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Are birthdays in some way linked to the Jet-Etihad deal? On Tuesday, just as the 10th birthday celebrations of Etihad Airways were under way, came the news that the Competition Commission of India had given its nod to the Gulf-based airline’s buyout of a stake in Jet Airways (India) Ltd.
This was the last major clearance the two airlines needed before approaching the Civil Aviation Ministry for procedural approval, which is a basic formality.
Etihad, the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, launched commercial services on November 13, 2003 with flights between Abu Dhabi and Beirut, Lebanon.
In a short span of 10 years, it has grown to a fleet of 66 aircraft operating more than 1,000 flights a week.
But this is not the only birthday celebration marking the deal. The Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the nodal agency for approving foreign direct investment proposals, finally gave its clearance to the deal on the 54{+t}{+h} birthday of Naresh Goyal, the promoter of Jet Airways, on July 29.
The $600-million deal, which was announced in April, will still need to be cleared by the Civil Aviation Ministry before it can come into effect.
One can only hope that the airlines will not have to wait till November-end, when the birthday of James Hogan, CEO, Etihad, falls, for the deal to be completed.
>ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in
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