GoAir not chasing foreign funds; rules out stake sale

29 Jan 2013

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Go Airlines (India), which runs the low-cost carrier GoAir, said today it is studying the new foreign direct investment regime to explore opportunities for a tie-up with a foreign partner.

However, its chief executive officer Giorgio De Roni made it clear to newspersons in Kolkata that it is not interested in selling an equity stake to a foreign airline just for accessing funds.

The government last year allowed foreign airlines to purchase up to a 49 per cent stake in domestic carriers.
De Roni said the airline was keen to imbibe global best practices and technology from a tie-up, which would help it to reach out to customers abroad. He noted that many foreign carriers were keen to enter India.

''Cash is not the consideration. The existing shareholders are very supportive of the business and they will remain in the majority,'' chief executive of the Mumbai-based airline that is wholly owned by the Wadia Group, the promoters of Bombay Dyeing, said.

He added that GoAir is not interested in aggressive growth of market share, with its emphasis more on sustainability.
Asked if GoAir is interested in taking up some of the slots vacated by the grounded Kingfisher Airlines, the licence of which has been cancelled, De Roni said, ''We will grow step by step ... our approach is to grow cautiously. We are running a marathon and not a sprint.''

He said the company was pursuing its plans of launching international flights and was hopeful of getting some waivers from the government on certain stipulations. He said the international foray was likely to happen in 2013-14, and the plan was to be innovative in selection of the destination.

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