for the stake in two years when the government finally gets around to disposing of the stake. The announcement by Jazeera is to throw the hat in the ring for the airline so that the government know that a home business is there and willing to take a look at a deal. Jazeera is now first in line, and well it should be. Kuwait Airways has been narrowing its focus to shorter haul routes for some time now, which has brought it into direct competition with Jazeera. If Jazeera is able to force a shift in capacity away from its routes and back to longer haul routes then it should see any investment in Kuwait Airways pay dividends in a short timescale. It is a logical and good move to make – shame about the two year wait.
Meanwhile ILFC has finally managed to secure one of its aircraft from India. It managed to get an A321 that was operated by Kingfisher out of India following Delhi’s High Court decision on March 15, 2013. Although a signatory of the Cape Town treaty and international best aviation practices, India has thus far proved itself to have a rather lacklustre approach to protecting owner’s rights, which has and will damage investment in Indian aviation. Although the Indian government is taking steps to protect the rights of investors, it is a fact that it has moved before to say that such moves are underway only for the reality to be very different on the ground, only time will tell this time around.
ILFC Chief Executive Officer Henri Courpron commented: “We commend India’s High Court for taking a firm stance which we hope will prompt the publication of the much awaited policy revision. It is not too late for India to reverse the current negative perception prevailing within the international finance forum. A comprehensive change in the current policy permitting ILFC’s assets to be removed from India without any restrictions will be considered a positive and much needed step towards reform. This policy is expected to bring much relief to India’s aviation sector by safeguarding Indian airlines’ continued ability to obtain needed affordable aircraft financing."
That just about sums it up.